I first discovered sushi in Sydney nearly 20 years and it was culinary love at first taste. It was the first time I’d ever found a food that tasted amazing, and was actually healthy for you too – what a revelation!
There were sushi bars on every other corner in central Sydney, but when I first moved here they were practically non-existent. When I was in serious need of a sushi fix I’d detour past Notting Hill on my way home from the city, and then carry it all the way home to Putney. It was an expensive and highly impractical way to satisfy my cravings, so I learned how to make sushi at home.
The hardest part was getting the rice just right but as soon as you had that bit mastered, the rest was remarkably simple. Still, I actually hadn’t made it in ages when the Yutaka team invited me to try their sushi making kit.
The Yutaka brand is synonymous with Japanese food. Not just the leading supplier of Japanese restaurants in the UK, the company also produces a range of authentic ingredients for you to make traditional food at home, including sushi, sauces, soups, rice and noodles.
After a week of no-so-great holiday eating I was seriously looking forward to eating something fresh and nutritious.
THE SUSHI MAKING PROCESS
I went into sushi making auto pilot: boiling the rice until it was soft and sticky (not mushy), spicing it with a splash of rice vinegar, then setting it aside to cool.
I laid a sheet of roasted seawood (Sushi Nori) then spread a layer of the cooled rice. FYI: it has to be sushi rice, regular rice won’t work, and remember to leave a bare strip at one end as this is how you seal the sushi roll.
Then I layered my filling – I chose to make a classic California roll, with crab sticks (I actually wanted crab meat, but couldn’t find any) avocado, cucumber and a little bit of mayo mixed with cream cheese.
Tip: be careful not to cram TOO much filling into your roll, or else it will be impossible to roll, and will burst open as soon as you attempt to eat it.
Next, I used the sushi mat to lift and curl the roll, being careful to neatly tuck in the end. When I got to the end, I gave it a bit of pressure to seal the roll. Because it was so soft, I wrapped it in plastic wrap before carefully cutting it into slices about an inch thick.
A dollop of wasabi, a pile of pickled ginger and a good drenching of soy sauce, and there it was – how to make sushi. Lunch was served, and it was delicious. Next time I’m planning to try the nigiri sushi maker, and top the rice with prawns and strips of salmon sashimi.
Freshly made sushi is in a completely different league from the bland ready made meal boxes you can pick up in supermarkets – it’s soft, juicy, and bursting with flavour. I guarantee you, once you learn how to make sushi and you discover how easy and tasty it is, you won’t want to go back.
Plus, all this healthy eating means I can drink more wine, right?!
• my sushi making sampler kit was provided for the purpose of review
We made this at the weekend. It was a lot of fun. Yours looks great. xx