Sushi is an art that will take many many years to perfect, from how to cook the rice, how to treat the fish to the making of it. I'm not professionally trained nor can I claim that I know much about it. It didn't stop me however from giving it a go, and enjoying my own creation at home. This post is not intending to go into depth on techniques and details as there are plenty of sources online already, instead, it's a simple summary on how to recreate some of the flavours above should you wish to try it out at home yourself.
Ingredients
Sushi Rice
- 1 cup of Japanese rice
- 2 cups of water
- 20ml Japanese rice vinegar*
- 15g sugar
- 3g salt
Fish
- assorted fresh sashimi grade fish**
* The brand I used is Mizkan available at most Asian groceries. You can also use ready made sushi vinegar. If you are using ready made sushi vinegar, you won't need to add the salt and sugar to the vinegar mix.
** Fish and condiments used in the photo above will be further described below.
Method
1. Wash the rice and cook it with 2 cups water in a rice cooker.
2. Start marking the sushi vinegar by mixing the vinegar, salt and sugar together until the salt and sugar is fully dissolved.
3. Let the rice rest in the rice cooker for at least 10-15min once cooked, scoop it out with a plastic or wooden rice scoop and gently loosen and separate the rice grains in a large bowl. Pour the vinegar mixture over the rice and gently mix it until all rice grain is fully coated by the vinegar mixture. Allow the rice to cool until it reaches room temperature.
4. Coat your hands with the residual vinegar mixture, or with more vinegar. This will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands. Take a small amount of rice (about 1 tbsp or 25g), shape it in the palm on your hand gently but firmly into a small rectangular pod. Repeat a few times until it holds its shape. Top with fish and flavouring of your choice.
The fish and flavouring used in the photo above are listed below for reference (left side, from top to bottom). I have also lightly brushed the surface of the sashimi with a yuzu/soy mixture as I liked the subtle fresh fruitiness it brought to the fish (2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce, 2 tbsp yuzu dressing, both available for most Asian groceries, should you wish to try):
- Japanese sweet shrimp sashimi (amaebi)
- Scallop sashimi with tobiko (flying fish roe)
- Ark shell sashimi with finely chopped fresh chives
- Salmon sashimi
- King fish sashimi
- Scallop sashimi, lightly brushed with Japanese mayonnaise, grilled with blow torch and garnished with tobiko (flying fish roe)
- Salmon belly sashimi, blow torched and garnished with finely grated ginger
- King fish sashimi, blow torched and topped with thinly sliced jalapeño
Enjoy!
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