Giant in the Kitchen: Odd Sushi Fillings
My friend Tory had a sushi making party last night. It was mostly filmmakers at the party, and we ended up having some pretty interesting filling combinations. You should try some of these out following the basic sushi recipe.
I brought over roasted red peppers and homemade sweet potato fries. These actually worked really well. For the fries, I just sliced some sweet potato into strips and sautéed them for about 2 minutes. Take a look at the pictures - it's dead simple.
Initially I was attempting to make some sort of sweet potato tempura strips. I tried to bread the fries in whole wheat panko bread crumbs, but that didn't work at all. It ended up being a hot, delicious, mess. I used scrambled egg as an adhesive, but the panko bread crumbs are a bit too chunky to get a good grip on the thin slices of potato. Next time I make the fries, I want to try baking them. I don't really like frying food, and I bet the potatoes will crisp up nicely in the oven.
We also had red cherries and a couple jalapeno peppers. The cherries were awesome paired with cream cheese and sweet potato. I know it sounds strange, but it was a very subtle flavor - it kind of tasted like summer.
The jalapenos were just a pain in the ass. In the rolls, they looked just like green onion, so it was always a surprise when you got a bite of one. I definitely tried to wash away a bit of the heat with my drink. The thing is, all we had to drink was wine, so I think the jalapenos led to a bit of drunkenness for all involved.
Giant in the Kitchen: Sushi
Arianna's friend Kajsa is in town visiting this weekend. We had a sushi night last night which turned out to be kind of awesome. I doubt that someone from Japan would recognize it as sushi, but we all dug it. We used brown rice and whatever else was lying around in the fridge. This included speck (kind of a smoked prosciutto, I guess...it was cheaper than real prosciutto) and salami which, while decidedly un-Japanese, was pretty tasty. We also used smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese in varying combinations. I never do raw fish, not because I don't like it, but simply because I don't think that I can afford fish that is good enough to eat raw. Imitation crab meat is always a good alternative.
For me, sushi is a great hangout-let's-make-dinner-as-a-group sort of deal. It gets everyone involved and you end up knowing the people you're with a little better - and everyone likes knowing people! I figured out how to do sushi from my pal Tory a few years ago, so this is basically her approach.
Here are the basics:
Use short grained brown rice, it tastes good and brown is better for you. Make sure it is short grained or else it won't get sticky. You need ½ a cup of rice and 1 cup of water per person. Put it all in a sauce pan, cover, and bring to a boil. When it begins boiling, reduce to a simmer and leave it to do it's thing for about 50 minutes. You'll know it is done when it is no longer soupy and is somewhat sticky. At this point remove the cover and let it rest and cool off for at least 10 minutes. While it is cooling mix together about half a cup of white wine vinegar and a few tablespoons of sugar (this is what we did for three people, adjust to your numbers). These proportions are really up to you, if you want it a bit sweeter add more sugar, if it is too sweet, you know, cut back on the sugar. Remember, this is completely Americanized, so make it your own. Mix the vinegar mixture into the cooling rice.
While the rice is cooking, give everyone a knife and a board and get your fillings sliced into thin strips. You can really use whatever you want in whatever combination you like. Just try to go for texture variety - something crunchy with something soft.
To make the sushi rolls, take a sheet of nori (you can get this at the grocery store in the foreign foods section - it's probably next to the Mexican salsas and below the soy sauce) and lay it, smooth side down, on a sushi roller or a large piece of plastic wrap. Cover the nori with a thin layer of rice, leaving about an inch clear on the top and bottom of the square. You want to be able to see the nori through the rice so get it spread really thin with the back of a spoon. Pick your fillings and line them up on the rice near the bottom strip of unriced nori. Wet the clear strips of nori with a bit of water, and roll the bottom up to the top using the roller or plastic wrap. You want a tight roll so take your time and use the roller to really tuck it in. This isn't the easiest thing in the world to do and it takes a bit of practice to get it right, but keep at it
I tend to accidentally overstuff the first roll and it always ends up looking like an ugly burrito. We ended up with about 6 or 7 rolls and most of them looked even and normal. Once you've used up your ingredients, slice the rolls with a sharp, wet knife. Rewet the knife often to help it cut through the dry nori. Try to cut the slices about 3/4ths of an inch thick. If you get to the end of a roll and the last piece is a bit thicker, don't try and halve it. You'll just end up with two rounds of goop.
When you've sliced the rolls, break out the wasabi and soy sauce. You've made sushi!
