Making Sushi

[Abra]

And besides using the correct rice, and seasoning it, be sure your sudare (the rolling mat) is wet/damp before you lay the nori on it. Press as you roll, and let the roll sit for a few minutes before slicing it.

[bentherebfor]

Seasoning the rice? I have heard about the vinegar treatment but didnt even begin to think about doing it myself. How would I do that?

All I do right now is take my rice, plop it in the rice cooker with twice as much water, and wait for it to be done. Also, I am using it while its warm so that may be another problem.

Thirdly, I will get some sushi rice. As for not having one layer of even rice, how do I fix that. Do I just press a shallow "ditch" were I want my fillings to go?

Looks like I have a lot of problems to tackle.

Well thanks for all the help!

~Ben

[origamicrane]

arrr... looks like you need a start to finish sushi guide:)

ok first of all how to cook the rice:)

Cooking rice for sushi

3 cups japanese rice

3 cups water

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)

How to Cook:

Wash the rice thoroughly and let the rice soak in water for about 30 minutes so all the grains are uniformly white.

Drain of the remaining water add the 3 cups of water and cook.

It is easier if if you have a rice cooker. If not put the rice and water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover the saucepan and simmer the rice for fifteen to twenty minutes or until it is just tender.

Rice cooked for sushi should be slightly harder in texture than for other dishes.

Remove from the stove and let it stand covered for ten minutes.

Put the vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and remove from the stove. Make sure that the sugar is dissolved but careful not to burn the mixture.

Put the hot rice into a large non-metallic bowl.

Pour the vinegar mixture evenly over the surface of the rice. Mix it into the rice with quick, cutting strokes, don't stir the rice like it was a sauce, rather use a spatula and fold the rice to mix the vinegar in, this help retain the shape of the grains and doesn't turn the rice into a pulp.

Fan the rice at the same time which cools the rice quicker.

how to roll the maki :)

1. Place a sheet of nori on the bamboo mat, shiny side down.

2. Keeping your hands moistened, put two or three tablespoons of sushi rice in the center of the nori and spread evenly over the seaweed.

You may want to use the back of a wood spatula to spread the rice as it makes it more even and less messy, spread it like butter on toast but be careful as the nori sheet can break easily.

3. Use the palm of your hand at the side of the seaweed to form a firm edge, and leave a one-inch margin at the top of the nori to seal the roll. Spread a streak of mayo across the middle, then add layers of fish and vegetables across the center of the rice.

Fillings include sweet egg - tamago, cucumber, advocado, sweet fried tofu - inari, mixed peppers, or crabsticks, tuna prawns, just cut the vegetables into thin strips the length of the nori.

4. To roll, fold the bamboo mat so the filling is enclosed in the center of the nori.

5. Press the mat around the roll for about thirty seconds to shape it, then moisten the margin of seaweed and seal the roll as tightly as possible.

6. Remove the mat from around the roll, press in the loose ends and place it on a cutting board, seam side down. Slice the roll into one-inch rounds, using a wet, sharp knife. Do not saw, but cut firmly, straight down.

[Hest88]

Yeah, I find that if you don't season your rice your sushi is going to taste quite bland. When I'm at a new sushi restaurant the quality of the rice is as important to me as the freshness of the fish. Otherwise the entire package is mediocre.

[johnnyd]

My sushi rice is room temperature when I spread it on nori, no ditch. Doesn't have to be thicker than a half inch. Leave an inch and a half at the top for "gluing".

My Seasoning is a small heap of superfine sugar in Rice Vinegar and mirin. Sprinkle it around the rice when it's just off the stove in a wide bowl. slash the rice with a small wooden paddle so it mixes in well, let cool to room temp.

Have a bowl of water or leftover seasoned vinegar nearby to dip your fingers in, it keeps 'em from getting too sticky.

When you roll, pull the side closest to you over your filling with authority. Think of the page of nori as quarters. Aim for the middle with your closest edge, grasp the bamboo and squeeze. Hold while you sight-up your next "quarter" roll. The last quarter (far edge) is wetted so you have a glue (allow for nori to absorb but don't over wet)(also, leftover seasoned vinegar is really good for this step). Squeeze and hold before unfurling bamboo mat. You end up with a squarish cylinder but trust me it's easier! Next time you go to a sushi place, sit at the bar and watch those guys churn out rolls, you'll see what I mean.

You might also want to cut the nori in half, spread rice on one side, add filling, then roll into a cone (this is a "hand roll"). These are much easier and look great AND fun to serve/eat.

Edit to add: Gee Whiz! I should type faster! Nice pics above! You'll get more personal methods than you can shake a stick at so pick the most comfortable, but practice makes perfect.

Edited July 1, 2004 by johnnyd (log)

[eunny jang]

great tutorial above.

Here's a cheater's method to get the edge margin of nori to stick: put a very small dab (like one or two grains) of rice down that edge. roll as usual, and press gently to smash the rice grains and glue the flap down.

When I was little, my mom wouldn't buy me Elmer's Glue for construction paper projects and made me use pounded rice instead

[col klink]

Very nice tutorial origamicrane. As for your rice recipe, do you add the seasoning to the rice and water before cooking? I don't know why it wouldn't work but I've never seen it done that way. The only reason I haven't tried that is that once I found a recipe for rice that worked, I treated it as sacrosant:

460 g short grain rice (I've used cal-rose and kokuhu)

2 1/2 cups water

Eunny, I use a variation of your method when I'm having trouble with the nori sticking -- I smoosh a grain of rice on the nori and spread in the troublesome spot. It works like a charm and you can't tell I've used a "glue".

I've also let rolls sit for a minute or two as well which greatly help the nori set.

For a clean cut, make sure your knife is very clean and recently lubricated with water. I usually keep a bowl of water for my hands and a seperate tall glass to dip my knife in.

[origamicrane]

Very nice tutorial origamicrane. As for your rice recipe, do you add the seasoning to the rice and water before cooking? I don't know why it wouldn't work but I've never seen it done that way. The only reason I haven't tried that is that once I found a recipe for rice that worked, I treated it as sacrosant:

:) well as they say if its not broke don't fix it:)

No sorry must not have made it clear,

you cook the rice first before you mix in the vinegar seasoning.

Cooking rice for sushi

3 cups japanese rice

3 cups water

wash the rice, soak for 30 minutes in water.

drain off the water and then cook in 3 cups of fresh water in the rice cooker.

I've seen some recipes where you stick a 1 inch piece of kombu (seaweed) into the rice cooker i tried this but didn't notice any dramatic change of flavour.

Vinegar mix

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)

gently heat the above mixture and sprinkle on the cooked rice.

DO NOT ADD THE VINEGAR MIX INTO THE RICE COOKER

as vinegar is acidic and most rice cookers have metallic bowls

the acid can damage the bowl and leech out the metal into the rice.

[helenjp]

It is just possible to add the vinegar mix before cooking the rice, but really, most of the flavor is destroyed by the heat. Ain't worth it.

Tip rice out of rice cooker in to a big flat bowl, and "slice" the rice as you pour over the vinegar mix.

There are various vinegar mixes, depending on your taste, and also on the style of sushi.

For 4 cups of raw rice try 1/2 cup of rice vinegar, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar according to taste, and 1.5 tsp salt, all dissolved into the rice vinegar.

I don't recommend using oil - you want the grains to stick together a little, and oil will keep them separate. Also, sesame oil has a very strong taste of its own.

I don't wet the nori at all - usually, just leaving the sushi in the bamboo mat for a minute or two will allow the nori to cling properly to the rice.

Good luck!

[origamicrane]

yeah traditional recipes don't have the sesame oil

i just like the smell of sesame oil in the morning

it smell like victory

[Hiroyuki]

Put the hot rice into a large non-metallic bowl.

Pour the vinegar mixture evenly over the surface of the rice. Mix it into the rice with quick, cutting strokes, don't stir the rice like it was a sauce, rather use a spatula and fold the rice to mix the vinegar in, this help retain the shape of the grains and doesn't turn the rice into a pulp.

Fan the rice at the same time which cools the rice quicker.

My vinegar mixture is similar to Helen's, and I don't bring it to a boil.

I found two movies showing how to 'loose' just-cooked, piping hot rice (first movie) and 'slice' the rice after adding the vinegar mixture (second):

http://www.sushinavi.com/wagaya/shari.html

Click either photo and the movie starts.

A fan is not shown in the movies, but you need an electric fan to cool the rice while you are 'slicing' the rice or have another person do the job with a paper fan.

And two movies showing how to make a roll:

http://www.sushinavi.com/wagaya/mk.html

[col klink]

Another tip. For spreading the rice on the nori, evenly distribute the rice in a line across the width of the nori before completely spreading the rice out. It's a lot easier that way than starting in one spot and does a better job of not smearing the rice.

[irodguy]

Ok I do my rice slightly differently

Use Premium Short Grain Rice. I agree with the suggestion of Kokuho Rose

Wash the rice

1) Rinse Press the rice between your hands roughly ( Only for one rinse ) this gets rid of the husk

2) Continue rinsing until your water runs clear. This take several minutes

3) Leave the rice setting for 45 minutes. I do not leave mine in water.

4) One cup to One Cup. Use a rice cooker. Also adjust for the humidity. If it's more humid use a little less than one cup of water, more use a little more.

Add a piece of Dried Sea Weed ( Not Nori ) but the rough sea weed used to make soups

Once the rice cooker clicks from high back to warm leave it another 10 minutes.

5) Take the rice out and put it in a wooden bowl.

6) Sprinkle with Seasoned Vinegar

Things to remember

A) Break your sheet of Nori in Half it makes two rolls

B) Shiny side down

C) It's much much ... easier to make inside out rolls

Wrap your mat with plastic wrap several times

Poke a few holes in it

D) put about a tennis ball size of rice on the half nori

E) Spread eveanly

F) Flip it over and spread the inside with Wasabi to taste

G) Fill with ingredients (For parties I normally used cooked foods)

H) Bring the ends together by hand

I) Use the Mat to "Square it"

Remember to wet your hands

When cutting remember to wet your knife between cuts

Have fun! We do sushi parties every other month.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

I've done something similar to taco rice before, were I brown ground meat, add uncooked rice, taco seasoning, and chicken broth, and cook it until the rice is done. It's never occured to me to put it in maki sushi though. I'll have to try that.

My favorite local Japanese restaurant has a beef and green onion maki on their menu. I haven't tried it though.

Cheryl

[lannie]

Whenever I make makizushi, I add a Malaysian twist to it.

I put in BBQ salmon tips fried up with garlic and onions, mayonnaise, avocado, cucumber, lettuce, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, green onion, mango or papaya, and a good bit of spicy sambal belacan.

The sweet, sour, salty, and spicy combination can't be beat!

As for the extra end bits, they get chomped up asap by the chef and anyone else who happens to be in the kitchen.

[Hiroyuki]

Just a thought.

As many of us know, sushi is not synonymous with sashimi (raw fish). Nor is it synonymous with shari (vinegared rice) plus sashimi. Except the primitive sushi, i.e., nare zushi (fermented sushi), sushi can be simply defined as something sour such as vinegar or citrus juice plus cooked rice plus one or more ingredients, which may or may not be raw. While sushi can mean to a trip to a traditional sushi bar after making doubly sure that you have 200 to 300 dollars per person, it can also mean a self-satisfying, personal experience at home. Being a moderate-income, rather stingy person, I much prefer home sushi. (Or, should I say I have no other alternative with my income.) I think that many of you are like me. Of course, you can make a trip to one of those fabulous sushi bars once a month, once a year, once in your lifetime, or on special occasions, I do hope that you explore the wonderful world of home sushi.

Edited December 25, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[Hiroyuki]

My version of temaki (hand-roll) zushi

Top row, from left to right:

Soy sauce, nori (quartered), atsuyaki tamago (thick omlet), shari (vinegared rice)

Middle:

Wet furikake, satuma age (fish sausage), mizuna (type of green)

Bottom:

Wasabi tube, Kaori (dried ao jiso furikake), umeboshi paste, canned tuna with mayo mixed

Let me add that any Japanese will think that my version is quite mediocre. I just don't care what they say!

Edited December 26, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[NulloModo]

Just a thought.

As many of us know, sushi is not synonymous with sashimi (raw fish).  Nor is it synonymous with shari (vinegared rice) plus sashimi.  Except the primitive sushi, i.e., nare zushi (fermented sushi), sushi can be simply defined as something sour such as vinegar or citrus juice plus cooked rice plus one or more ingredients, which may or may not be raw.  While sushi can mean to a trip to a traditional sushi bar after making doubly sure that you have 200 to 300 dollars per person, it can also mean a self-satisfying, personal experience at home.  Being a moderate-income, rather stingy person, I much prefer home sushi.  (Or, should I say I have no other alternative with my income.)  I think that many of you are like me.  Of course, you can make a trip to one of those fabulous sushi bars once a month, once a year, once in your lifetime, or on special occasions, I do hope that you explore the wonderful world of home sushi.

←

Good lord, 200 to 300 for your local sushi bar?

I generally go out for sushi at the local Hibachi, which has $20 for all you can eat (plus a salad, drink, and miso soup) almost every night, and I still consider that pricey. Good lord, I could never spend that much on some sliced fish.

[Hiroyuki]

Good lord, 200 to 300 for your local sushi bar?

I generally go out for sushi at the local Hibachi, which has $20 for all you can eat (plus a salad, drink, and miso soup) almost every night, and I still consider that pricey.  Good lord, I could never spend that much on some sliced fish.

←

Sorry, when I wrote that post, I was thinking of top-class sushi restaurants like these:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=55053

(in New York)

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=56343

(in Japan)

In Japan, I think you can enjoy sushi to the fullest for around 3,000 to 5,000 yen per person at a traditional sushi shop and around 1,000 to 2,000 yen at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant.

[Sid Post]

Just a thought.

As many of us know, sushi is not synonymous with sashimi (raw fish).  Nor is it synonymous with shari (vinegared rice) plus sashimi.  Except the primitive sushi, i.e., nare zushi (fermented sushi), sushi can be simply defined as something sour such as vinegar or citrus juice plus cooked rice plus one or more ingredients, which may or may not be raw.  While sushi can mean to a trip to a traditional sushi bar after making doubly sure that you have 200 to 300 dollars per person, it can also mean a self-satisfying, personal experience at home.

←

Thank you for the concise explanation. I am a little more encouraged now to try this myself. Most people just say NO to raw fish without ever trying it. They will never know what they are missing. Growing up in the mid-west USA, I was a steak and potatoes guy for years. Fortunately I had some Asian friends at work that helped me though the menu's ocassionally and I am a fan of the great tasting and healthy offerings at many Asian places.

I have a terrible time getting fish of aceeptable quality to eat raw so, I am basically limited to a Sushi bar in town that has their fish flown in daily. Unfortunately, that is expensive enough I don't go as often as I would like to (it is also a long drive for me and takes a long time to get there).

Something I have found with eating raw fish variations, is that the sauce you use with it can make a lot of difference. I have tried soy sauce or wasabi by itself but, I find I like the two mixed together best with most fish. I tried some Red Snapper that just didn't taste good with any combination of these indgredients. I has some Sukiaki sauce of some sort which was basically a really sweet soy sauce. It was terrible on the rice but, with a piece of raw Red Snapper alone it was awesome. It really brought the flavor of the fish out and the sweetness made a good contrast for a very pleasurable dining experience.

It looks like I need to spend some time on-line to learn about "Sushi" combination using ingredients other the fish. Sounds like a wonderful dining experience is waiting on me to get busy in the kitchen!

THANKS!

[irodguy]

I would personally not purchase "hi-grade" fish for your first run at making home made sushi. I would stick to things like smoked Salmon, "synthacrab" etc.

You can still do items like spicy salmon rolls etc.

You need

Sushi mats

Hi grade Sushi Rice

Nori

Wasabi

*Cucumber

*Flying Fish eggs

*Sesame Seed

*Rice Flavorings

*Burdock

* all these are optional

These easiest rolls to do at home are "inside out" rolls.

1) Put plastic wrap on your mat

2) Add about a tennis ball size of rice spread evenly

3) Sprinkle with sesame seed or flying fish egg

4) Flip it over rice side down

5) Add wasabi and other contents

6) Roll it up

Cut it dipping your knife in water between cuts.

** Note ** Make sure you make your rice correctly. It's the most important part. There are several places on the net that go through this in great detail.

Basically

1) Wash your rice first rinse squeeze forcefully to get rid of the husk

2) Rest the rice for 30 minutes

3) Use a steamer

4) Once the rice is done cut in seasoned rice vinegar

[RobStagis]

I agree with the 'staying away from expensive fish' statement. Poke around on the Web for roll recipes. Buy some cucumbers and scallions. Buy some fake fish. Nobody's asked me about the steak and onion roll, but I'll volunteer it anyway: Marinate a nice piece of beef, grill it rare, slice it thin and roll it with a scallion. :) All your ingredients for the inside of a roll, basically, have to be turned into thin strips. Try making cucumber rolls. Cuke strips, scallion strips and a thin smear of plum jelly (or what-have-you jelly) :). Tradition stops at my kitchen door when the budget doesn't allow it :)

[irodguy]

I agree with the 'staying away from expensive fish' statement.  Poke around on the Web for roll recipes.  Buy some cucumbers and scallions.  Buy some fake fish.  Nobody's asked me about the steak and onion roll, but I'll volunteer it anyway:  Marinate a nice piece of beef, grill it rare, slice it thin and roll it with a scallion. :)  All your ingredients for the inside of a roll, basically, have to be turned into thin strips.  Try making cucumber rolls.  Cuke strips, scallion strips and a thin smear of plum jelly (or what-have-you jelly) :).  Tradition stops at my kitchen door when the budget doesn't allow it :)

←

Excellent point. I forgot to mention something similar that I do. I basically do a chicken schnitzel. I cut the schnitzel into strips and use that in the roll. Then either make or buy a thick teriyaki sauce drizzle this over the cut pieces. You can of course also do Shrimp Tempura aka Tempura roll. It's just a little easier to do a schnitzel since you don't have to deep fry it.

[torakris]

For those who are still leary of using raw fish try taco sushi! There is a dish that originated in Okinawa that is becoming popular all over Japan called taco rice. Basically it is taco fixings on a dish of rice and it is surprisingly good.

I recently picked up a taco maki at a convenience store and it was wonderful!

the one on the left

[Hiroyuki]

Yesterday, I went shopping and bought about 450 grams of sashimi grade tuna that I was going to use for supper - temaki zushi. After I came home, I remembered that I had to attend the shinnekai (new year's party) for the shouboudan (volunteer fire corps) at 7:00 p.m. Thus, I had a rare opportunity for trying the zuke recipe I had learned from the TV show.

The zuke sauce is easy to make: Just mix one part soy sauce, one part mirin, and one part sake. Then, put sashimi grade fish in it, and put the container in the fridge. The fish will keep for three days, and you can use the sauce three or four times.

Today, I made zuke don for lunch, using leftovers, vinegared rice, tuna, and canned tuna mixed with mayo.