Simple Sushi
Sushi is a delicious and healthy snack, that can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
Whenever I mention sushi to my friends, the first thing to normally come up is - "isn't that raw fish?!"
I think there are 2 reasons behind this myth; firstly the fact that most sushi dishes are made with fish. Secondly, I think that the sushi rolls in particular, actually look like a fish that has been cut into segments. The outside seaweed layer looking like the skin or scales of a fish, the boiled rice looking like the flesh and the inner filling looking like the guts of a fish.
Now, sushi can be a pretty tricky thing to make yourself. So I have put together an instructable to show you how to make the simplest of sushi rolls, tuna. Although you can easily replace the tuna with chicken, cucumber, grated carrot or anything else really.
Whenever I mention sushi to my friends, the first thing to normally come up is - "isn't that raw fish?!"
I think there are 2 reasons behind this myth; firstly the fact that most sushi dishes are made with fish. Secondly, I think that the sushi rolls in particular, actually look like a fish that has been cut into segments. The outside seaweed layer looking like the skin or scales of a fish, the boiled rice looking like the flesh and the inner filling looking like the guts of a fish.
Now, sushi can be a pretty tricky thing to make yourself. So I have put together an instructable to show you how to make the simplest of sushi rolls, tuna. Although you can easily replace the tuna with chicken, cucumber, grated carrot or anything else really.
OK, firstly the ingredients for tuna sushi rolls:
Seaweed squares - available in England from Tesco superstores or smaller foreign food stores etc.
A tin of tuna chunks (not flakes).
Sushi rice - again available from Tesco superstores or smaller foreign food stores.
Castor sugar.
Soy sauce or oyster sauce.
Wasabi sauce.
Seaweed squares - available in England from Tesco superstores or smaller foreign food stores etc.
A tin of tuna chunks (not flakes).
Sushi rice - again available from Tesco superstores or smaller foreign food stores.
Castor sugar.
Soy sauce or oyster sauce.
Wasabi sauce.
In this instructable, I used enough of all the ingredients to use up 1 tin of tuna. In this case, 2 long sushi rolls, so 2 squares of seaweed and about 1 cup of rice.
So first off, get your rice boiling in water. Boil your rice for about 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave the rice in the hot water in the pan for a further 15 minutes. Then drain.
Next, add 1 teaspoon of castor sugar (just normal sugar will suffice) and stir your rice around. This will make the rice very sticky, perfect for the sushi rolls.
So first off, get your rice boiling in water. Boil your rice for about 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and leave the rice in the hot water in the pan for a further 15 minutes. Then drain.
Next, add 1 teaspoon of castor sugar (just normal sugar will suffice) and stir your rice around. This will make the rice very sticky, perfect for the sushi rolls.
Next, prepare the tuna filling. Open the tin, drain off the brine or oil, loosen the tuna and fluff it up with a fork.
I much prefer tuna in olive oil as opposed to brine. However, this is MUCH more expensive, so I just buy Tesco value tuna chunks in brine, drain off the brine and just add olive oil instead!
Now at this stage, I like to add some extra stuff to my tuna, so I do this now. A pinch of garlic powder, pepper and ground chilies. Plus a good dash of olive oil.
I much prefer tuna in olive oil as opposed to brine. However, this is MUCH more expensive, so I just buy Tesco value tuna chunks in brine, drain off the brine and just add olive oil instead!
Now at this stage, I like to add some extra stuff to my tuna, so I do this now. A pinch of garlic powder, pepper and ground chilies. Plus a good dash of olive oil.
Now you need to prepare the seaweed squares.
It's best to have the rice and filling all ready to go. The seaweed becomes very sticky when you wet it, which makes rolling it easy.
I have a small dish of water on hand, then put a few layers of wet kitchen roll down and roll the squares of seaweed on that.
I don't really go by measurements, just by eye with the quantities of rice and filling. After putting your rice down on the seaweed, make a groove all the way along for the filling, then fill the groove with half of your filling, in this case, half of the tin of tuna.
It's best to have the rice and filling all ready to go. The seaweed becomes very sticky when you wet it, which makes rolling it easy.
I have a small dish of water on hand, then put a few layers of wet kitchen roll down and roll the squares of seaweed on that.
I don't really go by measurements, just by eye with the quantities of rice and filling. After putting your rice down on the seaweed, make a groove all the way along for the filling, then fill the groove with half of your filling, in this case, half of the tin of tuna.
This is the trickiest part of the process, rolling it all together. You want the filling in the middle as much as you can, rather than all to one side. The more you practice this, the better you'll get. You can get the bamboo sushi rolling mats, which are a huge help. Once rolled up, wet your fingers with the dish of water and wet all the way down the seam where you have rolled. This will stick the seaweed instantly. Then rolling the sushi around, wet the entire skin with the water from the bowl, rubbing it on with your fingers. You'll soon notice the seaweed skin taking on the more familiar flexible state.
Once this is done, pop them in the fridge as the rice inside will probably still be slightly warm.
Once this is done, pop them in the fridge as the rice inside will probably still be slightly warm.
Take the rolls out of the fridge after an hour or so and get a very sharp knife with a very flat, wide blade and cut the pieces as long or short as you'd like them.
You can go one further and roll them in sesame seeds, this looks pretty cool!
Season the rolls with soy sauce, wasabi and anything else and enjoy!
You can go one further and roll them in sesame seeds, this looks pretty cool!
Season the rolls with soy sauce, wasabi and anything else and enjoy!