With our six month trip starting next weekend (and no kitchens on the itinerary), I decided to tackle an embarrassing gap in my cooking experience: sushi.

My kitchen has been sushi ready for a long time. I had the sushi rolling mats, mirin and rice wine vinegar, sushi rice and two whole packets of nori (my feature ingredient this week). How hard could sushi be?

I decided to make two types of sushi: carrot, avocado and cucumber, and tofu and shitake mushrooms.

Ingredients

One packet of nori sheets, cut into halves.
1 1/2 - 2 cups of sushi rice
2 - 3 tbsps rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp mirin
1 carrot. peeled and cut into long, narrow slices.
1 avocado, peeled and cut into long, narrow slices.
1 cucumber, seeds removed, peeled and cut into long, narrow slices.
1 packet of seasoned tofu, cut into narrow strips (I used Soyco Japanese tofu)
1 cup of shitake mushroons, washed and halved.
Wasabi
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Salt

Method

Rinse the rice in cold water a few times, then cook the sushi rice according to the instructions on the packet. When ready, remove from the heat and place in a ceramic bowl. Carefully mix through the rice wine vinegar, mirin and a pinch of salt. Let it cool down for maximum stickiness.

Sautee the shitake mushrooms in sesame oil with a teaspoon of soy sauce to taste.

Now you’re ready to roll!

Get out a bowl of water. Spread the sushi mat on a flat surface with the slats running horizontally. Lay out your first sheet of nori, with the shiniest side down. The nori end closest to your body should slightly be even with or overhang the end of the mat.

Dip your fingers in the water, then take a handful of rice, and spread it evenly about 1 cm high on the nori sheet. Leave about 1 1/2 cm at the bottom, and 3-4 cm at the top. Dip your fingers in the water to wash off the rice. There should also be a small gap on each side. Place a couple of pieces each of carrot, avocado and cucumber (or tofu and shitake mushrooms) in the centre of the rice.

Carefully lift up the end of the sushi mat closest to you and roll it over the filling. Use your fingers to contain the filling and make sure the nori has wrapped around it. Dip your fingers in the water and pat the open end of the nori to make it more sticky. Pull the roll back to the start of the sushi mat, and roll again to finish off the sushi roll. While the mat is still covering the sushi, press down lightly.

Remove mat and behold your roll! Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

P.S. Our rolls were not perfect on the first try. Or on our 15th try, for that matter. I’d love to hear from any sushi masters out there who want to share some tips about rolling technique.

Nori

• Nori is dried sea weed (or sea vegetable) made from a red algae called porhyphra.
• To make the nori sheets used in sushi, the seaweed is dried, cut into thin strips, and then compressed in a process similar to paper-making.
• Nori has been used in Japanese cooking for hundreds of years.
• Aside from sushi rolls and rice balls, nori is also torn into strips and used in soups, salads, and to season rice.

For more information, see:

Wikipedia and Sushi Links

This weekend herb blogging round-up is hosted by Rachel from Rachel’s Bite. Check out her blog for the full list of entries.

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