Hello Again!
Today we will be starting our in-depth dive into America’s favorite Japanese food: Sushi! Sushi is another one of my favorite foods, therefore I have made it a good amount and can say it’s interesting compared to other cooking methods. This is because the most time-consuming part isn’t even cooking anything, it’s mise en place ( preparation ), and assembling your prepared ingredients. Sushi is more dependent on your knife skills, food safety knowledge, and experience ( my first few rolls I made were horrendous, you really need to be careful! ) than any cooking skills. Today we’re doing to start with one of the most important parts of any good sushi, the rice. Next week we will go over toppings, fish types, and other ingredients. In our final week, we will go over different sushi types and how to assemble them. Let’s begin below with a basic sushi rice recipe to get you started, as well as a briefing on different types of sushi.
Note: This recipe is assuming you have a rice cooker, without one the rice cooking process is very difficult and I would not recommend it to beginners.
Ingredients
- 2 cups short-grain rice ( using sticky short-grain is important regarding the texture and structure of your sushi )
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Rinse your rice in a collander using cold water until it runs clear through the rice, to ensure no starches remain.
- Put the rinsed rice in your rice cooker and pour the water over it.
- Cook the rice for 30 minutes or following the instructions on your device.
- While the rice is cooking combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and stir with a mini-whisk or fork until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Add the seasoning mix directly to the rice after its done, and fluff to combine.
- Let the rice cool, then enjoy!
Sushi Styles/ Definitions
Maki Roll – The most famous type of sushi, classified as when raw fish or other ingredients is rolled up in nori seaweed ( usually using a bamboo rolling mat ) and sushi rice then cut into thick medalions.
Nigirizushi ( or nigiri ) – Another iconic type of sushi that is more simple and traditional than maki. Nigirizushi is classified as thinly cut slabs of fish formed over rice, and is hand made.
Sashimi – This isn’t technically sushi because it doesn’t include rice, but its often sold and prepared at sushi restaurants. Sashimi is essentially just slabs of assorted raw fish and seafood, usually served with soy sauce.
I hope you enjoyed our intro to the basics of sushi making, next week we will continue with fish types and various ingredients important to the preparation of a good sushi roll! Until next time, and as always happy cooking!
More Information on Sushi Types: https://delishably.com/meat-dishes/The-Different-Kinds-of-Sushi
Sushi Rice Recipe ( If you don’t have a rice cooker ): https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/sushi-rice/
