Yes, You Can... Make Sushi!!!!!

Yay! I made sushi today! I have to admit, it's not my first time When we were in Illinois for a year, we couldn't find any good sushi.. so I decided I would learn how to do it myself. Since we've been back in LA, I haven't made it. No time like the present to show you that you can do it too!

First, let's talk about fish! Sashimi is the raw fish deal. You need to find SUSHI GRADE fish at either a fish market or, as I do, at Whole Foods. Sometimes Trader Joe's will carry it. Do not use fish that is not labeled SUSHI GRADE or that your fish person has not told you is sushi grade!

Next, let me say that you don't have to have fish to make sushi as most of my veggie friends can tell you. I love all different types of ingredients including:

Cucumber
Asparagus
Carrot
Sweet Potato
Avocado
Mango
and more!!!

Let your imagination run wild. We're currently doing a lot of raw food so it's great to have bunches of different tastes thrown together.



Rice: Buy sushi rice which is a really sticky rice (it's coated with gluten so if you have Celiac Disease please avoid this!). It's cooked like regular rice, that is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water. Bring to boil, add rice, let simmer til water is absorbed. The trick is to add a rice vinegar and sugar mixture to the rice and NEVER use metal objects with the rice after it's cooked. No metal bowl, no metal spoons.. nothing! (You can find great sushi rice recipes online.. pretty easy stuff)

Fish: Remember what I wrote above.. then go find your favorite. The fish should be made and eaten the same day you get it. I'm really picky about this and you should never eat day old sushi that has raw fish in it.

Veggies: Slice any veggies (or even fruits) into strips for the best results.

You'll need bamboo rollers for this.. they're the easiest to use, but you can also use a thin dishtowel. Not the terrycloth kind.. you don't want bits of fluff in your sushi.



Nori: the seaweed wrappers used to roll everything together.



Wasabi: Y-UM! Japanese horseradish. Mixed with soy sauce and dip your lil rolls in! What a kick! You control how hot you want it.



Lay the nori on your bamboo roller mat.



Spread your rice on. You can put rice over most of the sheet or just on a section like I've done.



Now lay your goodies onto the rice. Do them neatly so they'll roll up nicely. Any combination you pick is right! This is your creation... go to town. In this roll I've used: asparagus, imitation crab meat, cucumber and avocado.



Once you've filled it, just roll it. Many of you will remember this action from college. You can wet the outside edge to help it stick together.



Now use your bamboo roller (or dishtowel) and evenly roll your creation. It will tighten the roll and help it stay together better.





Need I say the next line? Oh, ok...

何があなたを待っている？食べる！
(What are you waiting for? Eat!)