Omakase Please

Spicy Tuna Roll

2012-01-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

The spicy tuna roll is another american-style dish that has become a sushi staple. I can't think of any sushi restaurants (that serve specialty rolls) that don't have spicy tuna rolls on their menu. While learning any kind of sushi requires a lot of dedication and practice, this is a roll that is relatively quick and easy to make.

You will need:
-2 cups sushi rice (dry measure) Recipe Here
-about 1 lb spicy tuna. Recipe Here
-4 nori sheets
-wasabi & gari
-roasted sesame seeds

Optional ingredients:
-avocado
-cucumber

Tools:
-makisu
-knife
-plastic wrap

Put the nori face down on the cutting board. Take 120g sushi rice and spread evenly over the nori. (Check out details on spreading, rolling, and cutting technique Here)

Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on the nori

Flip the nori and rice over so that the nori is facing up. Spread a small handfull of the spicy tuna mixture evenly across the middle of the nori sheet. I chose to only put spicy tuna in my roll this time, but as I mentioned above, some optional ingredients include cucumber or avocado. If you choose to use either (or both) ingredients, put them in the middle of the nori at this time, while applying slightly less spicy tuna mixture.

Using the techniques as explained in the California Roll Recipe, roll and cut the spicy tuna roll. Then display them faced diagonally to the left.

Add wasabi and ginger to the presentation. Spicy Tuna roll...done.

Spicy Tuna Recipe

2012-01-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

The spicy tuna recipe is separated from the spicy tuna roll recipe to provide a reference for future posts that might involve spicy tuna.

Spicy tuna was invented in California around the 70's sometime after the california roll was created. Though it is not a traditional sushi recipe, it is used in many sushi dishes around the world. You can use this recipe for rolls, hand rolls, donburi and many other dishes. (Spicy tuna roll recipe here)

Ingredients:

-1 lb sashimi grade tuna

-1/4 cup Sriracha sauce (or other hot chili sauce)

-1 tablespoon mayonnaise (japanese mayo preferred)

These measurements are not set in stone. Adjust the hot sauce and mayonnaise portions to your liking. I like my spicy tuna pretty spicy, so I use a little more hot sauce. I keep this recipe nice and simple because I think it provides a cleaner taste, and because it's the way I was taught. Some optional ingredients are chili flakes or sesame oil. For non-traditional dishes such as this, there is a lot more freedom in the ingredients you choose to use!

I got this tuna from Marukai market in Costa Mesa. Marukai is a really great Japanese market that has locations in California, Hawaii, and Japan. You can also check out Mistuwa or other Japanese markets for some packaged sashimi grade fish.

When choosing packaged fish from a market, all you really have to go by is the color of the fish. Try to find something with plenty of color and free from defects. (This tuna is slightly lighter in picture than in person)

Spicy tuna is actually made from left over tuna parts that are scraped from the bones or are too oddly shaped to be used for sashimi or nigiri sushi. It is also typically lower quality than the tuna you would use for nigiri. Marukai packages these tuna parts and sells them for about $10/lb, which I think is great. Normally, sashimi grade tuna sells at the markets for about $30-$35/lb. If you're paying these prices for fresh tuna, it would be a waste to use it for spicy tuna. (At fish markets in L.A. you should be able to find tuna for about $15-$20/lb.)

Using a sharp knife, mince the tuna finely.

Pour sriracha and mayo into a bowl and mix. Adjust the recipe to your own taste.

Mix the spicy mayo with the tuna.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator for later use.

California Roll Recipe - Part 2 (Making)

2011-11-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Here is part 2 of the California Roll recipe. Now that we have all our ingredients ready for the California Roll, we can go ahead and start putting it together.

(Check out Part 1 here)

Take the nori and lay it on the cutting board. Please keep in mind that nori does have a "shiny" side that is used for presentation. Although it isn't necessary for rice outside rolls, I would get into the habit of making sure the shiny side is faced down.

Next, wet your hands by dipping two fingers in the temizu, then spread it all over both hands in order to keep the rice from sticking.. Temizu is made by mixing a 95% Water/5% Vinegar solution. Including some ice in the solution also helps to avoid sticking rice. (I have heard of some sushi chefs using gloves and rubbing a little bit of mayo all over, but I personally would advise against that.)

Next, measure out approximately 120g of sushi rice with your palm, and shape it into an oblong ball. It should be a little smaller than the size of a fist. Place it in the middle on the right side of the nori.

Next, spread the rice evenly to the left side by pulling (not pressing) the rice in 2-3 smooth motions. It is really important that you are not pressing and smashing the sushi rice together because it will make the rice hard and chewy. From here, spreading rice takes 6 quick steps.

1 - Spread rice from left side to the top left using your thumb

2-Spread remaining rice from the left to the bottom left using your first three fingers.

3-Spread rice from the right to the top right using your thumb. From this angle you can see that I am using my right hand to keep the edge nice and straight. You can also see that I am slightly pinching the top to apply straight edges on the top as well. You will use these techniques on all 6 steps.

4- Spread remaining rice from the right side to bottom right using your first three fingers.

5- Same idea here. Spread rice from the middle to the top using both thumbs

6- Finally, spread rice from the middle to the bottom.

I have seen some sushi chefs just start spreading the rice without any real method. This 6 step method is the way I learned and I personally believe that it is the fastest and most effective way for spreading rice. Also remember that you don't need to take too much time on these 6 steps because you can clean up any defect later on.

Once the rice is evenly spread, you can sprinkle the roasted sesame seeds on top. Then flip over the rice and nori with both hands so the nori is facing up now.

Next, put two pieces of crab meat, avocado, and cucumber in the middle of the nori.

Next, roll using your thumbs and keeping your other fingers in the middle.

Now, using a makisu, pinch the top and the bottom of the roll, making it nice and tight. Again, keep in mind not to smash or press the roll together. At this point, you are also shaping the roll. You want the roll to be round, but the bottom should be flat so that it can stand.

Now the hard part, cutting. Dip the tip of your knife in the temizu. This will ensure a clean cut and prevent rice from sticking on the knife.

Cutting a sushi roll requires an extremely sharp, thin blade. Without a proper blade or technique, you will just end up smashing the roll. You want to use two rapid slicing motions going up. Make the first cut directly in the middle of the roll. Then cut both halves in half, and repeat until you end up with 8 pieces.

You can take this time to use the makisu to clean up the sides and keep the roll nice and tight.

That's it! Present the roll on a plate with each individual piece faced diagonally to the left. Serve it with a slab of wasabi and gari.

California Roll Recipe - Part 1 (Preparation)

2011-08-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Okay. I really didn't want to have to do this, but I am separating the California Roll recipe into 2 parts for a couple reasons. First, there are a lot of of pictures and steps I have for the recipe. Second, the method for spreading rice, rolling, and cutting the roll is very specific. For this reason, I wanted to make a post that people can refer back to in order to learn the technique for making rolls in the future. So here is this first part of the recipe for California Rolls.

As you may already know, California Rolls are not traditional Japanese style sushi. While most traditional sushi can date back a few hundred years ago, the California Roll was invented merely 40 years ago, around the 60's-70's. Still, it has become a sushi staple around the world ever since. California rolls are great for parties, fun to make, and they are a great place to start for learning to make sushi!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of sushi rice , dry measure(makes about 4 rolls).

-4 imitation crabsticks

-1 cucumber

-1 avocado

-4 nori sheets

-roasted sesame seeds

-wasabi & gari

Tools:

-makisu (bamboo mat)

-knife (a very sharp one)

-plastic wrap

A picture of everything you will need. (sushi rice not shown)

First, halve an avocado, then cut it in half. You will only need half of an avocado for 4 rolls.

Next, cut each piece in half one more time, peel the skin, and then cut in half again. You should end up with 8 pieces of avocado from the half (16 pieces from one whole avocado).

I have seen some sushi chefs just peel each half and then cut them into small slices. Though the method I am showing can be slightly more time consuming, I prefer it because you will end up with avocado slices that are equivalent in size and length.

Moving onto the cucumber. First, cut one end of the cucumber (about an 1/2 inch to an inch). After it's cut, measure the cucumber to the crab stick. This way, you know how much to cut off the other end.

(I usually use my knife to measure the cucumber, but crab sticks work just fine.)

Cut off 4 corners of the cucumber length wise. (about 1/2 inch thick)

Slice each section of cucumber into 3-4 pieces. These should be about 1/3-1/2 inch thickness as well.

Lastly, peel the imitation crab sticks in half, length wise. You can also fine chop the crab meat and mix it with a little mayonnaise. My wife prefers it mixed with mayo while I prefer it just whole. Do whatever you like! I'll demonstrate how you can make the other version of a California roll another time.

That's pretty much it for preparation. You can prepare all this while the rice is cooking, or even before you cook the rice, and then leave it in the refrigerator.

Check out Part 2 to see how to finish making the roll.

Sushi Rice Recipe

2011-08-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Sushi chefs in Japan train for years just to master the art of making sushi rice alone. Their recipe, method, and technique for making sushi rice is so precious that they often do not allow anyone else in the kitchen to make the rice. Every sushi chef has different ingredients and techniques for their rice. These are the methods that I have been taught for making sushi rice.

First you will need:
-Hangiri (wooden tub for mixing sushi)If you don't have one, I suppose a very large, wide bowl should do just fine as a substitute
-Rice paddle
-Bowl for transferring sushi

-2 cups medium/short-grain white rice (dry measure)
-1/3 cup Sushi-Zu (Recipe for sushi-zu is below)

Sushi-Zu Recipe:
Mix the following ingredients in a container.
-7 part rice vinegar
-5 part white sugar
-1 part salt (2 parts if you're using sea salt)
-1 piece konbu (dried kelp)

Cover the sushi-zu and leave it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 weeks. This will allow all the flavors to meld together. If you're running short on time, you may also combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat, until the sugar and salt dissolve. You can always double up, or make more sushi-zu in advance if you're planning on making a lot of sushi in the near future.

Now to make the sushi rice:

Take your hangiri, and using a wet cloth, soak the wood all around the bottom and edges. This will prevent the rice from sticking while you're mixing.

Next take your cooked rice with two cloths and put it face down on the hangiri. Remember to follow the recipe in the previous post for making rice. Also, timing is everything. You must start mixing the sushi rice as soon as the rice is done cooking (or within 5-10 minutes of it finishing) The rice needs to be hot while you're mixing it with sushi-zu.

Lift up the rice pot, leaving the cooked rice on the hangiri. (My rice pot does not leave the rice sticking on the sides, but many rice pots may do so. To avoid this, make sure to wet a rice paddle and lift the rice off the edges before flipping it over)

Pour the 1/2 cup of sushi-zu and start spreading the rice all over the hangiri, remembering to use a slicing motion instead of mashing. This must all be done within 2 minutes because the vinegar must mix with the rice while the rice is still hot.

Next, using the paddle, start lifting off the rice from the bottom left and move it all over to the right hand side, creating a pile of rice.

From here, start using a rapid slicing motion with the paddle (from right to left), and begin "cutting" the rice. The purpose of this is to break down each grain of rice, and to avoid clumping. At this point, the rice should still be hot so be sure to work fast. You are still mixing some of the remaining vinegar.

Continue cutting the rice until all lumps are gone, and the rice is spread evenly across the hangiri. Let the rice cool down and rest for 5 minutes.

Flip the rice over using the paddle, one section at a time. Let rest for another 5 minutes.

Pour the rice into a large bowl. You can also pour it into a large rice pot. That's it. You're done!
I also want to mention that you do not necessarily have to use 2 cups of rice and 1/3 cup of sushi-zu. The general rule is about 1 cup of sushi-zu per 6 cups of dry rice, or about 15-17% sushi-zu. You can adjust the sushi rice recipe to how many cups of rice you will need, but just be sure to use similar proportions of sushi-zu.

Enjoy!

How to Make Rice

2011-08-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

For most people, knowing how to make rice isn't really considered a skill that needs to be reviewed (especially if you're Asian). However, you would be surprised as to how many people make mistakes with the simple procedure of making rice. Also, there are so many different ways to make rice for so many different types of tastes. Some like their rice dry, while others like it soft and mushy. For sushi rice, we need a texture that is distinct and firm, yet moist both inside and out. Remember, good sushi starts with good vinegar rice, and good vinegar rice starts with good rice.

For sushi, you will need some medium/short-grain white rice. Most sushi restaurants use short grain rice but medium grain is a fine substitute.
I personally like to buy Shirakiku or Nishiki brand, but it doesn't really matter what brand you buy.

So let's take a look at the process of making rice.

Measure rice. In this picture, I measured 3 cups of rice into the rice pot. At this point, it doesn't really matter how many cups you choose to use right now. When making sushi, however, you will need to keep track of how many cups of dry rice you are using.

Add water to the pot (enough to cover rice, plus a little extra).

The first step to making rice is washing. Washing the rice will eliminate odors given by the residue left over from the starch on the outer coating of the rice. Wash rice for 1-2 minutes. Do not wash too long or the rice grains will start to fall apart.

Dump the water. Leave the rice in the container

Next, rinse the rice. Basically, you will need to add water, slush it around for a second or two, and then dump it. Rinse the rice at least 5-6 times.

The third step is to dry the rice. This is a very important, yet often neglected step to making rice. Drying the rice will allow moisture from the water to soak into the rice, offering an equal amount of moisture both inside and out. Pour the rice into a colander and let dry. Dry rice for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 24 hours. If you plan on drying it for a few hours or more, cover it up with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge.

Once the rice is dry, pour it back into the container. Measure out an equal amount of water to dry rice, plus a little bit more. (In this picture, I measured 3 cups of water, plus about 2 tablespoons). For under 5 cups of dry rice, you want to generally add a tablespoon or 2 of extra water. For 5 cups of dry rice you will use 5 1/4 cups of water, and for 10 cups of dry rice you will use 10 1/2 cups of water.
(If you use too much water in comparison to the amount of dry rice, the rice will come out very sticky and mushy. Mushy rice is no good for sushi.)

Once the water and rice are measured, pop it in an automatic rice cooker and wait! We use a sanyo brand automatic rice cooker. You can also cook the rice in a pot over a stovetop, but I would recommend using a rice cooker. Cooking it over a stovetop requires that you constantly watch the rice.

Once the rice is finished, pour it into a bowl, serve and enjoy!

Next up is a recipe on how to make "sushi rice". I use quotation marks because "sushi" actually refers to the vinager rice, so many consider "sushi rice" to be an incorrect terminology. I still like to use it to be more specific. Anyway, stick around! I'll cover "sushi rice" and some basic sushi rolls this week.

Main Ingredients, Tools, and Kitchenware

2011-08-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Here you will find information, pictures, and detailed recipes to various dishes found in many sushi restaurants. Recipes will include sushi and other popular Japanese dishes. Though it does take years of training and discipline to fully master the art of making sushi, I believe good sushi can also be made at home with the right tools, ingredients, and knowledge.

Dating back centuries ago in Japan, when vinegar rice was used as a preservation method for fish, sushi has now turned into a worldwide delicacy. The essence of sushi remains simple: Good vinegar rice complimented by a good quality topping. As long as you keep this in mind, you can make decent sushi at home!

First let's take a look at the main ingredients, tools, and kitchenware.

Dark Soy Sauce - I use Kikkoman brand. I've noticed other brands may be too sweet for certain recipes.

Light Soy Sauce - This is saltier than the dark soy sauce. It is used mainly for the lighter color.

Tamari Soy Sauce - Slightly thicker, and sweeter. This is used for sauces such as eel sauce or teriyaki sauce.

"Su" (Rice Vinegar) - Used for marination and preservation. I usually use the Mizkan brand

Sake - A rice wine made from two fermentation processes. This one contains 16% alcohol, but may vary depending on type and brand of sake.

Mirin - A sweet rice wine that contains sugar and less alcohol percentage than Sake. It is used for cooking.

Toasted Sesame Seeds

Katsuobushi - Dried Bonito Flakes. Used as topping and for making dashi

Konbu - Dried Kelp. Used for making dashi

Nori - Roasted Seaweed. Used for maki rolls and gunkan style sushi

Those are the main ingredients. There are other ingredients that you may encounter often as well, but we will cover those as we look at the individual recipes.

Here are the general tools/kitchenware you will need for making sushi. Please note, if you do not have a certain tool or knife, you can always try to improvise!

Makisu - Bamboo mat used for rolling maki sushi rolls. These are pretty cheap and can be found in any asian market. I would try to stay away from the really thin ones. You will have a hard time rolling sushi without proper thickness.

From left to right:

Western Knife - Any really sharp, thin knife should do the trick. I use this primarily for almost all kitchen work, with the exception of neta cutting.

Yanagi - Japanese knife used for cutting sushi and sashimi. I like to reserve the blade on my Yanagi for neta cutting. The yanagi has a very thin, sharp blade, perfect for cutting slicing delicate items. The back face of the yanagi is designed so the fish, or other ingredients do not stick to the knife. Though a Yanagi is the best knife for cutting sushi and sashimi, you can try to substitute a really sharp, thin knife if you don't have one.

Deba - Kitchen cleaver. This is used when preparing and filleting larger fish.

Petty Knife - Small paring knife. Used for preparing and cutting smaller items, including fruit, shrimp, fish, etc.

Oyster Knife - Used for opening shells and removing oyster meat

Fish Scaler - Used for scaling fish before filleting.

Bone picker - Used for removing bones from fish.

This is just the general overview of what you might need in the kitchen to make sushi and other japanese dishes. As I mentioned, you may encounter recipes that require other main ingredients or tools.

I will be updating this blog consistently, so be sure to check back often! If you have a favorite sushi dish you want to learn, drop a comment and I'll try to help out!