HAIRY BIKERS

JAPAN- Sushi
INGREDIENTS
For the rice
200 ml/7fl oz rice wine vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
4 tsp salt
3 cm/11/4in piece of kombu seaweed (optional)
750 g/1lb 9oz sushi rice
For the nigiri sushi and maki rolls
selection of fish, such as tuna, salmon, white fish such as brill or sea bass
raw king prawns, shell on
2 tbsp sake
wasabi paste, to taste
nori seaweed
cucumber
avocado
To serve
pickled ginger
wasabi
soy sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
1. First make your sushi vinegar - you can buy this ready-made, but it is easy to make
your own. Warm the vinegar in a pan, then add the sugar and salt and let it
dissolve. Leave to cool and you have the wonderful sweet savoury dressing for the
rice. Set aside.
2. Wash the rice three times, then drain and leave to stand for 15 minutes. Bring one
litre/1 pints of cold water to the boil and add the kombu (if using) and the rice.
Simmer with the lid on for ten minutes, then leave to stand without taking the lid off
for another 20 minutes.
3. Tip into a large wooden bowl, sprinkle on the sushi vinegar and cut through into the
rice with a slicing motion with a wooden spatula.
4. Fan to cool, with a wooden paddle (or an old tablemat), for ten minutes. Turn the
rice over, fan for two minutes. Repeat this four times and the rice should be at
room temperature and just sticky enough.
5. Use the rice immediately as it is past its best after a few hours.
6. For the nigiri sushi, cut your chosen fish carefully into strips. Always try to get
sushi-grade fish, and always use top-notch fresh fish - some sushi fish has been
deliberately frozen to kill any bacteria.
7. Take the prawns, peel them leaving the tails intact and butterfly them carefully
taking the dark strip out from underneath. Impale them on a skewer lengthways to
take out the bend.
8. Place 500ml/18fl oz water in a pan with the sake and bring to the boil. Simmer the
prawns until pink - this should take about two minutes. Leave to cool and remove
the skewer. You will have straight prawns which will be easy to place on the rice.
9. Take a ball of rice about the size of a walnut, roll it in your hands to polish the
outside, but dont compress the rice too much.
10. Place a dot of wasabi on the top. Place a prawn or a fish strip onto this. Press into
place with a tapping motion between your thumb and middle finger. Repeat to use
up as much of the fish as you wish to turn into nigiri.
11. For the maki rolls, take a bamboo-rolling mat, cover it liberally with cling film. Take
a half sheet of nori seaweed. (The ones made with half a sheet are smaller and
have more filling to the rice ratio, and are a better eat.)
12. Cover with rice all over except for the edge facing you, where you need to leave an
empty border of about 2cm/in. - this will give you a join. Press the rice down
firmly but gently to give you a thin but even coating. Down the middle, line up your
strips of filling choose from salmon, cucumber, avocado and wasabi. Roll the mat
away from you, catching the filling into the roll. Firm up with the mat.
Page 1 of 2 Pepperplate - JAPAN- Sushi
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13. Unroll and using a knife with a damp blade cut into bite-sized pieces.
14. Serve the nigiri and maki rolls with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.
NOTES
Sushi (, , , , , , ?) is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared
rice ( sushi-meshi) combined with other ingredients ( neta), seafood, vegetables and
sometimes tropical fruits. Ingredients and forms of sushi presentation vary widely, but the
ingredient which all sushi have in common is rice (also referred to as shari (?) or sumeshi (
?)).
Sushi
Sushi means vinegared rice - it is not a reference to the raw fish. Whoever thought of combining
it with raw fish, pickled ginger and wasabi in all of its wonderful varied forms is a genius.
Euipment You will need a sushi-making rolling mat.
Sushi can be prepared with either brown or white rice. Sushi is often prepared with raw seafood,
but some common varieties of sushi use cooked ingredients. Raw fish (or occasionally meat)
sliced and served without rice is called sashimi.
Sushi is often served with shredded ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce. Popular garnishes are often
made using daikon.
Page 2 of 2 Pepperplate - JAPAN- Sushi
08/05/2014 http://www.pepperplate.com/recipes/view.aspx?id=9143392