learn to make sushi girls' night.

I had a learn to make sushi girls' night.  My friend Ishani came and shared her sushi making tips with us.  The girls - Bonnie, Francie, Abby, Katie, Missy, Kailee, Ellyn, Lindsay and Jacqueline did a great job making these tasty california rolls.  

You will need:

a makisu (sushi rolling mat, made of bamboo.  You can buy one at walmart for $2)

Japanese or sushi rice, cooked

nori or seaweed (buy roasted)

1 recipe for Crab Salad (or just chopped imitation crab and mayo will do) 

avocado, cut lengthwise

cucumber, peel and remove seeds, slice lengthwise

sesame seeds (buy toasted)

soy sauce

wasabi

pickled ginger

Cover your sushi rolling mat with plastic wrap.  Place it on a cutting board with the bamboo running horizontal.  Organize your ingredients in an assembly line.  The nori sheets are often too big for a sushi roll.  Cut 1/4 of the nori sheet off with clean kitchen scissors.  Lay nori sheet shiny side down.  Spread 3/4 c. to 1 c. of rice over the nori sheet.  Dip your hands in a bowl of water before starting.  Pat the rice out over the nori sheet evenly.  Flip the nori sheet so that the rice side is down.  Sushi rice is really sticky, so you should have no problem flipping it over without making a huge mess.  Line the edge of your nori sheet with the bottom of your sushi rolling mat.  Spoon crab salad down the middle of your

nori sheet.  Add avocado and cucumber on either side.  Begin rolling by bringing the bottom of your mat (covered in plastic wrap still) up and over the ingredients.  You will need to apply firm but gentle pressure to shape the roll.  But don't squeeze to hard or the ingredients will pop out the sides.  Continue rolling.  Pull back on your sushi mat to keep it from getting rolled up with the food.  Check out u- tube- how to make a california roll-  if you want a video demonstration before trying it yourself.  Once the sushi is all rolled up, roll it through toasted sesame seeds.  Cut your sushi with a sharp knife dipped in water.  Be gentle when cutting to protect the shape of your rolls.  The sticky rice will stick to your knife.  Use a wet paper towel to clean off your knife in between cuts.  Arrange your rolls on a platter and serve at room temperature.  Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.   

Wasabi- In my grocery store, there are two different types of wasabi you can purchase.  The one of the left (in both pictures)  is a powder you add water to.  It creates a paste that you can shape and mold.  It is very similar to what you would get at a sushi restaurant.  The wasabi on the right (in both pictures) is an already prepared wasabi that comes in a tube.  You can't shape and mold  it, but either wasabi will work to add a kick to your soy sauce. 

Pickled Ginger- I made the pickled ginger in the picture on the right.  Peel the ginger root.  Once the ginger root is peeled, continue to peel the ginger into a shallow container.  Salt the the ginger for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Boil water and blanch the ginger for 1 minute.  Drain.  Place the ginger back into the shallow container.  Add 2 parts rice vinegar to 1 part sugar.  Use just enough rice vinegar to cover all the ginger.  Marinate the ginger in rice vinegar and sugar mixture for 4 days.  Drain.  Eat the pickled ginger in between dishes as a palate cleanser.

You also might want to get some chopsticks, but it isn't against etiquette to use your fingers for sushi.  Just make sure you eat the whole piece of sushi in one bite because it is bad etiquette to try to take smaller bites of one piece of sushi.  

xx.

val