Sushi

I love making sushi. I get all the ingredients cooked, sliced, and ready to go, lay it out pretty on white plates, and then create several different rolls. It's methodological and organized and I get to use the beautiful sushi dishes that Matt bought me for Christmas a few years ago. We went to Disney World for that New Year's and specifically went shopping in Japan at Epcot for soy sauce bowls to go with the new dishes. I will always remember that fondly - especially because I think about it every time we pull out the dishes!

The main thing about rolling sushi is practice. I've included a few tips here as well as the recipe for sushi rice and several tasty roll combinations. The first step is to prep everything and cook the rice. Cook any meat that you want to use and then slice all ingredients into narrow strips. This will be best for rolling the sushi.

 Sushi Rice
makes about 12 rolls

2 cups rice, uncooked
3 - 4 cups water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1. Cook rice according to package instructions making sure that it is cooked through and not al dente. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, heat vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. While stirring, drizzle the liquid over the rice until well mixed. Let rice cool completely before rolling sushi.

Rolling sushi: By no means is this the professional way to do it but it works pretty well for us!

Place a piece of Nori on your rolling mat (you could also use a kitchen towel although it will be a little harder). Spread about 1/3 cup of cooked sushi rice across the Nori making sure that you get it all the way to the edges. If you don't, the end pieces will be lame and the ingredients may fall out of the ends.

Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the rice and gently press to make sure it sticks. Flip this over so the plastic wrap is on the bottom and the exposed Nori is on top.

Line your ingredients up along long edge of the Nori. To start rolling pull the mat up over the ingredients and make sure to tuck the end of the Nori under them. Gently pressing down, roll the mat forward until the roll is completed. Be sure that you pull the plastic wrap along with the mat so that it doesn't get stuck in your sushi.

Using a sharp knife slice into bite size pieces and enjoy!

Taylor Roll (my fav)
Chicken (marinated in soy sauce & garlic)
Bacon
Jalapeno
Cream Cheese

Houston Roll
Raw Tuna
Jalapeno
Cream Cheese

Steak & Asparagus
Flanksteak (marinated in soy sauce & garlic)
Asparagus spears (cooked until al dente)

Rebel Roll               Oxford Roll                Tiger Roll
Crab                       Fried Catfish              Chicken
Bacon                     Cucumber                  Jalapeno
Avocado                 Spicy Sauce              Tiger Sauce, drizzled on top
Cream Cheese