Sushi at Home

Mike and I found this wonderful Sushi restaurant near our house that we frequent once or twice a month. Recently though, my cousin and his wife showed us how easy and amazing it is to make sushi at home. And since it was part of my things to do in 2010, I thought I'd give it a go.

a rolling mat, sushi rice, soy sauce, sushi vinegar, nori, wasabi and pickled ginger. Don't forget the sesame seeds and spicy mayonnaise (more on that later)



Using Jasmine rice, cook according to package directions, or use a rice steamer like I do (20 bucks at the grocery store)




Season the rice with sushi vinegar a.k.a. rice vinegar



It takes a couple of steps to get to this point.

• First, lay out your sushi mat inside a large zip top bag (this prevents the rice from getting caught in the sushi mat), then lay out the nori.
  
• Place a clump of seasoned rice onto the nori leaving the horizontal edges free.
• Moisten the free edges with a little bit of water on your fingertips.
  
• Place toppings in the center of the rice. Toppings include raw tuna, raw or smoked salmon, cucumber, avocado, green onion, cream cheese, spicy mayo, wasabi etc

Note: To make inside out rolls, with the rice on the outside, such as a California roll, flip over the nori and add the filling to the nori (don't worry the rice will stick to the paper, hence, sticky rice). Sesame seeds should be added to the rice before flipping over the nori.



Start rolling up the sushi tightly, grab the edge of the mat and roll the rest of the way




Move the roll from the mat to the cutting board and slice in half once, then slice the halves side by side into individual pieces.

Spicy Mayo: While there are a few different variations in making spicy mayo. The easiest was is to start with a cup of mayonnaise and add red chili paste to taste. I also recommended putting it in a little squeeze bottle for easy dispensing.

Don't forget your Sushi etiquette!

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