Cookbook Challenge: Sushi

When we got married, we registered on Amazon. This was great and I really recommend it. We got to register for things like board games, power tools, camping supplies, and other random things Macys doesn't have. 

The only glitch was that there was another person with my exact name registered on Amazon too and one of my cousins ordered me a few things off of her registry on accident - three books on making Sushi to be exact including this one. (Who registers for three cookbooks on making sushi, btw?)

Now lucky for us we love sushi and its a fun activity too! Because we are limited to seated funtivities these days, making homemade sushi was the perfect stay in date for Valentine's. They sell sushi grade fish at our local grocery store. You can eat it raw (left side of below pic) or quickly sear it (right side) if you want to be extra careful. 

Homemade Sushi

Here is the recipe for the sushi rice, really the only part you need a recipe for. You can put whatever you want in yours. We like tuna, avocado, cucumber, and wasabi. In addition to the fillings and rice, you will need the nori (seaweed) wraps. We can find this at our local grocery store in the international aisle. The rice does take a bit of time to make, so you may want to cook it ahead of your planned funtivity time. This made enough rice for plenty of sushi for both of us.

Sushi rice:

1 1/2 cup sushi rice

1 1/2 cup water

4 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt 

1. Put the rice in a sieve and put it in a large bowl of water. Wash until the water is clear, changing the water frequently. Drain the water and let stand 30 minutes til dry. 

2. Put rice and water in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes more. Don't peak!

3. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer 8-10 mins and remove from heat. Let stand 10 mins.

4. Heat the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and stir until sugar and salt are disolved. Do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  Put the rice in a presoaked wooden bowl. Pour a little bit of the vinegar mixture over a spatula into the rice. Spread the rice evenly in the bowl and slowly add the vinegar mixture using a slicing action to coat the rice evenly. 

5. Fan the rice to cool it and fold the rice until it is nice and glossy and cool.

Assembly: 

Find something that you can roll the sushi up with. We use my silicone baking mats. 

Put the shiny side of the nori down.

Spread the rice evenly across the whole width of the nori, leaving a little over an inch on the edge farthest from you. Lay the goods down about an inch in from you, as seen in the picture below.  

Place your thumbs under the rolling mat and lift the near edge of the mat. Hold the fillings in place with the rest of your fingers. Keep the roll tight as you roll it up. When you get to the end, seal the exposed nori up with a few drops of rice vinegar.

Cut it up and enjoy!