Posted on: Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Create your own sushi at hand-roll gathering
| • | All rolled up |
| • | Rolled sushi, step by step |
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Making sushi at home can be an enjoyable project for a family or a group of food-loving couples. Divide up the tasks of preparing sushi rice, toasting nori (dried seaweed), and slicing vegetables and/or fish. You can do a hand-roll party by preparing a buffet of stuffing ingredients, a stack of sheets of toasted nori and garnishes from radish sprouts to chopped wasabi.
This is a version of the hand-roll prepared in the sushi-making class at Sai Cafe in Chicago.
Salmon hand-roll with salmon caviar
Place one nori square in the open palm of your hand. Mound 2 tablespoons of the rice on the nori; top with 1 tablespoon of the raw salmon and 4 of the jicama sticks.
Fold one corner of the nori over filling; fold opposite corner over folded corner. Adjust to create a cone. Spoon a teaspoon or so of salmon roe into the top of the cone. Repeat with remaining nori squares.
• Yield: 16 pieces.
Nutrition information per serving: 67 calories, 18 percent calories from fat, 1.3 grams fat, 0.3 grams saturated fat, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 10 grams carbohydrates, 3.7 grams protein, 253 milligrams sodium, 1 gram fiber.
Japan-style sushi rice
Place the rice in a fine strainer; rinse in cold water until water runs clear. Stir together rice, 1 1/4 cups water and kelp in a medium saucepan; heat to a boil. Cover; reduce heat to simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and grains are separate, 15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
Spread rice on a plastic wrap-lined baking sheet; cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan; heat until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle over rice; stir gently with a wooden spoon to coat. Cover until ready to use.
• Nutrition information per serving: 36 calories, 1 percent calories from fat, 0.05 grams fat, 0 saturated fat, 0 cholesterol, 8 grams carbohydrates, 0.6 grams protein, 146 milligrams sodium, 0.3 grams fiber.
This recipe is a favorite at Island family parties and potlucks; it's from "The Tastes and Tales of Moiliili," a recipe collection from the Moiliili Community Center. It was contributed by Muriel Miura Kaminaka.
Pan sushi
Make seasoned tuna: Stir-fry tuna together with mirin, sugar and shoyu for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed.
Make sushi rice (see recipe that follows).
Line a 9 by 13 inch pan with waxed paper. Sprinkle shrimp flakes evenly in pan. Sprinkle with egg strips, then with seasoned tuna. Top with still-warm sushi rice. Cover with waxed paper and press gently but firmly. Cool. To serve, invert on large, flat serving tray. Cut into desired pieces. Garnish with beni shoga and furikake as desired.
This all-purpose sushi rice recipe starts with 4 cups raw rice, which should be steamed as you usually would do it (stove top or rice cooker); this yields 12 cups.
Hawai'i-style sushi rice
Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and MSG in saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Spread hot rice in wide, flat bowl and sprinkle vinegar mixture over hot rice; cut mixture into rice with rice paddle. Allow to cool and use to make pan sushi (above).
This recipe for cone sushi is from the famed Hilo Women's Club Cookbook; note that, in this 1970 version, MSG (Ajinomoto brand is specified) is still widely used. You can eliminate MSG without ill effect. Aburage is thin-slice tofu, fried and formed into cones; it's available in the Asian sections of supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.
