As I have lamented elsewhere, there is no place we trust in our town for sushi and so I have been doing my own raw fish dishes to scratch that particular itch. The spicy salmon tartare that we had recently got our sushi urges raging and Ann was really longing for hand rolls, so I made some spicy tuna temaki for us.
Ann Models a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll |
For the tuna, I minced some seedless cucumber and sliced some green onions and then made a spicy sauce of equal parts sriracha and soy sauce with a little sesame oil for flavor. I combined these two with the minced tuna and toasted sesame seeds.
Earlier in the afternoon, I had cooked a bit of good sushi rice. Fortunately, we grow excellent sushi rice in California and it is readily available in grocery stores. Although I love imported brands from Japan, my tried and true California brand is Nishiki, but my store doesn't carry it. What I have found is that most sushi rice brands can be very good, but what is really messed up are the cooking instructions.
Most brands call for too much water, resulting in an overcooked mushy mess, especially after you add the seasoned rice vinegar to the rice. In general, I have found that 1 portion of rice to a scant 1 and an eighth portion of water is a very good ratio, depending on how fresh the rice is. For reference, a cup of uncooked sushi rice will make a good dozen temaki.
As for seasoned vinegar, I don't mess with it. I use plain rice vinegar into which I stir a little sugar or agave nectar for sweetness. I use about an eighth cup per cup of rice and sprinkle it over the hot rice, gently turning the rice while it cools to room temperature.
Lay Rice on One End of the Nori |
Lay the Filling on the Rice |
Lay the filling or fillings on the rice on the diagonal. Start rolling by grasping the lower corner, the lower left corner in this case, and bringing it across the filling until the lower corner meets the top edge. I like to roll left to right. They roll right to left equally easily.
No comments:
Post a Comment