roll up some love

the first time I had sushi I was 17 years old. i was at sushi yoshi in peachtree city, georgia.  after hesitantly tasting my first roll, i remember trying to decide what i thought. either way, i was “cool” because i was in high school and eating an “ethnic food.” when i left for college, i began to experience sushi even more and eventually grew to love it.

the great thing about moving to chicago is the numerous japanese restaurants within a 1 mile radius. it seems almost 95% of them are BYOB, which is a huge plus. nonetheless, the most entertaining way to eat sushi is to make it at home. although i don’t know how to roll it in fish eggs or add Japanese magic and eel sauce, i still receive a simple pleasure out of rolling my own sushi.

what you need that you might not normally find in your kitchen: bamboo mat (can find them for $2-$5)

ingredients we used: swordfish, smoked salmon, avocado, cilantro, carrots, cucumber, cream cheese, crab claw meat, rice

ingredients:
- sticky rice or sushi rice (mine is “calrose” brand)
- rice wine vinegar
- nori (or seaweed paper)
- fish (smoked salmon, crab meat, swordfish, shrimp, whatever you like)
- vegetables (cucumber, carrots, avocado, cilantro, whatever you want)
- cream cheese (if you like california rolls or a creamier roll)
- soy sauce
- wasabi/wasabi powder to mix your own
- sriracha (thai chili sauce EVERYONE should own. i’ve found i like this on sushi better than wasabi! offers more flavor and a smokier spice)

directions:
rice: combine 1 and ½ cups of rice to 2 cups of water. bring to boil then simmer for 20 min until all liquid is dissolved. add rice wine vinegar (i usually put in ¼ cup). rice should be VERY sticky. cool rice in fridge until chilled. you don’t want hot/warm rice.
*this is enough rice to make about 4-5 sheets of rolled sushi, which will feed about 2-4 people. double rice if preferred.

after rice has cooled, place nori (seaweed paper) on bamboo mat. cover nori with rice, careful not to tear it. spread and pat rice down with wooden spoon or fingers. this is what keeps your roll together, so make sure you cover the entire sheet.

add a “line” of preferred ingredients. you can mix up each roll by adding everything or only a couple things. this is where you can be creative!

carefully, roll sushi using wooden bamboo mat as a guide. when the end of the bamboo mat touches the other side from rolling first section, roll mat backwards and keep meeting mat to mat to form an entire roll.

slice off each end and throw away or eat. then slice remaining roll into bite size pieces.

place sticky rice on nori

add "line" of ingredients

carefully roll sushi

slice sushi into bite size pieces

the great thing about sushi is you can literally fill it with anything you like. just like my wonton wrapper entry a couple months back, sushi is one of those things you can personalize and alter for each season. there are fruit sushi rolls, american sushi rolls containing beef and potatoes, and you can always get festive during fall using pumpkin and squash. happy cooking :)