Sushi at Home - By Mommy Melissa

Ive been meaning to do this post for so long but I knew its going to be long, so its been on the back burner. Well tonight its happening. I am doing the sushi night post! Sushi has to be one of my favourite meals but it can be so pricey. Making it at home is easier than you think. It also saves you a lot of money. Plus you can be creative and make your own unique flavour combinations. My favourite combo is smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado. Add some wasabe and soy sauce, magnificent!
With some trial and error, my sister and I have become master sushi makers. Well, in our eyes anyways! We even have some little tricks that make life easier when rolling them up.
Lets get started with the rice. Be sure to make this in advance because it needs to be cool to be able to use. The rice is very important in sushi, obviously! It holds it all together. This here is the sushi rice recipe we always use. It has served us well. We always end up doubling the amount to serve many people plus have left overs for lunch the next day!

Next you will need to prepare all your fillings. Here is a list of some of ours that we use.
Veggies
cucumber, carrots, green onions, avocado, lettuce
Protein
smoked salmon, fresh sushi grade salmon, *spicy tuna, shrimp, tempura shrimp, crab
Others
cream cheese, masago, picked ginger, sesame seeds
Sauces
mayonnaise, wasabe, sriracha sauce
*To make spicy tuna, drain a can of tuna, and mix with a small amount of mayo and sriracha hot sauce.

Now before we get to the rolling, here are a few things that will make your life easier.
First, this trick has to be by far the best. Get your bamboo rolling mat and put it inside a large zipper seal bag. Lay it flat and take all the air out. This allows you to simply wipe away spills and stray rice. Keeps your bamboo sheet clean so you can use it over and over again.

Next is to be sure to have all your fillings prepared and at arms reach. Including your rice and nori sheets.

Have your cutting station with a large jug of room temperature water. Before each cut, rinse your sharp knife, the water helps to get a clean cut.

A small bowl of water set beside you rolling station will be your best friend when it comes to the rice. Having wet hands will make the rice not stick to your skin.

Now, lets get to it!

Place a nori sheet on your bamboo mat, rougher side up. Make sure your bamboo is running horizontal as well as your toppings. Moisten hands with water from your water bowl. Scoop a handful of rice onto the sheet. Cover nori with the rice, leaving about 1cm at the top with no rice.
Now add your fillings about 3cm from the bottom. Do not go over board, but use your imagination!

Now here is how I roll them up. I doubt its the authentic way but it works for me!
Moisten that empty 1cm at the top with water. Now grab the bottom of the mat, and kinda roll it over the filling, hold your hand over the little mountain of filling then continue to roll until it fully rolled. Rub your hand along it to be sure its all stuck in place. Remove from rolling mat and take to your cutting station.

With a wet sharp knife, cut into about 6-8 pieces. Our end pieces look all crappy, so we keep them on a separate plate and refer to them as the 'asses'! They end up getting snacked on by everyone. Testers, if you will!

The Asses, aren't they pretty!

To do a roll with the rice on the outside is a little trickier. You will need two rolling mats. Do the same as before. Then place the second rolling mat on top, flip, then remove the mat on top. Fill, roll, cut. I don't like making them as it is a pain in the butt!

Now serve it up with some soy sauce, wasabe, pickled ginger. Now all that is needed are some friends and family, music and good red wine. There is a wonderful evening if you ask me!

We had some left over soy sauce from takeout, worked well here!

By Mommy Melissa