General Tso here, back home in Virginia on a two-week vacation before classes start up again. To surprise me, mi madre hunted down some ingredients for homemade sushi! I love that woman. We made some together, and though the final product looks like a little, um, "special," the taste was great.
Here's what you'll need:
1. Nori (Some notes here: do not get the 2 inch squares that some markets sell. You will need whole sheets to do this right. I'm not sure about the measurements, but 8 x 10 inches sounds about right. Also, nori is actually made from algae, NOT seaweed, so don't let anyone tell you that you need "seaweed sheets.")
2. Sticky rice (Soak some rice in warm water for an hour or overnight, and then steam them for 20 minutes. For some added taste, sprinkle with rice wine vinegar.)
3. Avocado
4. Sushi grade fish (Tuna is definitely the easy option here, but you could always be adventurous and use Fugu.)
5. Pickled veggies (Again, do whatever you want. It's your sushi, and you'll cry if you want to.)
6. Wasabi (Please don't get the ready-made paste. If you want pre-grated, that's fine, but if you can grate your own, you're an all-star baller.)
7. Soy sauce
8. Pickled ginger
The recipe is easy. You need a bamboo mat, by the way, which come pretty cheap. Start out by laying your nori sheet out on the mat, with the longitudinal axis of the nori in parallel with the long axis of the mat. Have the edge of the nori overlapping the edge of the bamboo mat where you plan to start rolling.
Now, lay out the stick rice on the nori so that it comes just to the edge. You want the thickness of the layer to be a little more than half a centimeter (yes that's metric, and no, I'm not converting to the English system; welcome to the 21st century).
In the center of the sticky rice layer, start putting down ingredients in a thin row parallel to the short axis of the mat/nori/rice. Use less than you think you should! Of course, we used avocado, some wasabi, pickled veggies, and cooked catfish (mother dear was scared to use uncooked fish). If you want Philly style sushi, then add some cream cheese.
Finally, roll that sucker up really tight, but do not put downward pressure on the roll. You don't want sushi guts spilling out onto your counter. Trust me, if you wrap tight enough, the mat will put pressure on the ingredients and fuse them together. Once fully formed, unwrap the mat and voila! But wait, there's more...
Now that you have this log of goodness in front of you, you need to carefully and meticulously cut it into six pieces. This is where a sushi knife comes in handy, but according to Alton Brown, they can be pretty pricey. Just make sure you have your sharpest chef's knife with you. Please don't use a serrated blade. This ain't bread, homeslice. Bisect the log, and then lay the hemi-logs in parallel and cut each into thirds. Top with pickled ginger and soy sauce, and enjoy!
Here's what you'll need:
1. Nori (Some notes here: do not get the 2 inch squares that some markets sell. You will need whole sheets to do this right. I'm not sure about the measurements, but 8 x 10 inches sounds about right. Also, nori is actually made from algae, NOT seaweed, so don't let anyone tell you that you need "seaweed sheets.")
2. Sticky rice (Soak some rice in warm water for an hour or overnight, and then steam them for 20 minutes. For some added taste, sprinkle with rice wine vinegar.)
3. Avocado
4. Sushi grade fish (Tuna is definitely the easy option here, but you could always be adventurous and use Fugu.)
5. Pickled veggies (Again, do whatever you want. It's your sushi, and you'll cry if you want to.)
6. Wasabi (Please don't get the ready-made paste. If you want pre-grated, that's fine, but if you can grate your own, you're an all-star baller.)
7. Soy sauce
8. Pickled ginger
The recipe is easy. You need a bamboo mat, by the way, which come pretty cheap. Start out by laying your nori sheet out on the mat, with the longitudinal axis of the nori in parallel with the long axis of the mat. Have the edge of the nori overlapping the edge of the bamboo mat where you plan to start rolling.
Now, lay out the stick rice on the nori so that it comes just to the edge. You want the thickness of the layer to be a little more than half a centimeter (yes that's metric, and no, I'm not converting to the English system; welcome to the 21st century).
In the center of the sticky rice layer, start putting down ingredients in a thin row parallel to the short axis of the mat/nori/rice. Use less than you think you should! Of course, we used avocado, some wasabi, pickled veggies, and cooked catfish (mother dear was scared to use uncooked fish). If you want Philly style sushi, then add some cream cheese.
Finally, roll that sucker up really tight, but do not put downward pressure on the roll. You don't want sushi guts spilling out onto your counter. Trust me, if you wrap tight enough, the mat will put pressure on the ingredients and fuse them together. Once fully formed, unwrap the mat and voila! But wait, there's more...
Now that you have this log of goodness in front of you, you need to carefully and meticulously cut it into six pieces. This is where a sushi knife comes in handy, but according to Alton Brown, they can be pretty pricey. Just make sure you have your sharpest chef's knife with you. Please don't use a serrated blade. This ain't bread, homeslice. Bisect the log, and then lay the hemi-logs in parallel and cut each into thirds. Top with pickled ginger and soy sauce, and enjoy!
Please don't laugh at my "special" sushi.
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