A lesson about sushi.

Sushi is the most famous dish of Japanese cuisine and is usually eaten during celebrations in Japan. There are different types of sushi, but whatever type of sushi you order, it will contain fish and rice.
Fun fact: Sushi does not mean "raw fish". Sashimi is raw fish. Sushi is actually vinegared rice with other ingredients.


 The most well known type is Norimaki. This is when rice and seafood is rolled in sheets of dried seaweed. There is a large variety of items that can be placed inside the rolls such as avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, and, of course, the various seafood items. When the sushi is rolled with the rice on the outside (instead of the seaweed) it's referred to as an "inside out" roll. In Japan, it is much more common to see the rolls with the seaweed on the outside.




Nigiri is a ball of rice with the fish placed on top. This sushi sometimes has a strip of seaweed to keep the fish and rice together. The most popular varieties for this style include tuna, shrimp, octopus, or eel.




The third most popular sushi is Temaki. Dried seaweed sheets are rolled into cone shapes and stuffed with sushi rice, seafood, and vegetables. I'm not a huge fan of this type of sushi because I prefer the seaweed to be more masked within the other ingredients. But don't let that scare you away from temaki. Seaweed is actually one of the healthiest foods available, containing trace minerals, enzymes, and vitamins A, C, D, E, & K. It's good for your digestive and nervous system.


The sushi rolls I made were very plain. We made two sushi rolls, but I could have made more since the recipe I used created enough for 4-5 rolls. Since I don't own a rice cooker, I used a video from YouTube to figure out how to cook the rice correctly. Runny's Japanese Cooking had a great video that I followed - but again, a lot of rice was made.
I wanted to create an inside out roll, so I found a great video from HowCast.com to walk me through the steps. This particular video demonstrates how to make the California Roll, but I invited my own sushi rolls instead.

On the left is the Hon Roll and on the right is the Kelci Roll (for lack of more creative names). Originally, I had planned to use an avocado as well, but it turns out that they go bad very quickly (which now I know...).
The Hon Roll has shredded crab meat and cream cheese. We drizzled sweet and sour sauce on top.
The Kelci Roll had cooked salmon and cream cheese with a dipping sauce called hoisin on top.
Fun fact: Hoisin sauce is a Chinese dipping sauce. "Hoisin" literally means "seafood"... but fish is not an ingredient.

The Hon Roll was the favorite by far. Each roll was tasty, but they kept falling apart. Next time I'll have to make sure I wrap them more tightly with the bamboo mat. Also - it is VERY important to have a sharp knife to slice the rolls. Follow the tip from the video and slide the side of the knife against a damp cloth between cuts to prevent the rice from sticking.


I will be attempting more sushi rolls a few weeks from now on the International Cuisine night. Creating the rice is the most time consuming portion of the process, but now that I have the hang of it I look forward to creating more sushi rolls.


Now who wants to have a sushi party!