For some time now, Japanese cuisine has become very popular not only among Europeans, but all over the world. Lovers of savory dishes of sushi and rolls especially liked it. Traditionally in Japan, they are prepared on the basis of specially seasoned rice and various additions in the form of raw or smoked fish, fresh cucumbers, avocados and flying fish roe. Rolls are wrapped with dried nori seaweed, and sushi is prepared in the shape of a "boat" from thinly sliced fish or pressed from combined layers on a special device.
Rolls and sushi can be divided into those that are wrapped with the filling inside and those that have the filling on the outside, but they all have one thing in common - a specially prepared base of rice.
Rice base for sushi and rolls
Okomesan rice is best suited for preparing the base. It can be purchased in specialized stores, where all the products, seasonings and accessories designed specifically for the preparation of sushi and rolls are on sale.
Rinse the cereals well before cooking. During this procedure, you should be very careful with the rice so as not to damage the integrity of the grain. Next, soak the cereal for 10 minutes, then drain the water through a sieve. Then you need to put the rice in a special saucepan - a rice cooker designed specifically for cooking cereals. In such a device, rice will cook in just 20 minutes.
Then carefully remove the rice, transfer it to a wooden tub and cool it to 45 ° C. Pour the sauce over the cooled rice base and stir very gently. The special sauce is made on the basis of rice vinegar and sugar and is sold ready-made.
To make the right rice filler, take:
- Okomesan rice - 1 kg;
- water - 1 l;
- rice sauce - 270 ml.
Remember that when preparing a rice base, the following proportions are used: 1 kg of rice per 1 liter of water.
Sushi makers
To make it easier to prepare Japanese sushi and rolls, you need special tools:
- bamboo mat for rolls, wrapped with cling film;
- knife for cutting fish (blade 25-30 cm);
- a bowl of rice vinegar diluted in water to wet the fingers;
- cutting board;
- a mold for pressing sushi.
For a traditional set of sushi and rolls, the following components are used: wasabi, flying fish roe, pickled ginger, mayonnaise, salmon fillet, crab meat, smoked eel fillet, cucumber, tuna, avocado, perch, noria seaweed. This set allows you to prepare several types of sushi and rolls. This is a standard set, but you can prepare sushi from products that are more convenient for you.
Tekka maki (tuna rolls)
To prepare this type of rolls you will need:
- ready-made rice - 70 g;
- nori - 1/3 of the sheet;
- tuna fillet - 30 g.
The tuna fillet must be removed from the package and blotted with a napkin. You will need a small strip of tuna to make one roll, so you can cut a strip from the fillet along the length of the nori sheet. Then place a nori sheet on top of the mat. The glossy side of the seaweed should be facing the mat. Brush the seaweed with your fingers dipped in rice vinegar. Next, you need to lay out a path from a rice base in the middle of the nori and level it in both directions. Leave a strip of seaweed around the edges without rice.
Next, you need to lightly coat the rice with wasabi seasoning, but only in the center along the rice path. Then you can lay out the strips of tuna and gently begin folding the mat. When you reach the empty edge of the bucket elevator, moisten the strip with vinegar and water and gently glue the edges of the algae.
When folding the roll, form it in the form of a quadrangle, but do not try to press too hard on the roll. Unfold the mat, cut the resulting roll into 4 pieces and place the finished product on a special plate. Along with the rolls, serve a little wasabi and pickled ginger.
Zushi axis (pressed sushi)
To prepare this type of sushi, you need a special device in the form of a removable mold with a separate bottom and a press lid. On top of the bottom, you should set the shape itself in the form of a rectangle and start laying out the layers in it (the ingredients are given in the order of the layers laying out):
- nori sheet - 1 pc.;
- rice - 40g;
- fresh salmon - 30 g;
- rice - 30 g;
- tuna - 30 g;
- noria sheet - 1 pc.;
- rice - 40 g;
- fresh cucumber - 20 g;
- avocado - 25 g;
- rice 40 g;
- flying fish roe (red, green and yellow) - 15 g (each color).
Vegetables and fish for pressed sushi should be cut into thin slices no more than 3 mm thick. The caviar should be laid out in one layer, passing from one color to another, as in a rainbow. Each layer of rice should be greased with wasabi, and the noria sheets should be lightly moistened with water and rice vinegar.
When all the layers are laid out, you need to cover the mold with a press lid and press a little on it. Then the lid should be removed, the form should be gently lifted and the pressed sushi should be beautifully cut into 8 pieces. Transfer sushi to a plate, top with wasabi and pickled ginger.
