Maki-zushi

Rolled Sushi
Makes 5 sushi rolls
Serves 4-5

This lends itself to much variety and personal taste. Read through the
recipe and decide which types of rolled sushi you would like to make,
then choose a few types to try this time.

Sushi rice:
2 cups raw rice (cook in 2 cups of water)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp konbu dashi

Cook the rice. Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt. While lightly stirring and
fluffing the rice, sprinkle on the vinegar mixture. Keep stirring and
sprinkling until all is used. The rice grains should each be shiny and
not clumped together.

Set sushi rice aside.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

How to cook Japanese rice without a rice cooker

Choose a heavy sauce pan.

Add equal amounts of rice and water.
Soak the rice for 10-15 minutes.
Turn on the stove to high, and bring to a boil. The pan should be
covered.
When it’s boiling, turn the stove to low. Allow to simmer for about 10-
15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
Set aside and leave covered for another 10-15 minutes.
Sushi Fillings:
• Kampyo (dried gourd) and shiitake mushrooms – soak for 1
hour. Rinse kampyo thoroughly and squeeze it out.
Simmer for 1 hour in:
2/3 cup dashi stock
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp soy sauce
When done, slice shiitake into thin strips. Cut kampyo to fit the length
of the nori that you will use to wrap the sushi.

• Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet):

3 eggs
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp usukuchi (light colored) soy sauce

Thoroughly mix eggs, salt, and sugar. Pour a little bit into an oiled hot
heavy-bottomed frying pan. When it is set, roll up carefully. Add
another very thin layer of egg to the pan and lift your little omelet roll
to attach it to the new layer of egg. Roll it up carefully. Continue
adding more egg, one thin layer at a time, then roll it up, until all the
egg is used. Shape the egg into a rectangular shape. Slice into
1/4ths, lengthwise. Set aside.

• Cucumber – sliced in ½ and then lengthwise in rectangles. You

don’t need to peel the cucumber. Usually the seeds are not
used.

• Tuna and Lettuce –

Drain 1 can of tuna and mix with mayonnaise to moisten and hold it
together. Add a little wasabi if you like.
Wash and dry large lettuce leaf and set aside.

• Fried shrimp and lettuce –

Shrimp is dipped in egg and then in bread crumbs and deep fried.
 Wash and dry large lettuce leaf and set aside.

• Fried chicken breast strips and lettuce –

Cut chicken breasts in ½ inch lengths. Dip in flour, then in beaten
egg, and then in Japanese bread crumbs. Deep fry. Drain and set
aside.
Wash and dry large lettuce leaf and set aside.

• Natto – set aside one pack of natto (fermented soybeans – not

for the uninitiated.)

• Boiled Shrimp – Straighten the shrimp out to make a line across

the rice. Add a thin line of wasabi beside the shrimp before you
roll the sushi.

• Raw Tuna – Cut tuna into a long thing strip. Place on the rice.
Add a thin line of wasabi beside the tuna before rolling.

Combinations:
1. Kampyo, shiitake, egg, cucumber
2. Tuna, lettuce
3. Cucumber
4. Fried shrimp with lettuce
5. Fried chicken breast with lettuce
6. Natto
7. Boiled shrimp
8. Raw tuna

Prepare all ingredients.

To make a rolled sushi:

1. Lay your bamboo sushi mat on your working surface.

2. Place a piece of sushi nori on the mat, shiny side down.
 3. Cover the bottom 2/3rd of the nori with a ½ inch layer of sushi
rice. Use a spoon or rice scooper that you keep in a bowl of salt-
water to serve the rice with. This will keep the rice from sticking
to the utensil. Press the rice firmly, making sure that the
surface is even and that the rice is tightly packed.
4. Add your choice of ingredients from the list above. I will use
chicken breast and lettuce as an example. Roll the fried and
cooled chicken breast in about ½ of a large lettuce leaf. Both
chicken and lettuce should be as long as the width of the nori.
Place in the center of the rice, lengthwise. Carefully lift the sushi
mat to roll the sushi away from you towards the empty part of
the nori. Roll it tightly so the nori doesn’t fold or crumble. Dip
your finger in a little water or soy sauce and use the liquid to
seal the open end of the nori to the roll.
5. Use the bamboo mat to shape your sushi into a tight roll. Set
aside.

Continue making sushi according to that method until 5 rolls are

made. There should be just enough rice. Combination #1 is the most
challenging, so be sure to hold the ingredients so they don’t tumble as
you roll the sushi.

When all the rolls are made, slice them with a damp knife. First cut off
the ends, then slice each roll into 8 tidy pieces. Clean and dampen the
knife as needed, so the rice doesn’t stick to it. Lay the sushi
attractively on a platter.

Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.