2012 Cooking Club Week 15: Sushi

Morag

Sushi is a seasoned rice which is topped with a range of things or wrapped up in a toasted seaweed wrap with a range of things.

There is no Raw Fish involved

Nigirizushi: oblong mound of rice topped with fish.

Temaki : A hand roll.

Makizushi: a roll.

Futomaki: a fat roll.

Uramaki: a roll with the rice on the outside.


Ingredient:


Got all of them in Tesco, they even sell the bamboo rolling mat.

Sushi rice,
Bottle of Rice Vinegar,
Bottle of Mirin (rice wine)
Smoked Salmon
Red Pepper
Cucumber
Sea food sticks/crabsticks
Sushi Nori.
Castor Sugar
Salt
Water
Wassabi(optional)



The rice has to be prepared first, put half the box of rice into a large bowl and then wash the rice 3/4 times with cold water to get rid of any of the excess starch, the water will be very cloudy at first and then by the last wash you should be able to see the rice.

Drain and put in a large flat bottomed pot with a good fitting lid, if the lid isn't great use it in conjunction with a clean dry teatowel.

Add 330ml of water to the pot and bring to the boil.
Now this is one of the hard things, putting the lid on the pot and letting it simmer for 10 mins and once 10 mins is up, turning the heat off and letting it sit for another 20 mins all the while never taking the lid off.
This kills me every time, cos I am divil for wanting to stir it.

Then tip the rice out into a clean dry bowl and use a fork to separate and fluff it. At this stage you season the rice.

Add 2 tblsp of Minin, 3 tblsp of Rice wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tblsp of sugar to the rice and use the fork until it is all coated and looks all shiny.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients, cutting the pepper in to long thin strips and the cucumber (I peel it you don't have to).



Then get setup to make Sushi



The most important thing on the table is the bowl of water beside the bowl full of rice. Seasoned Sushi rice is very sticky, so you will have to keep wetting your hands while working with it, or else they become a sticky mess and it all becomes a sticky mess.

First thing I made was Nigirizushi.
With wet (but not dripping wet) hands take a lump of rice and mold it into the the shape and place on the plate, at this point if you which you can add a bit of wassabi to the top of it. Then place a piece of smoked salmon on the top of it and that's it done.



Then I made Maki.

There are two sides to the Nori(seaweed wrap) one side is shiny and the other rough. For Maki you use half a sheet of the Nori, Nori has perforated lines along it so it is easy to tear. Place the shiny side down on the bamboo mate and with wet hands take a ball of the rice and then press it along the Nori ( which is rough side up). If you wish to add wassabi you run a line of it along the rice before you add the filling. Then pick what filling you want, I made two Maki one with Cucumber and one with Red Pepper.






Then carefully using the bamboo mat roll it, ( like a swissroll), use the mat to press and shape the roll. Then let it rest on it's seam on a plate for a while before cutting.

There is a video showing how to use the bamboo mat here.
http://video.about.com/japanesefood/Types-of-Maki.htm

Futomaki is a fat roll, it uses a whole sheet of nori, again make sure it is shiny side down, rough side up and wet your hands before touching the rice.
Follow the same steps as with making Maki.




Let them rest before cutting.




Uramaki is an inside out roll.
You need to put cling film or tin foil on the bamboo mat before starting.
As before put the Nori rough side up, wet your hands and apply the rice and then you flip it over so the rice is now on the mat and you add the fillings directly on the shiny side of the nori. The you roll the Nori which will have the seasoned sticky sushi rice on the outside. The Clingfilm/Tin foil will help the roll keep it's shape while it rests.


While the Maki rested I made Temaki

Carefully cut a sheet for Nori in half to make a triangle.
Put the triangle shiny side down on the mat. Wet your hands and add rice to the middle of the nori triangle and then fillings. I used cucumber, red pepper and seafood stick. Fold the triangle of nori into a cone.




Cutting the Maki.
You need a very sharp knife and you need to slice them and not saw at them.
The knife needs to be wet so that the nori and the rice do not stick to it.
I would suggest starting with the thinner Maki rolls first and then the the Fotomaki. Wet and wipe the knife after each cut, make each section aprox inch thick.

For cutting the Uramaki make sure that your hands are also wet as the knife.
Unroll the Uramaki from the Clingfilm/tinfoil and only touch it with wet hands while slicing it. Some of the rice may fall away but with wet fingers you can push it back in place.

The amounts above made two plates of sushi which is very filling.
Plate it up and serve with Soya sauce for dipping in. Enjoy!

Malari

GREAT idea Sharrow! I've always passed those sushi ingredients in Tesco and thought I must try it some time. I'll hopefully get around to it soon now that I have a step-by-step guide

hdowney

i'm not sure about this one. i am a sashimi person more than a sushi person. i have this weird complex about food - certain foods just SHOULDN'T be cold in my brain, and i think rice is one of them!!! i might try it though

feelgoodinc27

Where are the sushi ingredients usually located in a Tesco, couldn't find them in Tesco Jervis? Is the bamboo rolling mat in the same place or would it be near the kitchen utensils?

Morag

In the Ethinic/Asain food aisle and yes the bamboo mat is usually beside the sushi rice and while the smaller tescos like tesco express may not have them, I know Jervis does.

Little Alex

Nice one, Sharrow! Got around to making this tonight.



Always wanted to try making sushi!

cruhoortwunk

What about raw fish-any advice on that? I know there's such a thing as sashimi grade tuna and salmon.
Something feels wrong with just getting the average salmon steak form a supermarket and using it. Safe, or even worthy of being eaten raw?

Jenners!

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

What about raw fish-any advice on that? I know there's such a thing as sashimi grade tuna and salmon.
Something feels wrong with just getting the average salmon steak form a supermarket and using it. Safe, or even worthy of being eaten raw?

I am questioning the same. Love sashimi and sushi with raw fish, tastes fantastic to me.

However, by EU and USA food regulations, sushi with raw fish, or sashimi, has to be frozen and thawed correctly, to kill any potential bacteria.

I'm unsure weither fresh, packaged fish from Tesco would be suitable. It states
"May have been previously frozen" Im hoping it has been. If so then it would be suitable for raw consumption, from my understanding, as commercial deep freezers are necessary to prepare the fish for sushi correctly.

I wish Tesco weren't so ambiguous.. I think that through transport it would be frozen thus making it suitable, but can't be sure.

Anyone worked in Tesco before, near the freezers in the store room, any thoughts on this?

MadsL

I've found Kish's Fish good in the past for Sashimi - both Tuna, Mackerel, and Salmon, still here to tell the tale - just ask if it has been frozen. There used to be an Asian guy there so good to let him know it is for Sashimi.

http://www.kishfish.ie/

They are just off Smithfield square.

Regarding freezing.

A recent survey of U.S. gastroenterologists has confirmed that seafood-borne parasitic infections occur in the U.S. with sufficient frequency to make preventive controls necessary during the processing of parasite-containing species of fish that are intended for raw consumption...[]..Freezing and storing at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 7 days (total time), or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -31°F (-35°C) or below for 15 hours, or freezing at -31°F (-35°C) or below until solid and storing at -4°F (-20°C) or below for 24 hours is sufficient to kill parasites. FDA's Food Code recommends these freezing conditions to retailers who provide fish intended for raw consumpution.


As to the Mackerel, Saba for sushi is really easy to make:
Pinbone the fillets
Salt in the fridge (cover with salt) for about 3 hours
Rinse
Rice wine vineger bath for about 20 mins

purple hands

Made this last night, turned out great, thanks OP! Got the ingredients in Tesco Dundrum but no bamboo mats so had to improvise with cling film and tin foil. As a heads up, I put far too much/chunky filling in the maki first time around, really has to be thin!

Can anyone tell me how long the sushi rice and nori can be kept for after opening? Thanks

feelgoodinc27

Finally made this, tasted great, need to work on my rolling skills though!

Stench Blossoms

Don't know how I missed this. Will be making it during the week.