Sushi

Making sushi is a technique more than a recipe.  Once you get the hang of rolling sushi at home, you can mix and match the ingredients to suit your tastes or what is freshest in your area.  I know my choices of "fillings" in my sushi is not traditional but it is what works for our family.  The dictionary meaning of sushi is sugared rice, so as long as you have your sushi rice, the "fillings" can be anything.  I have even heard of people putting fresh fruit down the center of their sushi rolls.

Ingredients

1 batch of sushi rice (recipe below)

5 sushi nori sheets

5 crab sticks

1/2 block cream cheese

1 large carrot

Sushi Rice

2 1/4 cups rice

3 cups water

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

dash salt

Rinse rice 2 to 3 times until water is almost clear.  Picture below shows first rinse.

Drain rinsed rice as much as possible.  Pour in 3 cups water and let rice cook in a rice cooker.

When rice cooker finishes, allow rice to cool slightly.

Mix in rice vinegar, sugar and salt into rice and mix well.

While rice is cooking, be sure to prepare your other ingredients.  I like to slightly soften my carrots by microwaving them in a bit of water for about 3 minutes.

Once rice and all other ingredients are prepared and assembled its time to roll.

Place sushi nori on your mat shiny side down.

Using rice spoon, spread rice over nori all the way to the edges leaving about a half inch at the top.

Place fillings across the rice about 1/3 from the bottom of the nori.

Use the bamboo mat to tightly wrap the nori over the "fillings" and pull back gently to ensure a tight wrap.  Open the mat to continue rolling the nori over itself like rolling up a sleeping bag.  Use the mat around the sushi roll to apply even pressure around the roll and squeeze to ensure roll will not come undone.

Continue with all 5 rolls and allow to set up for about 5 minutes before slicing.

When slicing your sushi, be sure to have a clean, sharp, and slightly wet knife.  Cut in half first lining up the ends and then cut into 10 slices.  Be sure to clean the knife after each cut so it's not gummy like in the pic above.

Enjoy the beauty of the finished rolls!