After posting an article about Shushi roll recipe, some friends asked me how to make homemade Shushi vinegar, and because it is super easy, I will introduce you how to make it.
This is for 3 cups of rice. (Kome, uncooked rice)
Note that 1 cup of uncooked rice is slightly less than 200ml, it is 180ml.
If you have a rice cooker, you do not need to worry about the quantity of water. Just pour the water fits to the level as the rice cooker measurement line tells.
When you cook rice using your normal pot, just remember that the rice and the water should be measured by the same cup and the amount of both should be the same. (1 cup of water : 1 cup of uncooked rice.)
When the rice is done, we call it Gohan, and for your reference, when it is grain, it is normally called Kome.
You might have been asked by your Japanese friends,
Gohan tabeta? Gohan wa?
and this means if you have had meal or not, indicating how importance rice is for us!
When Sushizu is ready, all you should do is to wait for the rice to be cooked.
You must use the hot rice from the pot, or reheated rice if you have cold gohan so as the rice sucks Sushizu in well.
When you get the hot rice, shift the whole of the rice into a sushi-oke, which literally means a sushi barrel.
If you do not have one, which I am not surprised (I do not have one!), shift the hot rice into the biggest bowl or deep dish you have.
Use this type of plain wood one. This balances the proper amount of moisture from the rice.
This is not the one; a lacquered barrel is only for dishing food up. Do not use this.
You will still see the salt and sugar in the liquid of Sushizu, but do not worry. Just star it lightly with the spoon right before you pour the Sushi vinegar onto the rice, all in one go, then quickly turn the rice over from the bottom of the container, using your biggest wooden spatula.
Be careful not to "kneed" the rice!
If you have a fan, use it while you are mixing the rice and the vinegar, because cooling the sushi rice quickly is the secret of the good taste of sushi rice.
I use a electric fan.
Cool the rice down to the room temperature.
When you make Nigiri, which is that popular small box shape sushi, or make the rice into sushi roll, you need to use rather warm sushi rice to handle the operation.
If you want to have assorted sushi plate, try Chirashi-zshi.
Just dish up Sushi rice on the big plate, put anything you like, such as cut sashimi, Japanese omelet(tamagoyaki). bean sprout, cucumber, boiled prawns, cut tomato, etc, and sprinkle cut seaweed paper on it.
Temaki-zushi, a hand-roll-sushi, also is good and fun.
The variation of our Shishi;
This is Oshi-zushi, literally means, pressed zushi. This style is from Kansai. You put toppings at the bottom of square wooden box, then Sushi rice, press it for a while, take it out and cut it with a knife. This is delicious, too.
This is Nigiri, or Nigiri-zushi. Nigiri is from the verb nigirimas, meaning to squeeze with and and fingers. A skilled Susi man's Nigiri has almost always the same number of rice grain!
This style, te-maki, meaning hand-roll, had started to become very popular probably around 40 years ago. And we enjoy having te-maki-zushi party at home. At Sushi bar, when you order a norimaki, literally means seaweed roll, they ask you if it should be te-maki(manually rolled) like this te-maki style, or kikai-maki(rolled by a bamboo roll maker), which is normal sushi roll.
This is a barrel of Chirashi-zushi, literally means Sprinkle Sushi. It is a festivity food.
Today I would like to introduce you how to make Norimaki, known as Sushi roll, in super easy, short cut way.
First, let us examine the word.
Nori means seaweed paper. You can buy it at a supermarket.
There are several different sizes of them, and we want to use this whole-size. Normally, one package contains 10 sheets of Nori.
The word MAKI comes from a verb, Maki mas, which means to roll.
My way is very easy so why don't you try?
Ingredients for 6 sushi rolls.
3 cups of rice (uncooked)
Nori sheet/ one thick sushi roll needs one sheet
6 big measuring spoonful of Sushi rice vinegar (bought one)
Sashimi and other fillings. I will show you later.
Tool
Makisu, a roll maker made of bamboo. You can get it at a 100 yen shop.
Now shall we start?
1. Cook the rice with your rice cooker. The water should be slightly less than usual.
In case you do not own one, get a pack of ready-to-eat-rice at a supermarket. The amount is normally a big rice bowlful, do not get the half size one. One ready-to-eat rice package would make one thick roll.
Heat this with microwave, make sure you open the seal a little bit.
Sushi rice needs hot rice so as it sucks sushi vinegar well.
2. Mix hot rice with sushi vinegar. You can make it by yourself,but as a starter, let us get this bottle of sushi vinegar.
Be sure it has hiragana and kaji like this. 「すし酢」
You will find this among all the other normal vinegar, and if you use normal vinegar, it will be a disastor.
Add 2 desert spoonful or a big measuring spoonful of sushi vinegar to one cup of rice. If you start with this recipe, pour 6 spoonful.
What I mean by one cup of rice is one cup of rice when it is not cooked.
In case you start with ready-to-eat-rice, one package would need two teaspoonful of sushi vinegar.
Start adding vinegar little by little until you get your favorite taste.
Mix the rice and sushi vinegar gently, turn the bottom part up.
You would be scared to see the rice quite wet at first, but it will be OK when it is room temperature.
Cool it down for a while.
Japanese would use an Uchiwa, which is a traditional round fan. But this works as well.
3. All the while, prepare food you want in your Norimaki.
Cut everything in long shape and the length should be the width of Nori paper, when it it placed on the roller horizontally.
Below is mine as example.
Tamagoyaki, which is Japanese sweet omelet. ( You can buy it at a supermarket) Lettuce bean sprout Cut sashimi of any kind you like, sermon and red tuna is easy to handle. Minced tuna Natto (furmented soya bean)....mix well with several drops of soya sauce. Boiled carrot Tin of tuna, mixed with Japanese Mayo Cucumber avocado chopped leek ham shredded cheese boiled chicken breast
The easiest and safest way is to buy a plate of sashimi at a supermarket.
If you cannot differenciate fish for sashimi and fish for cooking-needed, ask the clerk.
"Sashimi-yoh deska? " (Is it for sashimi?)
"Sashimi-de, daijobu deska?" (Is this OK to eat as sashimi?)
Absolutely no rule, many may put BBQ pork, beef, chicken thy, shrimps, etc.
Note that food contains lot of moisture does not fit to sushi roll. Cut the oil or water well in case you use tin of tuna
4. Place a sheet of Nori paper onto the Makisu, the bumboo-roll-maker, horizontally.
5. Spread the rice (room temperature) on it with a spoon. Should be small amount, barely enough to cover the sheet.
6. Put anything you like. For a thin roll for a solo ingredient, cut the nori horizontally in two.
7. Pick up the edge of Nori sheet with your thumb and index finger to roll gently until you make a relatively wobbly, shaky, roll shape.
8. Then roll the whole thing all over agian, using the bamboo roll-maker, squeeze gently, while rolling the whole thing from your side to the other, give it a gentle push from all the directions.
You made it! Congraturations!
9. Cut the roll with a bread knife. The rice sticks to the blade so wipe it with moistened tea towel or paper towel sometimes.
Now sit down with a small plate of soy sauce and wasabi.
Itadakimas!
For your reference; About wasabi.
The best wasabi should be fresh and grated with a spacial grater made of shark skin.
I use wasabi power in a tin. Get a spoonful in the tiny bowl, add some drops of water, mix well.
Many go for wasabi in tube, good enough.
Norimaki is easy to make, a bit of a mess at first, but once you master how to make, very good for party food.
Gambatte, good luck!
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