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Finally.... I make Sushi!!!!

clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
Thought I'd share my greatest, life-long dream, crowning achievement! Something I've been wanting to do for probably 10 years now and just never got around to it is make my own Sushi. Sushi is probably my favorite food and it's actually pretty simple to make once you get everything you need. No more paying top dollar at the Sushi bar for a California Roll and a couple of small pieces of fish. I can make it all at home now.

I've probably made about 10 rolls now and am preparing to experiment with Salmon, Tuna, and Shrimp. Here's a few pics of my latest rolls that I made. Sticking to the cheap ingredients until I get better, these contain imitation crab, fish roe, and black and white sesame seeds.


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Comments

  • LasabarLasabar Posts: 4,472 ✭✭✭
    That's pretty COOL!
  • PuroFreakPuroFreak Posts: 4,131 ✭✭
    Congrats! That is really awesome! I have recently become a big fan of Sushi and could eat it at least once a week.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    I can't believe how easy and cheap it is to make. It took about $40 to get all the supplies that need but I'm pretty well stocked up now and won't have to purchase anything but fish for quite a while. It's really easy to be creative with this food and it's amazing how much the smallest change in ingredients changes the whole thing.
  • PuroFreakPuroFreak Posts: 4,131 ✭✭
    I may have to try this soon, and if I do I will be seeking out your wisdom! At this point, you are the sh*t in my book!
  • TheShaunTheShaun Posts: 425
    Looks pretty good. there's a guy I work with who used to be a sushi chef and he often makes big spreads. His girlfriend shows me the pictures.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    PuroFreak:
    I may have to try this soon, and if I do I will be seeking out your wisdom! At this point, you are the sh*t in my book!
    If you need any help, let me know. I'm still starting out and learning so perhaps we'll be able to teach each other a thing or two. I can definately help you get started though.
  • SmokeeeSmokeee Posts: 220
    Very cool! I just had sushi for dinner tonight, but I could eat sushi 3x a day every day!
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Man I am straight jealous. If I won the lottery I would eat sushi everyday and have my own sushi chef! No joke. My entire family including the kids love sushi.

    Nice job and it looks delicious. How did you learn?
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    jsnake:
    Man I am straight jealous. If I won the lottery I would eat sushi everyday and have my own sushi chef! No joke. My entire family including the kids love sushi.

    Nice job and it looks delicious. How did you learn?
    I was in my hometown a couple months ago and went to the Goodwill with my brother. They had a book in there for $1.00 called the sushi cookbook. That's pretty much it. I had a little help picking ingredients from the girl who works at the Oriental Market, which is a small oriental foods store down the road from me. Maybe later on, I'll make some more (as I intend on doing for football today) and I'll take some more pictures of the process and how I make them and what I use.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    OK... so for those of you interested in making your own Sushi, here's a quick lesson.

    Required Material:
    Rice Cooker (or however you usually cook rice)
    1/2 cup of Sushi Rice
    1/2 Tablespoon of Sushi Vinegar (or white vinegar mixed with sugar)
    1 fresh Tuna Steak
    1 fresh Salmon Steak

    Make the rice using a 5:4 Water-to-Rice ratio. (ie... 5/8 cup water to 1/2 cup rice) image

    Now make it sushi rice by placing rice in a bowl, add the sushi vinegar, and use a plastic or wooden spoon to make cutting motions through the rice until it has cooled to room temperature. Never stir or mash the rice, only cutting motions

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    When the rice is cooled, wet your hands so the rice doesn't stick to them. Make an elongated ball (think football shape) in the palm of your hand. Take a small filet of your tuna steak or salmon steak and press the rice and the fish together trying to make the fish dome out over the rice. Garnish, decorate, accessorize however you like.

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    The pictures only show 4, but the 1/2 cup of rice is enough to make 7-8 Sashimi or one roll.
  • BTJR99BTJR99 Posts: 97
    Everything looks so good! I always wanted to try making sushi. Where do you buy your fish? Also do you do anything to prepare the fish?
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have the same rice cooker! Ok, this helps tons. I didn't know there was rice specifically for sushi. So, can you show how to make the rolls please? We are big fans of California rolls, shrimp tempura, and mostly cooked sushi. I enjoy the other stuff but wife doesn't.
  • cabinetmakercabinetmaker Posts: 2,560 ✭✭
    Dinner at your house???? I eat sushi at least twice a week, and your's looks awesome!
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    BTJR99:
    Everything looks so good! I always wanted to try making sushi. Where do you buy your fish? Also do you do anything to prepare the fish?
    I usually just get my fish from the grocery store (we have Giant here) and I make the filet's myself. Now, I won't just buy the fish from anywhere as I have probably 10 different grocery stores where I am. Giant does a great job of keeping their fish clean and fresh so I go to them. I clean the fish as soon as I get home, place it in seperate tupperware containers, and keep them on the top shelf of my refrigerator as this is the coldest place besides the freezer. That's pretty much it. I've heard people talk about "sushi grade" fish before, but this process has been working very well for me so far....aka haven't gotten sick.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    jsnake:
    I have the same rice cooker! Ok, this helps tons. I didn't know there was rice specifically for sushi. So, can you show how to make the rolls please? We are big fans of California rolls, shrimp tempura, and mostly cooked sushi. I enjoy the other stuff but wife doesn't.
    A little late for sushi making tonight. I will make a roll tomorrow and document that process for you.
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cool thanks!!
  • Rob1110Rob1110 Posts: 1,577 ✭✭✭
    Not a huge fan of sushi myself, but it looks great! Congrats on your new hobby. Nice presentation too. I may have to give this a shot some day.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    OK guys. Here's the documentary of the sushi roll making process that I promised for today. Feel free to ask any questions if you don't understand anything.

    Required Material:

    Sushi Rolling Mat (or any bamboo mat)
    Seaweed Paper
    White & Black Sesame Seeds
    Imitation Crab Meat
    Fish Roe
    Note: Not all of these ingredients are particularly neccessary. It's your sushi. Make it how you want it.

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    Step 1: Make Sushi rice as previously documented in this thread.

    Step 2: Lay one sheet of Seaweed Paper on bamboo mat and spread rice about 1/4 inch thick onto paper. Leave about an inch open at the top as this area will be used to seal the sushi roll. Note that I do not have a sushi mat. This is actually one of the placemats from my table. I use it and it works fine.

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    Step 3: Sprinkle sesame seeds onto rice

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    Step 4: Lay crabmeat (and any other ingredients you may like...ie advocado, celery, carrot, fish roe, etc) in a line across the rice.

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    Step 5: Use the mat to roll the sushi. Once the first lip is ready to roll over on itself, I usually use my fingers to ensure that it tucks in and then I continue rolling it. Once it's rolled. Wet your hands and push any ingredients that are hanging out the ends back into the roll.

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    Step 6: Cut Sushi Roll into half, then into quarters, then into eighths to ensure even thickness of each piece. If you do not have a really sharp knife like I don't and are using a regular serated edge knife, I'd recommend wetting the blade before each cut. The sugar in the sushi vinegar makes the rice sticky and the water helps the knife cut through cleanly without grabbing and ripping the sushi paper.

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    Step 7: Garnish with fish roe. Fish roe comes frozen and is pretty cheap. This adds immediate vibrant colors to your sushi and a very unique and very sweet taste.

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    In the last photo I included some garnishes that you'll want to pick up and one you'll want to avoid. Definately pick up a bottle of sliced pickled ginger and wasabe. The Wasabe in the big bottle on the far left in the final photo is an example of what not to buy. I bought it at Walmart and it's made with Horseradish. This stuff sucks. Stay away from it. One other bit of advice is to find an oriental foods store to do your shopping. Things like sesame seeds can be expensive for tiny bottles in the grocery store. I got two huge bottles of sesame seeds for only $4 a piece.

    Perhaps tomorrow if I''m feeling frisky I'll document how to make the inverted roll. That's the one with the rice on the outside.

    Cheers!
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thanks for taking the time to post all of this. One more question though. How the hell do the roll the ones with rice on the outside? Like they have the rice and seaweed reversed. I am going to hit the oriental market this weekend to pick up some ingredients.
  • Way to go !! I love Sushi!! especially wasabi! Im dreaming of the day I get my hands on some wasabi ice cream!! can you imagine ., any suggestions on how to spice up vegetarian sushi?
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    jsnake:
    thanks for taking the time to post all of this. One more question though. How the hell do the roll the ones with rice on the outside? Like they have the rice and seaweed reversed. I am going to hit the oriental market this weekend to pick up some ingredients.



    No problem. Tomorrow I'll make the inverted roll. Probably won't post as many pictures cause the process is nearly identical. The only difference is in step two listed above and at the end. In step two, spread your rice to cover the entire seaweed paper (don't leave the open inch at the top). After that, remove the seaweed paper and rice from the mat and cover the mat with a sheet of plastic wrap. Place the seaweed paper and rice on the plastic wrap with the rice face down and proceed to step 3. At the end, before you cut the roll, you'll probably have a little bit of seaweed paper showing. Make sure you have some extra rice left over and just fill in the blanks so the rice is uniform all the way around.
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    jeff_connors:
    Way to go !! I love Sushi!! especially wasabi! Im dreaming of the day I get my hands on some wasabi ice cream!! can you imagine ., any suggestions on how to spice up vegetarian sushi?



    Good question. I haven't tried that yet, but now that you mention it I'll give it a go. This might be able to help though.



    Vegetarian Sushi

    I'd go through the process I listed above, just substitute the ingredients listed in the link. I know that cucumber, carrots, tofu, spinach, avocado, and particularly shitake mushrooms are commonly used in traditional sushi rolls.

    Cheers!
  • JZJZ Posts: 827
    That is all awesome. My favorite is the spicy tuna roll!
  • MAJORdorMoMAJORdorMo Posts: 356
    clearlysuspect:
    jeff_connors:
    Way to go !! I love Sushi!! especially wasabi! Im dreaming of the day I get my hands on some wasabi ice cream!! can you imagine ., any suggestions on how to spice up vegetarian sushi?





    Good question. I haven't tried that yet, but now that you mention it I'll give it a go. This might be able to help though.





    Vegetarian Sushi



    I'd go through the process I listed above, just substitute the ingredients listed in the link. I know that cucumber, carrots, tofu, spinach, avocado, and particularly shitake mushrooms are commonly used in traditional sushi rolls.



    Cheers!


    Thank you for that link! Sushi looks so amazing, but I can't STAND fish! One of these days I'll get off my ass and make some vegetarian sushi.
  • rad1964rad1964 Posts: 190 ✭✭
    Glad to see others who pursue a taste and make it theirs! Way to go clearlysuspect!
    I love sushi so much, but can't afford the $50 a wack when I go out. So I took a class from a local sushi restaurantier and now I make all the dragon rolls I want, on the cheap!
    (Usually a dragon roll has: deep fried prawn inside and bbq eel (unagi) and avocado slices on the outside. YUM!

    More sushi porn! I think there's some unagi and some tuna rolls and some tuna/cucumber and cream cheese/yellow tail (hamachi) rolls and of course a side of cocktail shrimp.

    image

  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    That's pretty hot Rad. I need to make Rainbow Roll sometime soon.

    And sorry guys for not making the inverted roll yet. Had a pretty hectic Halloween weekend and even busier Monday. I promise I'll get to it though.
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