Many Japanese dishes are based on seafood, soy sauce, and rice. These basic ingredients are also used for making rolls, sushi and sashimi - Japanese fast food. Making sushi at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The whole process will take no more than one and a half hours.
Sushi types
Japanese sushi is divided into many types, here are the most common ones:
- Maki (rolls) - a combination of vegetables, seafood and rice packed in nori seaweed. The rolled up roll is cut into pieces and then fed to the table.
- Nigiri (compressed sushi) - finger-sized compressed rice sticks with a small piece of fish on top. Usually served in pairs at sushi bars.
- Chirashi sushi (separate sushi) is the most common type in Japan. This is rice arranged in small containers and topped with an arbitrary combination of vegetables and seafood.
- Oshi sushi (pressed) - marinated or cooked fish at the bottom of the container, and rice on top to the brim. Oppression is put on the rice and after a while all this is taken out, turned over with the fish upside down and cut into pieces.
Ingredients
- rice for sushi - 500 g;
- water - 550 g;
- nori (dry seaweed);
- rice vinegar - 50 ml;
- soy sauce;
- salmon fillets;
- pickled ginger;
- wasabi;
- cucumber;
- crab sticks;
- avocado.
Preparation
To prepare sushi, you will need a bamboo mat - to roll the sushi and a sharp knife - to cut into pieces.
It is better to use wasabi powder - mix it with water and after 10 minutes it will be ready.
Nori is sold in packs of 10 and is a crispy dark colored sheet, approximately 20x20 cm in size. It is almost black in color and dark green. Blacks are a little more expensive, but also more aromatic.
Pickled ginger (gari) is used to freshen the mouth and neutralize the taste between different sushi.
As a filling, you can use avocado strips, crab sticks. cucumber, cream cheese, special Japanese mayonnaise.
Cooking rice for sushi
Rice in sushi is the most important ingredient. The whole taste of the dish will depend on how well the rice is cooked. We need one with short, rounded grains. A regular long one will not work because it is very dry and holds a lot of water. The varieties Minori, Kokuho, Maruyu, Kahomai, Nishiki are well suited.
Pour the rice into a wide bowl and cover with cold water so that it completely covers the rice. To separate small debris, gently massage the rice with your fingers until the water becomes cloudy. If you do not perform this action, the surface of the rice will be sticky, and this is unacceptable for sushi. Next, you need to drain the water, refill it with fresh water and repeat this procedure several times until the water is clear.
Place 500 g of rice in a deep saucepan, add 550 ml of water. Cover the pot with a lid, set the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then the fire to a minimum and keep in this position for 12 minutes. It is important not to let it burn in any way. During this time, the water is completely absorbed into the rice, remove the pan from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes.
While the sushi rice is cooking, prepare the dressing. Mix 30 g sugar, 10 g salt and 50 ml rice vinegar. Combine the dressing with the rice, pouring it over a spatula in a thin stream and stirring immediately. Spread the rice evenly in the container and leave to cool.
Cooking "Nigiri"
Slice the fish at an angle using a very sharp knife. This should be done in one movement towards yourself in an arc. The fish cannot be “sawed”; it must be skinned beforehand. The denser the fish, the thinner the slicing.
Prepare a bowl of vinegar water to wet your hands (water in a deep bowl and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar). When forming "nigiri" hands should always be wet, otherwise sushi will not work.
Scoop about one and a half tablespoons of rice with your hand, squeeze them in the palm of your hand and shape into an oval shape. Take a fish blank in your left hand, smear it with wasabi. Place the rice on top, press down with your thumb on top.
Flip the “nigiri” so it is fishy outward. Squeeze from the ends, press the fish tightly against the rice. The nigiri are ready, try to make the fish part larger than the rice part and not over-squeeze the rice.
Making “Maki” (rolls)
You can make any filling for rolls, if you wish. Various combinations of seafood with vegetables (cucumber, avocado, etc.) are suitable. The rice and filling are rolled into a nori sheet using a mat. They can be of two types - thick and thin.
Thin rolls are called "hoso-maki" - 2 cm in diameter, contain only 1-2 components. For their preparation, half of the algae leaf is used. Half will make 6 pieces. The smooth side should always be on the outside, and the ingredients are placed on the rough inside.
Place the nori on the mat with the shiny side down. Moisten your hands with vinegar water. Spread four tablespoons of rice over the surface. Leave a 1 cm free strip at the top edge. The rice layer should be about 7 mm high - spread it evenly and slowly. Place the filling on top.
Align the bottom edge with the edge of the rug, and while holding the filling in place, lift the edge of the rug with your thumbs up and forward. With the mat completely rolled up, roll the roll and squeeze it slightly. Press the ends of the roll with your fingers. Create the next one in the same way.
Thick “foot-maki” rolls are made in the same way as thin ones, only they can contain more components and they will have a diameter of 5 cm.
Cutting rolls
The rolls are cut with a sharp knife, the blade is pre-dipped in vinegar water. "Hoso-maki" are cut first in the middle, then each half into 3 more parts. Futo-maki is cut in half, and then each half is cut into 4 more pieces.
