Make Your Own Sushi

From an aesthetic and health viewpoint, sushi is possibly a nearly perfect food. It is always presented beautifully (as shown here) and tastes awesome. And I do love the neatly controlled package that it comes in! More important, these tasty little morsels are nutritional as well. (I only know this from the plethora of reading that I have done on the subject). They are full of potassium and iron just in the seaweed alone. There is fiber in the vegetables, and omega3 fatty acids and protein in the fish. Big bonus, sushi has a low calorie count, about 200 for five pieces.

The coolest part, you can get all of this without dropping a couple of bills at a sushi bar. Just buy some sake and/or wine and the sushi ingredients and call your friends for a sushi making night. Side note: I already have the kit that I really want to put to use.

The seaweed wrapper (nori) and fish (be sure to ask for sushi grade) can be found at high-end grocery stores. If your local high-end grocery store does not have the fish, try a fishmonger. One tip I read is that the flesh should bounce back when pressed with your finger, and it should smell of seaweed, but not strongly of fish.

For your basic tuna roll, follow these construction tips:

1. Dampen hands with water and vinegar to keep rice from sticking. Spread a handful of rice evenly downward on the dull side of the nori (seaweed).

2. Leave a half-inch margin free of rice on the top edge, and hollow out a horizontal indentation midway for the filling. Spread a thin layer of wasabi (this is optional because it is pretty dang spicy).

3. Fill in the hollow from edge to edge with thin tuna slices. Place your thumbs underneath the nori and lift the top edge.






4. Align the roll half an inch from the top edge of a bamboo sushi mat, roll the bottom of the mat to the bottom edge of the nori, and roll forward.


5. Gently continue to roll the mat forward until you reach the top edge of the nori.






6. Rotate 180 degrees, and press firmly along the roll to tighten and pack in the filling.






7. Gently peel back the mat and remove the sushi. Cut into six pieces.

I am really anxious to try this and hope that I can get the opportunity some time really soon. If any of you have ever made sushi, I would love to know how it turned out. What would you do different from what I have shared above? Any recommendations on where you went to get your sushi ingrediants would be great too.