Sushi, baby......

Don't you just LOVE sushi? Me too!  I cannot think of a more fabulous foodstuff right off the top of my head, and I have been having mad cravings for it lately.  Tuna is still in season here, and the fishmonger has his stand just loaded with marvelously fresh sushi grade tuna almost daily.  Lucky me!  Craving satisfied.  I find that the most difficult part of making sushi is getting the rice right.  More important than the rice, however, is making sure that you get only ultra fresh "sushi grade" fish.  The first time I made sushi, it was difficult to intuit the amount of rice to put on the nori...I ended up putting way too much and had super fat maki rolls that barely sealed. hahaha  So, with that in mind, let's get started.

Tuna Sushi

First, you'll need to make The Rice:

Ingredients:

1 cup sushi rice

1 1/4 cup water

salt

5 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Rinse rice with cool water several times, until the water runs clear.

Drain, and place in a bowl.

Cover rice with fresh water and allow to rest 30 minutes.

Drain.

Place rice in a saucepan (one that has a lid) with the water and a bit of salt and bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, heat vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved.

Set aside and allow to cool.

Using a large plate or sushi rice bowl and a wooden paddle, fan rice, adding the vinegar mixture and folding through, until shiny and well combined.

Your rice is now ready for making sushi.

Making Tuna Sushi (or other fish) is fairly simple.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound sushi grade tuna

pickled ginger

wasabi paste

soy sauce

Preparation:

Thinly slice tuna and place on paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Form ovular balls with rice, and put a little dab of wasabi paste on it.

Top with a slice of tuna (or other fish).

Serve with pickled ginger and soy sauce for dipping.

***a variation I like is cooked prawns: Shell and devein prawns, and insert a toothpick before cooking to keep them straight.  Boil prawns 2-3 minutes until just done, then remove toothpick and slice open.

To make California Rolls is a little trickier, but way worth the effort.

Sushi Maki

Ingredients:

3 sheets of nori

sushi rice

cucumber, cut into larger sized matchsticks

avocado, cut into slices

crab legs (or faux crab legs)

Preparation:

Place 1 sheet of nori on a bamboo sushi mat.

Spread thinly with rice leaving about 1/2-1 inch border at the top to allow for sealing.

Place cucumber, avocado and crab at lower edge of the nori.

Using the bamboo mat as your aid, roll up the sushi maki, pressing to make a tight roll.

Seal edge with a bit of water.

Slice roll into 6 pieces.

Repeat with remaining nori.

Serve with soy sauce.

Making "Inside Out" Maki is little tedius, but the end result is so pretty. (please forgive the picture...it's an old one, and it's not very good....but at least you get the idea. ;) )

Inside Out Sushi Maki, Prawn Sushi

The Ingredients are the same as for california rolls, but with the addition of sesame seeds.

The Preparation is a little bit more involved, though:

Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the bamboo sushi mat.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and then with rice.

Top with a sheet of nori.

Proceed as with the california rolls, sealing the edge with the rice, and slicing into 6 pieces.