Sushi!-- Makizushi Nori Rolls

Two nights of sushi. We're big fans of sushi here. My son loves sushi, but I cut his in half. My husband loves sushi, even if it's avocado. I love sushi because I don't have to try to encourage anyone to eat their dinner. It disappears in just a few minutes. We are currently enjoying our sushi with leftover vegetable soup, and a spinach salad with baby tomatoes and a mild yogurt dressing. (A few tbsp of whole milk organic yogurt, a dash of apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper, and a 1/2 tsp of honey.)

Sushi is very easy to make at home. I'll confess that my Japanese boyfriend's mother taught me how to make sushi rolls back in their home in Tokushima during the New Year's holiday of 1994/1995. (domo arigato gozaimasu, Hirose San!)  And I don't really remember what she taught me. So I just make it up as I go along.

It's important to have rice that will hold together, or else your sushi will just fall apart. Many people use sushi rice to this end, but I just use a very short grain brown rice, cooked of course without any oil,  because that reduces the stickiness.

Seasoning your sushi rice is a matter of preference. I used to use rice vinegar with a little organic cane sugar, and some sea salt. These days, I use a little apple cider vinegar, and skip the sweetener altogether. You can buy commercial preparations of 'sushi seasoning', that already have the salt, sugar, and rice vinegar combined, by authentic companies such as Marukan. However, it's okay to make your own, or just add a little this and that until it tastes right to you.

You need to have some sheets of nori for making makizushi (literally 'rolled sushi'), as well as your choice of fillings cut into strips. Avocado is a perennial favourite around here, although we've used rehydrated marinated dried mushrooms, sweet potato, strips of egg, carrot, cucumber, squash, and even spinach (cooked and squeezed out).

Sushi rice ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked (very short) short grain brown rice

2 cups of water

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 - 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)

1 -2 tsp sugar or honey (optional)

directions:

1. put the rice, salt, and water in a pot, and bring to a boil.

2. Turn the heat down, and cook for about 40 minutes.

3. add the vinegar (and optional sweetener if using) and stir to combine

4. set aside to cool

sushi ingredients:

6 sheet of nori

1 avocado cut into long strips

1 mini cucumber cut into long strips

1 small carrot

cooked rice

directions:

1. Spread approximated 1/2 cup of rice on a sheet of nori, on the upper 2/3 or 3/4 only

2. Lay your ingredients of choice across the nori, just towards the bottom of the rice

3. If you like, you can spread a little wasabi across the rice before putting your ingredients on.

4. Roll up the nori, using a piece of parchment paper or a proper bamboo roller (I don't have one), squeezing gently as you go, from the bottom.

5. Cut the rolls into discs using a very sharp chef's knife or a bread knife (I prefer a bread knife -- the serrated edge really helps)

6. Place the pieces on a plate, a serve with soy sauce and wasabi

7. For children, it can be helpful to cut each disc in half, because nori can be a little chewy.

Let me know what crazy fillings you come up with. The sky is the limit!

Sometimes it's hard to wait for dinner to be ready ... 

Just like mama used to make :)