[Manimalia]

I say it's a 'mass-gaining side dish' because I personally can/do eat most times, when I eat them, about 6 rolls or so. That's roughly about 6 cups of rice!

If you have never made your own sushi, i suggest it highly. it's so damn good. i still haven't figured out why sushi is the only food (besides thanksgiving turkey, but i know why on this one) that gives me a slight wave of euphoria.

is it the fact that i only eat enough of it to be content and not stuffed most times? is it something to do with the protein value being untampered due to consuming the protein raw? is it something to do with the seaweed it's wrapped in? i don't know. but i like it.

you will need:

1 bamboo sushi mat
1 roll plastic wrap
1 container seaweed sushi sheets (big square-shaped ones for large rolls and halved-rectangles for small rolls; i personally right now prefer the small rolls, what with my limited experience at this. make sure if you use smalls to roll them longways, kind of like a.....joint?)
1 pot sticky sushi rice (should definitely be sushi rice)
1/2 pound sashimi grade fish (i'm partial to salmon; will say so on package; means you can eat it raw)
1 avocado
1 bottle rice vinegar
1 tbsp. brown sugar

for dipping:
1 bottle soy sauce
1 lump wasabi


STEP 1:

Cook your rice to the parameters written on the bag in a rice cooker. The one thing you'll want to do differently is use 1/5 amount LESS water. This is important to the texture of your sushi. Cut up your fresh ingredients to go in the sushi (fish/avocado). Cut them as long as possible, and cut them thin (no thicker than 1/4-1/3 inch).

Once the fish is cut, you will want to carefully place it in a bowl to be marinaded. Your marinade will consist of 1/3 cup rice vinegar with 1-3 tsp. brown sugar (season to taste).

Keep all these things handy.

STEP 2:

Prepare the mat to roll the ingredients together. Wrap the plastic around the bamboo roller in such a way that there are no lumps and no overlaps. It should be wrapped real smooth. This is done to decrease sticking and messing of the mat from the rice.

You are now ready to make your sushi, as all pertinent ingredients are in place, or should be. Lay your mat on a flat surface Put your seaweed down first of course. Next, you will want to lay the rice on the seaweed. For a small roll, 3/4-1 cup (loose, not packed) works fairly well. you'll just use the eye after a few times, though, but the eye will usually grab 3/4-1 cup-worth.

Lay the rice down in the middle of the seaweed, spreading it into a thin layer. Make sure the bottom is filled out and all across is filled out. Leave 1" at the top empty. This is the part that will 'stick' the roll together.

So your rice is layed out now. Grab your fish and avocado strips and lay pieces of each across the roll. It works best if you lay them about 1" from the bottom. Now it's time to roll.

I'll explain this part the best I can. Here goes. You will want to of course roll the bottom of the mat up. From there, you'll want to bring the top down on the roll. Press with your thumbs on the top of the roll. While your thumbs are pressing/pushing forward, you'll be wanting to hold/pack the ingredients into the roll shape that you're pushing. Once you have reached a certain point (you'll know when), remove your fingers and continue the roll.

STEP 3:

You now have a sushi roll. Take a VERY sharp knife and dip it in hot, hot water. You'll want to cut the sushi with a quick, sawing motion, dipping the blade in the hot water each time you make a cut. The knife should be razor-sharp. Serrated knives are disastrous by the way. Cut the sloppy ends off of the roll first. Take the majority that remains and cut them into 1" rolls. You can cut them straight and/or angled for presentation purposes.

Place them on a plate, preferably a fancy one, in any fashion you like. My plate looks like a giant fish. Garnish with fresh-cut ginger, a piece of wasabi, and anything else that's pretty in color you can think of.

*Since we're all fitness enthusiasts, we need dat protein and them nutrients. My favorite thing to do is to sear some chicken breast chunks in a sweet asian barbecue sauce with peanuts (a touch of rice vinegar, about 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 can tomato paste, 1/2 clove garlic, 4 spears green onion, squirt of red pepper sauce or red pepper seeds, and a squirt of soy sauce). Make a plate of steamed brocolli as your final side dish. But do so tastefully, only keeping the large tree-sized pieces for presentation.

What to drink? I like sake', ice water, and chamomile/lavender tea (can acquire the whole flowers from a health food store and brew them in your coffee maker or boil them) with mine. major euphoria after you eat this stuff. nice.


*P.S.- of course, you can put whatever you want in your sushi. i've been known to use cooked fish and cheese slivers in mine as well. or crab/mango. anything.

If you try it, share your experience/recipe. For the fellas, this meal, if you make it, is a surefire way to impress your woman. For the ladies, well, same thing.

*The ones you'll be making if you follow this recipe are on the bottom right.

[DAdams91982]

Oh man... I JUST SEEN THIS... this looks AWESOME. I love sushi... but 50 bux everytime I crave it gets damn expensive (Have to pay for the woman as well).

You have anymore recipes? Spicy tuna roll?

Also, where do you get sushi grade fish? I am scared of the stuff they sell at your regular grocery store.

GOOD STUFF.

Adams

[pistonpump]

omg sushi ROLLS are so easy to make but that post makes it look like a long process lol.

Nice living in hawaii, sushi joints everywhere even fast food sushi.

[Trauma1]

Spicy tuna roll FTW!

[Manimalia]

Originally Posted by DAdams91982

Oh man... I JUST SEEN THIS... this looks AWESOME. I love sushi... but 50 bux everytime I crave it gets damn expensive (Have to pay for the woman as well).

You have anymore recipes? Spicy tuna roll?

Also, where do you get sushi grade fish? I am scared of the stuff they sell at your regular grocery store.

GOOD STUFF.

Adams

if you got a meat market, i'd go there. and also, there are some fishes at the regular market. you just have to make sure it says "sashimi grade" and that it's 'sell-by' date is quite a bit of ways away.