Making Sushi at Home

https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EF7BZDSV1JBGPXF433Y5

Got this as a wedding gift and it's one of the only gifts we use regularly. Perfect rice everytime. And it has a timer so you can set it up 24 hours in advance.

 

My rice cooker is a pot on the stove, simple and works well.

 

Have the same one and I agree it does a great job.

 

Great sushi is all about getting the rice right. I've worked sushi stations in restaurants. First the rice must be washed very well. I usually put it in a bowl or pot, run cold water and fill, dump the water while moving the rice around with my hand to remove the starch until the water is clear. I soak the rice in cold water for 10 minutes and drain. Put your measured amount of rice/water in a pot. Bring to boil as fast as possible, as soon as it boils low heat for 15 minutes, turn off, let sit another 10. Never check the rice until the end. Wet a clean area or use a sheet pan at home. Dump rice and cool as fast as possible. In a restaurant we use a table fan. On the yacht or home grab a towel and fan it like a hot Arabian princess for about 5 minutes. Once mostly cool add your Rice vinegar Sugar/salt mix (sushi-su). It should be made ahead of time and cooled. Fold that in gently with the rice. Once cooled wooden bowl with a wet towel over. If you do it right you should never break a grain of rice.

 

Yeah. We are both right handed and have experience with nice knives. Maybe we should start a kitchen knife thread! In some ways this is just an excuse for me to buy another knife.

I don't really like wasabi with my sushi. I definitely don't like the ginger. Soy sauce on the other hand... mmmmmmm salty.

 

Only sushi I like is tuna on rice with or without ginger and soy. Not really worth buying a rice cooker and shopping for good tuna just for that.....I'll pay a pro $3 a piece. Occasionally the woman will show up with sushi from Kroger- it's been ok a couple times but it's usually pretty sad.

 

Things not to skim on: fish, seaweed and rice. Cheap seaweed will make the roll hard to chew and gummy. Make sure it's a good quality short grain rice. When you are seasoning the rice try to put it in something like a large flat bowl, the more surface area the faster you can cool the rice down. I used to use a wooden bowl that was about 4feet in diameter when I had my restaurant.

The knife is not that important unless you're going to be making a lot and are going to be concerned about how "clean" the cut of fish looks. If it's going in a roll no ones going to see it. Carbon steel knives are very brittle and will rust if not taken care of properly. A sharp chef's knife will do the trick if you only doing it occasionally.
Wet the knife blade when you cut the rolls.
Use minimal force when laying the rice on the seaweed. If you pack it or press down on it, it will get compressed and feel heavy. You should be able to breathe through the roll in your mouth.
You will make a mess, wet your hands before you handle the rice, too much water and the rice won't stick, too little and it will stick to your hands and nothing else.

 

FYI, I inherently trust sushi advice from someone named Kazuhiro.

 

So true.
In the interest of good sushi, if you suspect you cannot get good nori locally, I live about 4 blocks from a very old and reputable Japanese grocer that serves my entire city and could ship you some. Patriarch Oto just died at 89 last year, but the market is probably doing better than ever.

 

These are the droids you seek. Ain't nothing mini about them though.

http://www.haistreetkitchen.com

So fn good.

 

I love sushi and love it with a very rich "wasabi" and soy sauce mix.

I will pay a sushi chef to make it for me, as I like a big variety of sushi and rolls.

 

So is your rice served cold? I like my sushi made with rice that is just a little warm.

 

Room temp, usually around 76-78 degrees in FL and the Caribbean. I come from a restaurant mentality that I would not put chilled raw seafood on rice that's warm. Not to mention any warmth or heat would probably make the nori soggy???? When I said cool it was for the rice vin mix. You have to boil it to dissolve the sugar and salt. Then chill so you are not putting hot liquid on rice that you are trying to cool as fast as possible.

 

This mainly just for sushi, not rolls. The gf got sushi take out once. She picked it up an hour or so before we ate it. She put it in the refrigerator when she got it home and we only ate a little because swing cold made it not taste as good.

 

Sushi should never be refrigerated. It ruins it. Sushi is rolls, negiri is rice form with seafood on top, sashimi is sliced raw fish, hand rolls are cone shaped.

 

Learned something today!

 

Putting sushi in the refrigerator dries out the rice and makes it stiff/crunchy. If you have to put it in the fridge cover it in plastic wrap to slow down the drying out process. Sushi is best eaten when it's made.

To the OP, thanks, I have close to 15 working as a sushi chef and 10 co-owning a sushi restaurant in Raleigh. I've served a few forum members and they didn't die.