Last night was Sushi night, here at Mary Makes Dinner HQ. I picked up a delicious steak of sashimi grade tuna at a local grocery store, and hit the kitchen. If you are making sushi, make sure you get sushi or sashimi grade fish specifically. Other grades will not be safe to eat raw, no matter how “fresh” they are assured to be. Sushi and sashimi grade fish is made so by a special freezing process that kills micro-organisms, which can be harmful if left uncooked. When in doubt, just used cooked fish or veggies instead.
The first order of business when making sushi is the rice. Unlike regular rice, sushi rice takes for-freaking-ever. First there is the rinsing, than the draining, than the soaking. Finally, cooking, seasoning, and cooling. It’s quite a project. Here’s the sushi rice recipe I use.
While the rice was doing all that, I prepped my spicy mayo by combining Kewpie brand Japanese mayo with a little Siracha. The simplicity of the spicy mayo that so many of us sushi-philes know and love was discovered during my years as a sushi waitress. That amazingly yummy pink sauce is no big mystery after all, something that I find often surprises people. Next, I sliced up some veggies. Thin strips of seeded cucumber, and yellow and red bell peppers were perfect for making my veggie maki. Since a full veggie each was way too much for this project, I used the bulk of these veggies to whip up a quick spicy sesame salad. Once the rice was ready to go, I sliced up my tuna into long, thin strips, (against the grain) and sliced an avocado.
Once I had all of my sushi mise en place in order, I got down to business. It was time to roll some maki. One day, when I really get the hang of it, I’ll make my own video. For now, I’ll spare you the messy rolling mat, sticky hands, and foul language that goes along with my own sushi rolling, and let you enjoy watching a professional do it. This shows him making a cucumber roll, but you can use the same basic technique with almost any filling. Hats off to this video for the use of wasabi inside the maki. A pet peeve of mine is how so many restaurants now leave wasabi out of their sushi and maki all together. Bah! I say, if you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the sushi bar.
Not all of my sushi came out quite as well as this, but by my third or fourth roll it was looking much nicer, and actually staying together (the important thing). With sushi in Austin being so pricey, Scott and I don’t go out for it as often as we’d like. If I can master making at least some basic sushi at home, I think our lives will be much enriched. Or, at least our stomachs will be.
Spicy Sesame Salad
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon siracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon kewpie japanese mayo
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon toasted seeds (sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin work well)
In a small bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, and siracha. While whisking continuously, pour in sesame oil in a thin stream. When combined, whisk in salt. Toss dressing with vegetables, and top with seeds. Serve cold.