Sushi for Scaredy-Cats, part 2

We've made sushi several times since my Sushi for Scaredy Cats post but forgotten to photograph the process.  We had friends over tonight as a last big hoo-hah before their 3rd son was born.  What better time to document our dinner?  (For the record, she ended up going into labor the next day, which makes it 2-0 for pregnant friends delivering the day after having dinner with us.)  Maybe we should offer a labor kickstart service...?

We never got around to buying a sushi-rolling mat, since our Japanese grocery is waaaay across town.  While we were at IKEA, however, we bought a $1.99 Toga placemat to use instead.  Whichever you have, be sure to wrap it tightly and completely in plastic wrap.

We started with the fixins for four adults, two 4 year-olds, and two 2 year-olds. We ran out of nori before we were all full, but it was fun experimenting with rice-only rolls! LOL They were a little squishy (and not at all proper, I'm sure), but it got the job done.  In fact, we loved them -- you could really taste the avocado without the nori there to compete.

Check out the Sushi for Scaredy Cats post for more details on the "how to" before you begin!

This time, we used julienned carrots and cucumber, cream cheese strips, avocado strips, krab, and smoked salmon --- all pretty cheap, depending on the time of year.  For the carrots, we found that using a vegetable peeler on baby carrots, then matchsticking them, worked really well.  The cucumber should be peeled and seeded before matchsticking.  If we'd had green onion, it would've been a perfect spread.  Well, and bbq eel.  Yes, seriously.  If you ate it without knowing what it was, you would want it too.  So there.

You can buy "sushi rice" and rice vinegar at WalMart now, but I can't vouch for the quality.  Here's what we did to the rice:

1. Make the sushi rice according to the package directions.  We used 3c uncooked for this dinner, and it was exactly/barely enough for our group.  Let the rice cool.
2. Heat 6T rice vinegar, 4T sugar, and 2tsp salt until it mixes together, then let it cool.  Again, this is the amount for 3c uncooked rice.  If you find this ratio too sweet/salty/vinegary, adjust it for your tastes.
3. Fold the cooled mixture into the cooled rice in a large bowl.
4. Mix a little water and a little rice vinegar into a little bowl for fingertips and knives.

Leslie was a natural sushi-roller.

See? I promised I'd get an in-progress rolling pic!  I drew a little arrow so you could see how the mat moves as you roll.  First, roll up the end of the mat that has the fillings on it, just until the end of the nori touches the rice bed beyond the fillings.  IMPORTANT: lift the mat up and away instead of letting it tuck under and touch the rice bed, or it could get rolled up into your sushi!  As you continue, you'll need to lift up that end of the mat when you roll (like Leslie's doing with her left hand, above).  Shape the sushi roll into a cylinder by tucking the mat around to the base of the roll (the little bobble in the arrow) and squeezing gently and evenly through the mat along the length of the roll. 

FACT: food tastes better when you work for it.  Click the pic above to see the Awabdys close-up.  They're darling.

Mark tries his hand at an inside-out roll.

Wetting the knife with vinegar water to prevent sticking.

We didn't have any, but you can sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds before flipping it if you want them on the outside of your inside-out roll.

The shark smells sushi...here comes Caspian...

Two year-olds look hilarious trying to wolf down a sushi roll, but it's probably safer to let them take bites.  Nori-less rolls are a little less messy, too.

Woe betide her who tries to tell Caspian he can't take every.single.piece off the group plate.  Following with "until you finish what you already took" quickly resets the sushi-lover's tantrum clock.  (Speaking of clocks, check the microwave to see how long that turnaround took).

Even if your kids won't/can't eat the rolls, they'll probably eat the fillings and the rice.

The ends of the roll will always look funny (top, left), especially if you squeezed too hard when you rolled.

But at our house, there's always someone willing to eat them...for the sake of the photo, of course.

the aftermath

Sushi for Scaredy-Cats

If you knew how cheap, easy, filling, and YUMMY homemade sushi was, you'd be making it on a regular basis.  First of all, you need to know this important fact: "sushi" just means vinegared rice with some other stuff, NOT "raw fish".  Yes, raw fish can be that "other stuff" but it doesn't have to be.  Good raw fish can be expensive, and there are many tasty alternatives.  Prepping the fillings is what takes the longest, but it can also be done a little in advance (and can be a chance for older kids to get involved).

This is a great "hang out with friends" meal, since you can talk and roll and talk and roll. :) Just wash your hands thoroughly ahead of time and have a reeeeally good friend on hand to pop sushi into your mouth every now and then. ;)   For my husband's and my 30th birthdays, we had a joint "Sushi and Tie Dye Party" and taught our friends how to do our favorite things.  That was fun.  And funny.

Here's what you need:

1. Assorted Fillings - avocado, cream cheese, julienned raw veggies (carrots, cucumber, green onion), krab, bbq eel (my fave!), smoked salmon, shrimp, sushi-grade raw fish from a fish market (NOT just raw fish from Kroger), etc.
2. Bowl of Water & Rice Vinegar - to keep fingers and knives from sticking
3. Snap-Open Bib (OR Sushi-Rolling Mat wrapped in plastic wrap)
4. Sheets of Nori - yes, it's dried seaweed (pretend you're a mermaid and get over it)
5. Sushi Rice (which is not the same as regular rice)  - prepared according to package directions, then mixed with rice vinegar and sugar
6. Cutting Board & Sharp Knife

Before we bought an actual sushi rolling mat (which are really cheap at your local Japanese grocery), we discovered that a flexible bib worked pretty well.  For nori-on-the-outside rolls, lay a sheet of nori on your rolling surface and top it with rice.  For rice-on-the-outside rolls, do the same thing, then flip it over rice side-down before you add the other fillings.

Anyway, get your fingers damp with the vinegar water and scoop out a handful of rice.  Press it around on top of the nori until it's uniformly flat and not quite to the edges, with a little more edge left on one end than the others (on the left, below).  When you roll it up later, some of your rice and fillings are bound to squeeze out to the sides, so you need to leave a little room.  You need that extra edge so there's a flap to stick the roll closed with.  Also, more rice = thicker roll, so keep that in mind.

On the end opposite the "extra edge", lay out a roll of fillings.  This is the fun part, and easy for kids to do.  Monkeying around with different combinations would cost a fortune at a restaurant, but at home you can make 6 or 7 rolls until you figure out your favorite, without breaking the bank!  In general, something crunchy and something smooth makes a great combination.  And avocado goes with almost anything.  :D

There's no picture of the most difficult step, which is the actual rolling.  Your goal is to roll it tightly and uniformly without squishing stuff out the sides.  And without rolling the mat in with the sushi.  ;)   I'll get a pic next time, I promise.  When you're at the very end, dampen that extra edge of nori with a fingertip of vinegar water to help it stick closed.

Transfer your "log" to a cutting board and dip your knife in the vinegar water (repeat as needed to keep it from sticking).  Slice your sushi as thickly as you like, but keep in mind the size of the mouth of the people eating it.  You're supposed to pop the entire thing in at once, to get all the flavors together.  We cut the above roll pretty thinly.  There will be two funky end pieces (top left, above) with bits sticking out.  They aren't pretty but they still taste good.

Most of the time, at our house, this many pieces would never pile up long enough for a picture.  My son would grab them and scarf them like there's no tomorrow.  Sushi has been his favorite food since he was 2 or 3.  When we were in the Burger King drive-thru, he asked for sushi.  Hey, sushi is just like veggies --- if you don't make a big deal out of it, neither will your kids!