This guide will banish the cloud of complexity which hangs over the art of making sushi, enabling any amateur to create delicious and beautiful nori wraps. Elements covered herein include making the rice, understanding seaweed, preparing fillings and sauces, and finally assembling for consumption the sushi roll itself. Read, learn, and enjoy!
Making the Sushi Rice
Classic sushi rice is made by adding sugar, salt, and rice vinegar to the steaming hot rice, then mixing it with a paddle while simultaneously fanning it vigorously to cool it to a usable temperature. Though this is the time-tested method for creating the sushi base, this guide suggests a new, delicious, and decidedly more user-friendly twist.
Beginning with a bowl of about 3 cups steamed short-grain white rice, add about 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce (low-sodium is fine, for the dietetically conscientious) and toasted sesame oil, altering the amounts for taste and consistency. The rice, rendered a pleasing tan color with a nutty aroma, should be somewhat sticky, but not dripping – this would cause it to soak through the nori too quickly.
Understanding Nori
Like dulse, wakame, hijiki, and kombu, nori has penetrated the vocabulary of many Western epicureans, yet remains somewhat shrouded in mystery. Asian cultures have been consuming sea vegetables like these and others for millennia, using them to promote health and longevity.
A vital source of vitamins, minerals, micronutrients, and soluble and insoluble fiber, sea vegetables are one of the best and underutilized super foods available on Planet Earth. They contain significant amounts of calcium, copper, iron, iodine, magnesium, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc, as well as vitamins A, C, and B12, which is rare in land plant sources.
According to Dr. Subhuti Dharmananda at Portland's Institute for Traditional Medicine, a single gram of red algae (such as that from which nori derives) contains between 100 and 300 micrograms of iodine, an element crucial to the development of thyroid hormones in the human body.
Nori derives from a variety of red algae, but the roasting process which prepares it for consumption replaces its deep purple tint with a striking emerald green. Widely available in many Western supermarkets, these sheets of roasted seaweed come in squares or rectangles which are easy to fold, tear, and cut to size.
This guide recommends folding the larger nori squares into quadrants, creating small, palm-sized sheets ideal for hand-rolled sushi bites.
Preparing Attractive Fillings
Though the name “sushi” often conjures up one image and one image only, that of raw fish (detestable to some, delightful to others) on rice, the options for filling hand rolls are as limitless as the human palate and imagination.
Popular options – used for their simplicity, flavor, texture, nutrition, and attractiveness to the eye – include the following:
- Lightly steamed carrot strips
- Julienned cucumber
- Snow peas with tough outer veins removed
- Steamed and cooled whole spinach leaves, squeezed firmly to remove excess water
- Smoked salmon
- Strips of simple omelette
- Cooked shrimp
Dipping Sauces
Though delicious without any additional condiments, the flavor punch of these small hand-rolled sushi bites can be kicked up by dipping, dripping, or spreading the following on the sushi:
- Mixture of equal parts mayonnaise and miso (salty fermented soybean paste), with minced long onion
- Mixture of equal parts soy sauce and sesame oil
- Wasabi (spicy Japanese horseradish paste)
Putting it All Together
- Depending on personal preference, prepare an assortment of fillings and place on the table or counter top, alongside the nori squares, dipping sauces, and prepared sushi rice.
- Take up a square of nori and spread a small spoonful of rice on one side – not too much, or the stomach will fill up before all the ingredients are gone!
- Slightly cupping the nori in one hand, lay two or three selected fillings crosswise atop the rice, add condiments if desired, and – using the other hand – roll tightly and enjoy!
This is a simple, fun, and accessible way to allow anyone to enjoy sushi. The process itself is fun, and the outcome – delicious and beautiful rolls which can be eaten as appetizers, tapas, or even a complete meal – can’t be beat. Readers (and eaters) should feel encouraged to shake off the cloak of intimidation they may feel, regarding a personal approach to sushi, and experiment to their heart’s and palate’s content!
 |
