Sushi

Hi everyone!

For my (other) roommate's birthday last week, I made sushi for dinner. Now, this is not something I've ever tried to do before, mind you. But he said he wanted to give me a little challenge, and he made the request, so I said OK.

I wasn't about to try making any kind of sushi that requires raw fish. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of raw fish, but unfortunately I don't have a reliable source for quality seafood. As such, I decided my best option was to make California Rolls. They're relatively simple, and they don't require raw fish, so the chance of something going terribly, terribly, "why God, why?!" wrong is immensely decreased.

For those interested, I used the AB method for Cali Rolls, since it's pretty straightforward and easy to follow.

First, I made the sushi rice. You do this by rinsing 2 cups of short-grain (sushi) rice until the water runs clear. You then combine the rice with 2 cups clean water in a pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Once that happens, cook the rice, covered, over the lowest heat for 15 minutes and then off the heat entirely for 10. The rice is then deposited in a large glass (or wooden) bowl.

Meanwhile, you combine 2tbsp rice vinegar with 2tbsp sugar and 1 of salt. This goes into the microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve everything. Now, I found that this wasn't enough liquid, so I added another tablespoon of vinegar, which still wasn't really enough to dissolve all that sugar and salt. Maybe I shouldn't have used kosher salt this time, since the flakes are so big. Next time, I think I may just buy some sushi rice seasoning and use that instead. Regardless, this gets sprinkled onto the rice and is cut/folded into said grains with a big wooden spoon. You don't stir, per se, because that can turn the rice into a gummy pile of mush.

If possible, you're supposed to use a paper fan (or similar apparatus) to cool the rice as you go. This is not as easy as it looks. After a few minutes, the awkwardness kinda gets to you. Granted, I only had a paper notebook to use as a fan so maybe I'm biased. But the point is that once the rice is cooled to room temp it's ready to be used.

Ingredients: cucumber, krab, avocado, nori, and rice

The most challenging part of the process, in my opinion, is the assembly. I had everything I needed ready to go. OK, so, that's not completely true. I did not have a bamboo rolling mat ready to go. Because I don't own one, that's why. I thought, "Hey, I'll just use some foil or some parchment; how difficult can it be?" I should know by now that these kinds of thoughts never bode well for me.

Cali Rolls: first (or second?) attempt

Rolling the sushi was a challenge. I reckon it mainly requires more practice than I've had, which until that night was none. I did find it was easier to roll with the nori (the seaweed sheet) on the outside, rather than trying to have the rice on the outside as is the norm for Cali Rolls. Maybe my rice wasn't sticky enough, but I had the damnedest time just trying to get the rolls to seal themselves.

Inverted Cali Rolls (with cream cheese added like in Philly Rolls. Yum!)

Fortunately, the sushi was quite good and, even better, they actually tasted like Cali Rolls! All things considered, I believe they were a success. I can't wait to try again! It's actually quite fun to make, and I'm hoping to one day be able to try the raw fish. It's a bit risky, true, but it just means I need to be extra careful.

Regardless, I love sushi, and now that I've made it once, I won't be so apprehensive about giving it another go. I've learned that I can't let my nervousness get in the way when I try to cook something new. Yes, there's always the chance something can go wrong; that's always the case when you try something new and different. But, if you let that worry get in your way, how will you ever know if you can do it, right? Now, am I going to get past this bump overnight? Probably not. But the more I do, even if I make mistakes, the better I become and the more I feel confident about trying to make new things. So yes, I would say I met this challenge, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Anyway, tell me what you think. As always, thanks for reading!