Posted on: Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Rolled sushi, step by step
| • | All rolled up |
| • | Create your own sushi at hand-roll gathering |
| • | Sushi terms |
| • | Sushi tips |
Chicago Tribune
• Make rice: Use a good quality of short-to medium-grain Japanese-style rice (kome). Wash rice in several changes of cold water, agitating with your hands. Drain and measure rice and water into pan or rice cooker (2 parts water to 1 part rice in pan; 1 part rice to 1 part water in rice cooker). Cook rice. When rice is done, remove pan from heat or turn off rice cooker; allow to steam without removing cover for 10 minutes.
• Flavor rice: Make sushi zu (vinegar-sugar mixture for flavoring sushi rice — which can also be bought ready-made). Turn hot rice into wide, shallow bowl or traditional wooden bowl (which has been soaked in water first). Drizzle sushi zu over rice and use a rice paddle to fold and cut the mixture into the hot rice. As you work, use a paper fan to cool the rice, or have someone fan while you turn. Finished rice should glisten. Allow rice to cool, covered with a damp towel.
• Prepare filling ingredients: Cook and/or slice all ingredients and have them ready. Be sure to slice them uniformly. • Roll sushi:
1. Lay out a piece of toasted nori on a bamboo rolling mat. Gently pat rice onto nori so that it covers the sheet crosswise, but leave a half-inch at each end. 2. Make a shallow groove in the rice about an inch in from one end. Smear a little wasabi along groove and neatly place filling ingredients along it in straight line. 3. Fold over nori and mat and hold the ingredients in place with your fingers while rolling firmly.
4. Seal the edge with a little vinegar or water. Gently squeeze rolled sushi to help it keep it shape. Allow to rest a few minutes, then gently unroll mat.
Sushi terms:
• Sushi zu: Vinegar-sugar mixture used to flavor hot rice for sushi, making it "sushi rice." • Makizushi : Sushi rolled in nori; in Hawai'i, sometimes called "black" sushi. • Futomaki: Thick rolled sushi, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter; in Hawai'i, often stuffed with sweet shoyu tuna/carrot, or gobo/egg combinations.
• Hosomaki: Thin rolled sushi, about 1 1/4 inch in diameter, with one ingredient inside, plus wasabi. Kappa maki is a cucumber version; tekka maki is a tuna version.
• Inarizushi: "Cornucopias" of aburage (fried tofu) filled with rice; in Hawai'i, this is "cone" sushi.
• Chirashizushi: "Scattered" sushi, in which ingredients are tossed atop a pan of sushi rice; in Hawai'i, "pan sushi." • Temakizushi: "Hand roll," made by nestling ingredients in triangular roll.
• Musubi: Molded sushi or rice ball, may be triangular or rectangular; in Hawai'i, inevitably topped with shoyu-simmered Spam.
Sushi tips:
• While rice is steaming, prepare vegetables, egg omelet, other ingredients, cutting everything evenly.
• To make sushi rice, spread hot rice in wide, shallow bowl or on plastic-lined rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle flavoring in, cutting and folding into rice with rice paddle. Do not stir or mash; rice grains will break.
• Glaze hands with a little warm water before handling sushi rice.
• To hold sushi rice, cover it with a damp towel to retain moisture.
• For musubi, moisten the lower half of the mold before use and rinse mold frequently between musubi.
• In using nori, the smooth side goes out, away from food.
• To toast nori, use tongs and hold it over a flame or electric burner set on high, quickly fanning it as it changes color and becomes fragrant.
• When rolling sushi in mat, press firmly but not so hard as to break the grains.
• Hold rolled sushi in plastic wrap, twisting ends to secure; don't cut until just before serving.
• To cut rolled sushi, dip very sharp knife in water. Cut roll in half, then each half into fourths.
