A little something about this blog. Nothing lengthy, just an overview. Keep it under twenty-five words if you can.
An essential tool for rolling Maki sushi rolls. The mat is basically a collection
of round wooden sticks woven into a flat rollable shape with string.
You need to go to a specialist Japanese or Korean store to get one of these.
The avocado pear is used in California rolls, which are the best rolled with the rice
on the outside of the seaweed. Don’t be afraid of avocado. Many people talk about
the avocado as being full of fat and really bad for you. In fact, the avocado is
GREAT food. The fats in avocado are good fats - mono-unsaturated fats (like
those in olive oil) which raise the good HDL cholesterol levels in the bloodstream,
which in turn help neutralize the harmful LDL cholesterol in your blood.
Avocado has a wondefully buttery texture and nutty, flavour. At their best
avocados can taste vaguely “oniony.”
In my opinion, the “Haas” avocado has the best flavour, it’s richer and nuttier.
They can identified by their darker appearance (more purple than green),
plus their skin is much coarser and bumpy.
Choosing the right avocado for sushi is VERY important. There is nothing worse
than eating California rolls with under ripe, firm avocado. The ideal texture
is buttery. Don’t be afraid to gently squeeze an avocado in the palm of your hand
before you buy it. It should just “give” a little.
Another important point: it’s best to not store the avocado in the refrigerator
for at least two hours before serving. It will be far too cold, and firm in the mouth,
and the taste is spoiled.
Un-toasted seaweed, “nori” is black and needs to be toasted before use.
“Sanchi” branded nori comes un-toasted. To toast it you place it under a very
hot grill for a few seconds. You need to watch it carefully because it toasts
very quickly. It will turn dark green when ready. Alternatively you can take
the easy way out like me and buy it already roasted. The brand I buy is
“Yutaka.”
Nori seaweed is very good for you. It contains iodine and minerals.
Nori seaweed is used for maki rolls and larger hand-rolls (e.g., Teka Maki)
which are very tasty.
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Sushi-su is the seasoning you add to your sushi rice. It’s basically a mix of rice vinegar, sugar and salt. I used to make my own sushi-su, by mixing 4 tablespoons of rice vinegar with 4 tablespoons of caster sugar, and one tablespoon of salt. They are best mixed in a warm saucepan, then left to cool. Then mix this with the cooled, cooked rice. This quantity will do about 500g (dry) of sushi rice. My life changed however when I discovered the Mitsukan |
Pickled sliced ginger “gari” is generally served with sushi to cleanse the palate
between different types of sushi. Ginger together with wasabi are the two “condiments”
which are most commonly served with sushi.
Pre-packaged ginger generally contains salt, saccharin/sugar, and MSG,
in addition to the ginger. My advice is to buy the type which is in a sealed sachet,
and sold from the refrigerator. You can get the type which comes in a jar, …
don’t buy it, it’s awful!
If you are really stuck, and can only get the jar type, drain it, rinse it, and soak it
in some Sushi-Su for an hour before serving.