SmokinAl
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We make a lot of sushi here, it's healthy & low calorie.
Normally I like to use salmon or tuna, but we have some friends coming over who won't eat raw fish.
So we made California rolls. They are imitation crab, avocado, & cucumber.
They are fun to make & a good project for a winter day, when your stuck in the house.
Here is what we start with.
The bamboo rolling mat is the only thing you will need to make these.
A lot of the grocery stores carry them now, or you can get one online.
Other than that you will want.
Low sodium soy sauce, sushi rice vinegar, sushi rice (this is important, it must be sushi rice),
pickled ginger, English cuke, Imitation crab logs, avocado, & wasabi.
Oh I almost forgot the Nori (toasted seaweed), Walmart carries this.
I wrap the mat with plastic wrap for easy cleanup.
The other ingredient (optional) is toasted sesame seeds.
The main thin about making sushi is to get all the ingredients sliced the same size.
Make the rice your usual way. We use a rice maker. Next add 1 TBS of the vinegar to the rice & mix well.
But be careful that you don't smash or break the rice kernels.
I put a little oil on my gloves to keep the rice from sticking to my fingers.
Then you take one sheet of the Nori, with the rough side up & a ball of rice about the size of a tennis ball.
The rice will stick to the rough side better, so make sure the rice is going on the rough side of the Nori.
Start at one end & spread the rice evenly across the Nori.
Again being careful not to smash the kernels of rice.
Try to get it the same thickness overall & go all the way to the edges.
At this point you can begin to put the filling in with the rice on the inside, but we like the rice on the outside.
So you just flip the Nori over onto the bamboo mat. This is why you use sushi rice. It will stick to the Nori & not fall off when you flip it.
Now start to add the ingredients, keeping them very uniform in size all the way across the rice.
I started with the crab, this is why I used the logs. They are very uniform in size.
Next the avocado.
And finally the cuke, you can see I have one long piece of cuke without any seeds.
Now using the mat, we start to roll it up. It is very important not to over stuff these.
You can over stuff a fattie & make it work, but not sushi.
Keep rolling until you get a nice tight roll.
Pushing with your fingers to keep it tight.
Then finally wrapping the mat all the way around the roll & squeezing it so the roll seals & is nice & tight & uniform in size.
Then unroll it & it should look like this.
Next we like to roll them in the toasted sesame seeds, this is optional too.
It gives them a nice flavor plus it looks cool.
Now onto the cutting board.
You are going to want a very sharp knife & slide the blade back & forth, sawing the sushi roll.
Also rinse the knife in water after each cut to keep the rice from sticking to the knife.
Cut the roll in half & then each side into 4 pieces.
So you end up with 8 pieces of sushi. OK one down & three to go.
There they are all ready to go. I think I can make sushi as good as any sushi restaurant & it sure is a whole lot cheaper.
Ready to serve. With pickled ginger, wasabi, & soy sauce.
I like to put the wasabi & ginger on top & dunk it in the soy sauce.
To get the right flavor you have to eat sushi in one bite. It's a big bite, but the only way to eat it.
I hope some of you try this.
Not only does it taste good, but it's a very healthy meal.
And it's fun to make.
If you don't like any of the ingredients you can substitute what you like.
We have used cream cheese, carrots, salmon, tuna. Just about any combo will work.
My favorite is crab, salmon & cream cheese.
Thanks for looking!
Al
Normally I like to use salmon or tuna, but we have some friends coming over who won't eat raw fish.
So we made California rolls. They are imitation crab, avocado, & cucumber.
They are fun to make & a good project for a winter day, when your stuck in the house.
Here is what we start with.
The bamboo rolling mat is the only thing you will need to make these.
A lot of the grocery stores carry them now, or you can get one online.
Other than that you will want.
Low sodium soy sauce, sushi rice vinegar, sushi rice (this is important, it must be sushi rice),
pickled ginger, English cuke, Imitation crab logs, avocado, & wasabi.
Oh I almost forgot the Nori (toasted seaweed), Walmart carries this.
I wrap the mat with plastic wrap for easy cleanup.
The other ingredient (optional) is toasted sesame seeds.
The main thin about making sushi is to get all the ingredients sliced the same size.
Make the rice your usual way. We use a rice maker. Next add 1 TBS of the vinegar to the rice & mix well.
But be careful that you don't smash or break the rice kernels.
I put a little oil on my gloves to keep the rice from sticking to my fingers.
Then you take one sheet of the Nori, with the rough side up & a ball of rice about the size of a tennis ball.
The rice will stick to the rough side better, so make sure the rice is going on the rough side of the Nori.
Start at one end & spread the rice evenly across the Nori.
Again being careful not to smash the kernels of rice.
Try to get it the same thickness overall & go all the way to the edges.
At this point you can begin to put the filling in with the rice on the inside, but we like the rice on the outside.
So you just flip the Nori over onto the bamboo mat. This is why you use sushi rice. It will stick to the Nori & not fall off when you flip it.
Now start to add the ingredients, keeping them very uniform in size all the way across the rice.
I started with the crab, this is why I used the logs. They are very uniform in size.
Next the avocado.
And finally the cuke, you can see I have one long piece of cuke without any seeds.
Now using the mat, we start to roll it up. It is very important not to over stuff these.
You can over stuff a fattie & make it work, but not sushi.
Keep rolling until you get a nice tight roll.
Pushing with your fingers to keep it tight.
Then finally wrapping the mat all the way around the roll & squeezing it so the roll seals & is nice & tight & uniform in size.
Then unroll it & it should look like this.
Next we like to roll them in the toasted sesame seeds, this is optional too.
It gives them a nice flavor plus it looks cool.
Now onto the cutting board.
You are going to want a very sharp knife & slide the blade back & forth, sawing the sushi roll.
Also rinse the knife in water after each cut to keep the rice from sticking to the knife.
Cut the roll in half & then each side into 4 pieces.
So you end up with 8 pieces of sushi. OK one down & three to go.
There they are all ready to go. I think I can make sushi as good as any sushi restaurant & it sure is a whole lot cheaper.
Ready to serve. With pickled ginger, wasabi, & soy sauce.
I like to put the wasabi & ginger on top & dunk it in the soy sauce.
To get the right flavor you have to eat sushi in one bite. It's a big bite, but the only way to eat it.
I hope some of you try this.
Not only does it taste good, but it's a very healthy meal.
And it's fun to make.
If you don't like any of the ingredients you can substitute what you like.
We have used cream cheese, carrots, salmon, tuna. Just about any combo will work.
My favorite is crab, salmon & cream cheese.
Thanks for looking!
Al
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