Is this the first post I've written about sushi? It's certainly not the first time we've made sushi - we love it! I think the number one best thing about making sushi at home is the cost savings. Restaurant rolls cost 20-30 shekel each, and for about that much you can buy a bag of sushi rice and a package of nori, enough for at least 20 rolls. Yes, the ingredients cost money too, and there is the factor of time and effort. But a ten-fold markup? Seriously.
Making sushi is pretty straightforward, so I'll stick to a few bullet points:
- I tried using Supersol brand risotto rice instead of sushi rice. It didn't work.
- If you don't like the texture of your sushi rice when it finishes cooking, try soaking the rice - in the cooking water - on the counter before cooking. 30 minutes in the summer, 60 minutes in the winter.
- Fake crab/shrimp is not available in Haifa, but we filled the fish requirement with lox, which was very good. I also bought some tuna from a fishmonger who told me it was sushi quality. In reality, it was gray and fishy smelling, so I decided to poach it in oil, then mix it with mayo and hot pepper for "spicy tuna". It basically tasted like canned tuna fish.
- For real sushi grade fish, look for "red tuna". It's flash frozen, in shrink wrapped plastic. It comes in small, wedge shaped portions, which is a good amount for a few rolls of sushi. I'd use it. Some people also buy large salmon fillets and make sushi out of this. This strikes me as a bad idea, both because the salmon quality seems less pristine then the "red tuna" and because finding sushi-appropriate tender slices seems trickier. Your call.
- Here are some good non-fish sushi fillings: avocado, cucumber, mushrooms (chopped and sauteed with miso, soy sauce and garlic), zucchini (amazing), sweet potatoes (roasted with honey and brown sugar), omelette slices...
