"My Sushi Was Home-Rolled...How About Yours?"

How to Host Your Own All-You-Can-Roll Sushi (Makizushi) Night

You might be asking yourself, "But isn't it difficult to roll sushi?"

In answer: "Yes, masters often must first apprentice for years and years in order to have the sole privelage of making sushi rice and then maybe later they learn to roll, but also no, really anyone can do it. Haha. It's actually a fairly forgiving process, once you get the basic concepts down. There is some, a little finesse involved in not over-stuffing the maki rolls so they stay sealed and in getting them to look all neat and tidy for presentation, but who truly cares what your sushi looks like as long as it tastes good, right?"

Short answer: "Lighten up! Don't take things so seriously." That's what I say.

Anyone can do this! If you must obsess about presentation, put any ugly dud-rolls on a separate plate or eat up your mishaps as you go along. Keep the atmosphere light-hearted and laid-back, laugh and chat while you roll, compare unique filling combinations you may come upon with the rest of the group and after piling the finished sushi onto a couple of platters, feast until your hearts and stomachs are content. You'll delight in the surprises you get when tasting eachother's handiwork.

Aside from your imagination and a sense of adventure, the Essential Tools You'll Need are:

• Sushi Rice (see recipe to follow) - ingredients for sushi rice include Short-Grain Sushi Rice (white or brown), Rice Vinegar, Water, Sugar (or sugar substitute), Salt
• Rice Cooker to make the rice, or a solid pot and fitting lid... I mean, c'mon, you're just making rice. No biggie. But I'll probably be shunned for saying that.
• Nori Sheets (Toasted Seaweed Sushi Wrapper) - one sheet makes about 5 or 6 pieces of maki or 1 hand-roll
• Sharp Knife for cutting maki
• Fillings, to taste (more ideas to follow)
• Wasabi, to taste
• Soy Sauce, to taste
• Pickled Ginger, to taste
• A Healthy Appetite (without this, you're lost)

I've found that some Helpful, But Not At All Necessary Tools include:

• Bamboo Sushi Mat for assisted rolling. I don't use one. I roll with my bare hands. Yep, I'm hard-core, can you handle it?
• Wooden Spatula for spreading the sushi rice. I use my fingers, wetting them with water first to minimize sticking. Whatever floats your boat, though.
• Several Shallow Dishes or Plates to cool and present the sushi rice, enough for guests to use conveniently without reaching too often in front of others (or everyone can just take turns - that works too.)
• Bowls of Water and Dish Towels to wet/rinse fingers off and wipe hands.
• Mini Shallow Dishes for serving soy sauce and wasabi.

To Make Sushi Rice:

You'll need 1 lb. short-grain rice (white or brown), 2 1/2 cups of water, 5 tbsp rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar (or desired sugar substitution - I use agave), and 2 tbsp salt.

Place the rice in a rice cooker, add water, and follow the manufacturer's directions for cooking. Or

place the rice in a pot with lid and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer very low with steam for 15 -20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Taste-test a grain or two to check for chewiness. If it's still crunchy and not softened/sticky yet, add more water and continue a low simmer. I usually have to add an additional 1/2 cup of water because my rice cooker heats up too quickly. Remove the rice from heat and spread it out on plates or in shallow dishes, so it can cool evenly. You may try fanning it with a magazine or something similar to cool it quicker.

While the rice is cooking, mix the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently while stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove this from heat and let it cool before drizzling it over the rice. Run a spatula through the rice gently to evenly distribute the mixture through the grains.

To Prepare Nori Sheets with Rice and Fillings Before Rolling:

Lay nori sheet smooth side down (one side is slightly rougher/textured) on a rolling mat or table surface, vertically so it's tall rather than wide in front of you, and spread (press down) a very thin layer of rice on the bottom 3/5 to 3/4 of the sheet (leave a strip at the top for overlapping to seal). I personally like to go with the 3/5 ratio for slightly smaller maki that is more pop-in-your-mouth sized, and this also helps me prevent over-stuffing or seam bursting.

Across your rice (halfway between the top of the rice and the bottom), horizontally lay your fillings in a narrow strip grouped together like tiny logs, keeping the diameter of the combined "logs" to no more than 1/2 inch.

A General Idea of How To Roll:

Roll from the bottom to the top, gently pinching the fillings together for tightness and gently squeezing the nori roll as you go to keep uniformity. Stop when you've reached the end of the rice, and moisten the remaining nori with water or soy sauce using your finger tip. Continue rolling and seal the nori.

Cutting the maki is slightly easier when the roll has set for a minute. Clean or wet the knife in between cuts to allow for a smooth glide through the maki. Note: Even if you don't have an awesome sushi chef's knife or your knife is not ultra sharp, you can achieve a cleaner cut without smooshing your roll by doing a tenderly slow sawing motion (sooo tenderly) until you've sliced through.

As for the goodies within...

There are a million possibilities of sushi filling variations. I try to add one off-the-wall ingredient each time:

Sometimes I hit upon perfection, sometimes the flavors are just "meh"then my tongue says, "Whatever, not impressed,"and rarely I make something that's just too weird for my buds to handle. Recently I sampled my own ochra, sprouts, and pomegranite vinegarette sushi which I wasn't so keen on - the okra was too slimy - and luckily I didn't subject any other innocent folk to those odd-ball rolls. Also not a fan of hard-boiled egg and celery in my sushi. But I've hit upon some tasty pairings, namely the addition of crunchy, dried, fried garlic bits, which I found come in a jar at the asian market (in the seasonings section) for quite cheap. Scrambled eggs are equally delicious paired with almost anything, especially with grilled salmon and cream cheese.Additionally, I've done a soft filling of pureed edame seasoned with curry and garlic chile sauce,and I'd give that a big huge thumbs up! Give your spice rack a once over and consider sprinkling in some curry powder, ground ginger, or cumin before rolling it up. Or try spreading on some hummus.

Common Fillings That are Golden include: Cucumbers, avocado, green onion, sprouts, daikon, shredded carrot, smoked salmon, tuna, crab, scrambled egg, tofu, cream cheese, Vegenaise, sesame seeds