California Maki
What is sushi? - Not just raw fish - The origin of sushi is not Japan. It is said that sushi was introduced into Japan in the 7th century from China. People began making sushi to preserve fish by fermentation when there were no refrigerators.
Is sushi raw fish? No. Raw fish is called sashimi in Japan and is not the same as sushi. Sushi indicates foods that use rice seasoned with sweet rice-wine vinegar. Of course, raw fish is the most popular ingredient in sushi, but the main element of sushi is Japanese sticky rice. Sushi is low in fat and is a very nutritious food.
Not into raw fish? No problem! There are many kinds of sushi that varies from raw fish, seafoods, and vegetables. There are many kinds of sushi, which don’t include raw fish like cooked fish, shellfish, and various other ingredients can be combined in sushi.
For sushi lovers, I’m going to introduce basic steps in making California Maki – sushi rolls wrapped by seaweed (nori). One of my favorite sushi!
What you need:
- cooked Japanese rice (cook 2-cups short grain Japanese rice in 3 cups water in a rice cooker)
- ground white pepper
- fresh salmon (fillets), cut into pieces
- mirin (Japanese rice wine)
- bowl of water
- nori (seaweed) sheets, cut in strips
- wasabi
- ripe mango slices
- cucumber slices
- crab sticks
- fish roe
- Japanese mayonnaise
- bamboo sushi mat
What to do:
- Season cooked rice with a pinch of ground white pepper and 4 tablespoons of mirin. Using a wooden rice paddle or a for, lightly stir the cooked rice to incorporate the seasoning. This makes the rice cool down quicker, too.
- Get a bowl of water and ad 1 tablespoon of mirin. Wet both hands with this vinegared water to keep rice from sticking when rolling sushi.
- Spread rice on the sushi mat, leaving an inch of margin on the edge. Then lay half a nori sheet in the rice. On the nori, lay out crab sticks, mango, and cucumber lengthwise. finish with Japanese mayonnaise.
- With the help of sushi mat, roll up sushi and seal tightly but gently.
- Then roll sushi on a bed of fish roe. Slice into 1-inch rounds using a very sharp knife. Cut firmly straight down. Serve with wasabi on the side and soy sauce.
