Making Sushi

[Kiem Hwa]

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.

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What does zuke taste like? I can imagine dipping sashimi in this sauce, but does marinating it for a length of time change the texture or flavor?

[Hiroyuki]

What does zuke taste like?  I can imagine dipping sashimi in this sauce, but does marinating it for a length of time change the texture or flavor?

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It does change the flavor, and in a good way. The flavor of a mixture of soy sauce and mirin (and sake) is favored by any Japanese.

As for the texture, I feel that each slice of tuna has become a little slimy on the outside. This is probably because I marinated the tuna after thinly slicing it. At a traditional sushi shop, they soak a block of tuna and cut it when they make zuke sushi.

[Hiroyuki]

Day 3. Another zuke don, using the rest of the tuna. The tuna was as fresh as on days 1 and 2. Zuke - Great invention in the Edo period.

[Kent Wang]

I have heard from a few retailers in the US that farmed salmon is preferred for sashimi, because of health reasons. Every restaurant that I've been to and have asked say their salmon is farmed Atlantic. Today, I purchased some wild Coho and ate about half a pound of it raw. It did not taste very fresh, and the texture was rather mealy, instead of flaky. I've heard that wild Pacific salmon is caught near the inlets where the salmon begins to fall apart as it starts its swim upriver, so is the mealiness due to that? Are there indeed health concerns about eating wild salmon raw?

[SuzySushi]

I personally never eat raw salmon because of concerns about parasites. I don't know whether farmed salmon is free from parasites.

[pirate]

I personally never eat raw salmon because of concerns about parasites. I don't know whether farmed salmon is free from parasites.

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Parasites are present in tuna, too. It is my understanding that freezing kills them and that sashimi and sushi in Japan come from previously frozen fish. I'd be interested in expert comments.

[budrichard]

Salmon used for Sashimi is almost always frozen to kill parasites. sometimes it also soaked in a salt solution and then frozen. Do not eat raw without this treatment.

Salmon comes in many different types. King is gnerally considered the best followed by Coho and at the bottom is chum. The Salmon get mushy after making thier way up river and spawning and die except for Atlantic salmon which return to the sea to live again.

The quality of your Coho is dependant on many things including where and how caught and kept, shipping and handling that to comment on what made it mushy is not possible. -Dick

[Kent Wang]

In the state of Texas, fish has to be frozen for 72 hours before being sold as sashimi-grade.

I've always liked King and Sockeye for cooking. Maybe next time I will buy some and freeze it myself.

[Sencha]

Hm...Am I one of the few people who doesn't like using farmed salmon...for anything?

Dioxin levels in farmed salmon are usually found to be signifigantly higher than in wild salmon.

I personally like to avoid eating things that are toxic...

[torakris]

There was some discussion on salmon and parasites in the making sushi thread, starting with this post.

In my local supermarkets there is always salmon sashimi for sale but it is always of the imported, farmed type. We just recently passed the big season for the Japanese wild sake (salmon) and I can't recall seeing any of it sold as sashimi. I did eat it as ruibe (luibe) though, this is wild salmon that is actually eaten while still semi-frozen..

[fud]

Well considering the dates on these posts (2002) it's only been what 4 years? Why not ressurect this post?

I'm looking for a good recipe for sushi rice. Unfortunately I am limited to what I have at home for ingredients:

- Rice Vineger

- Kokuho Rose Rice

- Sugar

- Salt

The Recipe I have culled from the inter-web is:

Rice

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* 3 cups Japanese-style rice

* 3 1/4 cups water

* Rice Cooker

Sushi-Zu

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* 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

* 2 tbsp sugar

* 1 tsp salt

Does this look like a good ratio? I have made sushi rice before using web recipes but it always turns out slightly off what I get in good restaurants. Is it really just ingredients that are making the difference or do I have proportions incorrect? I intend (as I am limited on rice gadgetry) to use a rice cooker and a large wooden board to "spread" with.

Any help would be great!

One other question, can sushi rice keep overnight in an airtight container? Or am I going to have to make it, spread it, fan it the day of use?

[Hiroyuki]

I really don't know anything about the rice varieties available in your country. Different varities were discussed here in the Japan Forum.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=954923

As for the rice-to-water ratio, all you need is follow the scale of the inner pot of the rice cooker. I confirmed that the ratio should be 1:1.1 to 1:1.2, so 3 1/4 cups of water may be a little too much.

As for the sushi-zu ratio, it's really something that you learn by doing. There can be as many ratios as there are sushi shops, and I think yours is a good starting point. I started at the ratio that I picked up from a magazine, but now I just don't measure the amounts. I think I use a little more vinegar, less sugar (about a half), and a little less salt because I like sour, less sweet shari (vinegard rice), and what's wrong with that? That's what home-made sushi is all about.

Mix the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl beforehand. When the rice is cooked, transfer it to another container (wooden, preferably) and add the mixture while the rice is still hot (within 10 minutes after it's cooked). Mix well by using a shamoji (rice paddle) in a cutting motion for about 45 seconds. At this stage, never use a fan. Then, use a fan for 1 minute to cool the shari and prevent it from becoming soggy. Let it cool for 20 minutes.

One other question, can sushi rice keep overnight in an airtight container? Or am I going to have to make it, spread it, fan it the day of use?

I don't know. Never tried... Anyone?

[sanrensho]

- Kokuho Rose Rice

Next time, try to buy a short grain rice like the Tamaki Gold or Hitomebore brands. Kokuho Rose is a medium grain rice.

[dockhl]

We had this for dinner New Year's Eve, made with delicious sashimi grade salmon, yellowtail and tuna:

[sanrensho]

One other question, can sushi rice keep overnight in an airtight container? Or am I going to have to make it, spread it, fan it the day of use?

I don't know. Never tried... Anyone?

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I suspect the rice would harden somewhat, like when you have leftover chirashi zushi. If it were me, I would leave some extra rice in the rice cooker (warming overnight) and mix a fresh batch the next day.

One more thing, I would suggest adding your vinegar mixture a little at a time and tasting as you go. Keep in mind that the flavors will be more prominent as the rice cools down.

Good luck!

Edited January 11, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[Hiroyuki]

One other question, can sushi rice keep overnight in an airtight container? Or am I going to have to make it, spread it, fan it the day of use?

I don't know. Never tried... Anyone?

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I suspect the rice would harden somewhat, like when you have leftover chirashi zushi. If it were me, I would leave some extra rice in the rice cooker (warming overnight) and mix a fresh batch the next day.

One more thing, I would suggest adding your vinegar mixture a little at a time and tasting as you go. Keep in mind that the flavors will be more prominent as the rice cools down.

Good luck!

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I would keep the rice in the cooker (but not warm it) and warm it in the microwave the next day. In fact, this is what I do when I have a sudden craving for temaki zushi.

[ChryZ]

After being consumers for many year, myself and a friend wanted to give it a try. This was the result of our first and only attempt:

It was a lot work ... research, getting all the stuff and gear, prep work, etc. It took about 3 hours. Even though it was yummy and fun, I doubt we are doing it again, but hey ... it sure helped to accept restaurant/sushibar-prices more easily.

Actually I wasn't aiming for nigiri, otherwise I had bought more kinds of fish, the plan was to make some futo and tekka maki, the nigiri and sashimi were byproducts from leftovers. For me, doing the nigiri was more fun (and less work) than the maki (rolls).

Comments or questions are most welcome.

[sanrensho]

It was a lot work ... research, getting all the stuff and gear, prep work, etc. It took about 3 hours.

Nice job! However, I hope people aren't put off by the difficulty of making sushi at home.

It can be as simple as temaki (cones) where you lay out all the ingredients and everyone makes their own temaki. That way you only need to prep the sushi rice and cut the ingredients and nori. Everyone can spread their own rice (easy on the rice) and roll their own temaki. That is the common way of doing it in Japanese homes, self-serve style.

Edited January 11, 2006 by sanrensho (log)

[ChryZ]

Nice job! However, I hope people aren't put off by the difficulty of making sushi at home.

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From my experience it's not that difficult ... but a little time consuming, especially the futomaki (those bigger rolls). Sashimi (raw fish slices) is the fastest. For the rest you need to prepare the seasoned/cooled-off rice, that's it pretty much for nigiri and the smaller maki. Futomaki on the other hand requires quite a few (easy) preperations.

Anyone interested should definitely give it a try!

[Rachel Perlow]

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

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Kris, I can't tell from the picture. Is that taco as in octopus or ground beef with tex-mex seasoning?

[fud]

I would keep the rice in the cooker (but not warm it) and warm it in the microwave the next day.  In fact, this is what I do when I have a sudden craving for temaki zushi.

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Oh that's a good idea! Unfortunately I don't have one of those awesome asian rice cookers that looks like a thermos. The one I have just has a glass lid which I'm better let's air IN making any rice left in there too long super dry! Since I already fanned it out on a wooden board and "cut" in the Zen I decided to put the rice in a bowl and very carefuly wrapped it and put it in the fridge.

This morning I checked the rice and it seems ok (maybe a little dryer than before) but the flavour is nice. Not too overpowering which is what I like. I checked the seal on my plastic wrap and noticed the condensation from the warm rice last night opened a seal in the wrap so I re-wrapped it. I think this might just work!

[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

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Kris, I can't tell from the picture. Is that taco as in octopus or ground beef with tex-mex seasoning?

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Taco as in ground beef with tex-mex seasoning. This was really. really good and I can't find it anymore....

by the way, this is a picture of a taco rice I made a little while ago

think of it as a tex-mex chirashi sushi (scattered rice)

[torakris]

Temaki (hand rolled sushi) is the one of the only kinds of sushi I will make at home. It really takes less than 30 minutes of prep, less if you buy the fish pre-sliced.

I don't season my rice for temaki as my husband doesn't really like vinegared rice, you can't even tell the difference.

A typical temaki set up for my family of 5

[torakris]

The other type of sushi I make is chirashi sushi (scattered rice), here is a previous post:

Made a gomoku (5 flavored) chirashi last night.

First I cooked the rice in a rice cooker with some sake and a strimp of kombu (kelp).

Then I made sushi rice my mixing it with vinegar, sugar and salt.

Earlier I had simmered some kampyo (dried gourd) with dashi, soy,sake and sugar and separately simmered some dried shiitake, aburage (tofu pockets), and carrots. These were then combined together and mixed to the rice along with a bit of the leftover simmering liquid.

it was then topped with (all separately seasoned) lotus root, anago slices, shrimp, egg shreds and nanohana (broccoli rabe)

[BarbaraY]

I have made the chirashi sushi several times and it is really great on a hot summer day. I don't have things like lotus root available but it's still good.