So I made sushi...

[takenoko]

A kind of spin off from the Japanese food appreciation thread

I don't know how long this post will be, but the moral of this story is basically: Japanese rice is fucking delicious

Seriously, I didn't know that there were a lot of different kinds of rice. Like the rice you eat in Japan or in restaurants apparently is short grain rice. But apparently I couldn't find any short grain rice in my local Safeway, so I bought some medium grain rice. After a discussion with my coworker who knows about such things, we discovered that medium grain rice is what short grain rice is sold as.

Why is the rice so important? Not only is it the primary ingredient in sushi, it's also super sticky because short grain is more glutinous. The stickiness helps in the making of the sushi, plus isn't that evidence of sugar which explains why it's so tasty?

Anyway, I like cooking because I'm not a very good cook. I like microwave foods and I like boiling things in pots. But I like the idea of following instructions and measuring things and mixing them and adding heat or something to make something. It's like a science experiment

http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushir ... iaroll.htm
So I followed this recipe. I think I made too much sushi rice though. Which, by the way, is kind of a pain to wash. I didn't like continually adding water then pouring it out, and spilling those little rice all over the place. Plus it's hard to cover it in the vinegar evenly and it's a lot to work with

Got most of the ingredients from Safeway. I had a sushi rolling mat from my dad's failed sushi making experiment many years ago. Which forms nice context since our family uses long grain rice and I think he used regular vinegar instead of rice vinegar.

Sticky rice is pretty hard to work with! It sticks to my hands and gets on the counter and stuff. The rolling wasn't very good and I had trouble cutting it. So... I turn to youtube and saw how someone who knew what he was doing does it.

Used imitation crab meat. The first sushi batch I made wasn't very tasty since I had to keep putting off the sushi making experiment for a couple of weeks. By that time the avocado was kind of moldy and brown. And even after using all the filling ingredients, I still had plenty of rice left.

So I saved the leftover rice in the fridge (I wasn't sure if that was good or not, but it seems to still be usable). Got a fresh avocado, and I still have 1/3 of a package of imitation crab meat I think.

Anyway, you can see a pic of batch 2 here. I ate the ones that fell apart so there is some bias in the quality. Be warned!

[victorstillwater]

Now I want sushi. Thanks for sharing!

[Saejima Kouga]

How about a pic of takenoko? Or to stay on topic, a pic of takenoko eating the sushi?

[AnimeFan]

Those look good. I've tried to make sushi a few times before also, it took a couple of tries before they started coming out half decent.

I ate the ones that fell apart so there is some bias in the quality

Well now I know I'm not the only one who does that XD

[lostinbrave]

what is kind of cool is I can actually get the ingredients to make sushi fairly easily. Living in a small town makes it hard to get much of anything. Unless you like beef, we have 3 butcher shops in town.

[Arigomi]

I actually prefer to have the nori on the outside because it makes rolling a lot easier and doesn't make a mess like rolling it in the California roll style. I don't have a sushi rolling mat but it isn't really necessary.

You don't have to limit yourself to what the Japanese fill them with. Koreans fill kimbap with all sort of things so it's a great way to use up random leftovers.

I have a few tips on making sushi if you are interested.

[takenoko]

Shoot, I'm all ears and welcome any tips

I made them with the rice on the outside because that's what the recipe said. Apparently there's some reason for it, but I don't remember what

"But Mashita also eventually made the roll "inside-out", i.e. uramaki, because Americans did not like seeing and chewing the nori on the outside of the roll" -wiki

Okay, that's a dumb reason. No more uramaki for takenoko!

And I'll probably just keep making California Rolls since I don't have much of an imagination or a flair for trying new things. Once I find something I like I tend to latch onto it

[Arigomi]

Before I start, I want to make it clear that the Japanese use medium grain rice for everyday meals. Short grain rice is very different and much stickier than medium grain. Short grain rice is sold under many names including sweet rice, sticky rice, or glutinous rice. This type of rice is the staple used in Laotian cuisine. In other parts of Asia, short grain rice is typically used for sweet applications. The Japanese use short grain rice to make mochi.

From the pictures I can see you weren't able to achieve the optimum texture for the rice. Did you use a rice cooker or a pot?

What you are looking for is something akin to the "al dente" people refer to when cooking pasta. In other words, you want the rice to be fully cooked but not mushy or watery. This can be a tricky thing to do if you don't have any experience with cooking rice.

Some things about cooking rice are intuitive and others are counterintuitive. The age and freshness of the rice can affect how much water you need. The weather outside can also be a factor. On really dry and hot days, you will need a little more water. Finally, the most confusing aspect of all is the general ratio of water-to-rice used in cooking. Cooking a large amount of rice will actually require a smaller water-to-rice ratio. This is very important to remember because if you rely on a recipe, you can't simply double or halve the amount of rice and water called for in a recipe.

I know this is a lot of information to absorb but it really isn't that precise because I just eyeball the amount of water without using a measuring cup. It is just one of those things where you can estimate based on experience.

Here are the detailed instructions for cooking Japanese style rice from my favorite blog about Japanese cooking:
http://www.justhungry.com/2003/11/japan ... ics_1.html

I have a comment about Maki's post. While soaking the rice before cooking isn't a crucial step, it helps the rice cook all the way through. It is also a step that differentiates it from the jasmine rice that is used in other parts of Asia.

When making the sushi rolls, don't wait till the sushi rice is completely cooled before using it. It should still be warm. Rice loses its stickiness when it is cold and becomes difficult to make sushi rolls with.

[AnimeFan]

Using a rice cooker will make the process a lot easier. I tried cooking the sushi rice in a pot once and it ending up being a bit mushy, although that's because i don't cook rice on the stove top very often. Covering the prepared sushi rice with a slightly dampened cloth or paper towel while making the sushi will help it from drying out too much.

I also prefer having the nori on the outside as it makes it easier to roll, Like Arigomi said you can put almost anything in the sushi. T&T supermarket has the prepared imitation crab meat like the one in the restaurant so i sometimes use that I also like using the cooked eel they also sell. For vegetables I usually use avocado and cucumber but i think carrots and bell pepper might work also. On a cooking show i was watching before the host put canned tuna in the sushi. I managed to find the recipe here http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedeta ... ishid=8026

[takenoko]

I did use a rice cooker. It became too moist when I added the vinegar mixture. I either drenched it or didn't fold it right. Plus I didn't use a fan to dry it

[lostinbrave]

I know it took a few tries to get it right when I first started making sushi. I actually took mine and spread it out on a piece of wax paper to let it dry. Then I put it back in a bowl and added the vinegar mixture. My hard part is getting the rice even.

[[kuronogantzryu]]

<nothing to see>

[Silentwolfdog]

Didn't know takenoko had a camera. Since when did he get one?


How long did it take you to make your batch? It seems like it takes a long time to make one.


I being not skilled cook shall leave making of sushi up to skilled chef instead. Yep.

[takenoko]

I borrowed it from my mom

The preparation probably takes longer than the actually putting it together. Prepping the sushi rice by washing it and letting it dry then soaking it probably is at least two hours

The actual rolling of the stuff together probably took an hour or two

[DalekRider]

I got my dad (who is a foodie) to make katsudon a few weeks ago, and it went rather well. I wonder if he'd go for this.