Any make their own sushi??

[EveRecinella]

I bought a sushi making kit today and want to make a whole pile of sushi for us for New Year's Eve. Does anyone have any recipes, tips, ideas, anything that would help me out?

[Jennifer]

I just love sushi. I've never made my own, but I've seen a friend do it and she said the biggest thing is to not use too much rice. Oh, and something about not rinsing the rice like some of the recipes say. Sorry that's not much help, lol.

I'd love to know how you're doing it...it's something I should learn!

[scrapmonkey]

I've done it a few times. There's no real "recipes" per se for Sushi, as it's like a sandwich - it's what you like. I do rinse my rice, but the key is using the right rice - sushi grade rice is the best, if you can find it; if not, another short grain rice can do (long grain does not work - blech). The rinsing helps it be a bit more sticky (I learned that in Hong Kong when I was taught to make sticky rice). I also tend to use a little rice vinegar with the rice (not a lot, though). If you do rolls (versus the lump of rice with sushi grade fish or roe on top), there are two different methods of rolling the rice and seaweed sheets - one with the seaweed on the outside and one with the seaweed inside - I prefer it with the seaweed outside because it keeps it neater, but the other key as Jennifer said is to not use too much rice. Fillings are dependent on your preferences. The cheapest ones are California roll (usually imitation crab "legs", avocado, cucumber and/or carrots), veggie roll (same as California but no crabmeat) or Philadelphia roll (cream cheese, and cucumber and/or carrots). But my favorites are with sushi grade yellowfin tuna or sushi grade salmon. At a restaurant, I've enjoyed eel (cooked a special way with some sauce), but I don't know how to make it. And make sure your wasabi paste is fresh - if it's old, it won't have the same kick nor will it have a good taste.

[jennpage]

My hubby would make it and it seems like he did it like Leslie explained. He would get tuna from the fish counter and make his. Or he has used the fake crab. I don't care for it but him and my 15 yeard old does.

[Laura_A]

I've made California Rolls before, but I struggle because I can't get the right rice... it's not sticky enough. I love the kind with eel, the one I like is called Unagi Nigiri but don't know how to make that one. I also love Inari wich is rice inside a sweet tofu wrap and Kani which is pretty much just a clump of rice with a larger piece of crab on top (looks like the Unagi Nigiri). Those are my faves, but there are a few others I'll eat... can't remember their names though. However, I hate wasabi. lol

[junebug]

i've never had sushi, lol. really curious about it though.

[sjford0419]

I think the biggest thing would be to add a little bit of rice vinegar and salt to the rice once its cooled off. (If you do it while it's hot, it will get all mushy!!) Also important to use the right kind of rice!

[jennpage]

Speaking of rice hubby uses that jasmine rice.

[Laura_A]

Originally Posted by jennpage

Speaking of rice hubby uses that jasmine rice.

See, that's what I use, but it never seems to be sticky enough.

[lizzyfizzy]

it's nearly impossible to make good sushi. i may need to become japanese so i can find out how!

[meems]

We've only done California rolls at home and it's a make it yourself kind of thing. I just put out cut up cucumbers, avocados, fake crab, and nori (get the kind that is specifically for sushi and cut up into smaller size squares like 3inx3in).

For the rice the recipe I use is
- Mix 3 tablespoons of vinegar (i use rice vinegar), 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt together. Then mix the vinegar mixture with 3.5 cups cooked rice (I just use some short grain Asian rice that we always buy).

Put the rice, nori and cucumbers, crab (i would think cocktail shrimp would be good too?), avocado (or whatever you want to have) out and let each person assemble their own. Less work for you. (Also I don't know about you but I suck at making the actual rolls)

I'm not a fan of actual raw fish though.

[EveRecinella]

Thanks for the ideas lades!! We are excited to give this a try! Laura you might want to see if you can find an Asian kiosk, your in Germany right? We have a bunch here in Copenhagen and that is where I bought the kit. They sell the sushi rice and basically everything you need.

[NettieB]

I sat here trying to come up the recipe for sushi rice and the more I thought, I realized I would have to go the kitchen and make sushi, because it's like reciting the pledge of allegiance, can't do it without doing it, KWIM? meems sounds great.

Key is to have fun!

Tips:

1) Wet/soak the rice paddle or whatever you are using to turn the rice before you stick it in the pot.
2) Less is more - the rolls get huge in a hurry
3) Have little finger bowls filled with water to dip your fingers into - it helps to seal the nori when you are making the rolls.
4) Have a damp hand towel nearby - wipe rice hands before dipping fingers, or you have a bunch of floating rice in finger bowls
5) Roll away from your body
6) If you are going to try an inverted roll (rice outside of nori, dusted with sesame seeds or ebiko), line the bamboo mat with parchment paper or saran wrap first

[girlflies]

We make it all the time!
Do the extra bit of work to get the rice right, it is so worth it. Everything else in or on top is personal preference.
I recommend you find a recipe online or get a book from the library, and most of all...enjoy!!

[Laura_A]

Originally Posted by NettieB

I sat here trying to come up the recipe for sushi rice and the more I thought, I realized I would have to go the kitchen and make sushi,

I did one better... lol. I read and responded to this thread at 10:00 pm... it had me craving sushi SO bad, that I actually ordered some. There's a place in town that delivers until 11:00 pm. ROFL It was YUMMY!