# Sushi recipes?



## Mike Davis (Jan 21, 2012)

Ok...Not sure if there really is a recipe for sushi, but i want to make some....Ok here is what i have right now..
Nishiki rice
Seaweed wraps
asst. veggies
can get fresh fish/shrimp
bamboo roller
several yanagi's

I know there is a ton more, but i have no idea where to go from here...I have a sushi book, but it really doesn't go into depth on anything more than cooking rice and how to wrap your bamboo with seran wrap lol.
I need to get some advice on sauces and other ingredients....I can figure out a few things as i go, but am kinda against a wall

Thanks
Mike


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## ThEoRy (Jan 21, 2012)

The rice is extremely important.

Rinse and polish the rice thoroughly prior to cooking. I do this in a bowl with cold water while taking the rice in my hands and rub them together like I am warming my hands outside in the cold. When the water turns white, strain it and do it again. Do this until your water runs clear.

Make a good shari. about 1 quart. I use roughly (eyeball) 3C rice wine vinegar, 1/2 C saki, 1/2 C mirin, 1/4 C salt and 1/2 Csugar. It should taste like a sweet salty vinegar.

Boil the ingredients together till fully incorporated then cool and refrigerate.

After the rice is cooked, fold it in a wooden bowl with about 1/2 C or so of the shari until it gets really sticky. The cold shari also helps stop the cooking process of the rice. Save the rest of the shari in the fridge for future use.

Let the rice rest in fridge until you are ready or serve warm depending on the roll.

Stuff inside is up to you.

Dynamite sauce is easy.
2C Mayonaise
sriracha until spicy 
1 1/2 tspn toasted sesame oil
Kosher Salt and fresh white pepper


I can post some favorites later as well.


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## Mike Davis (Jan 21, 2012)

Thanks for the fast reply!!! i have rice vinegar and saki also, now i have a few more things to add to the list. Appreciate the info, keep it coming


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## Eamon Burke (Jan 21, 2012)

:goodpost:
All good info up there!

Use short grain rice. long grain rice is weird, and medium is more forgiving than short grain when adding vinegar. But you just can't beat short grain for sushi.

The rinsing is very important, just don't beat up the grains too hard, you can literally do that until the rice falls apart(done it). Usually roughing it up between your hands and dumping the rinsewater over and over is best, and takes about 6-10 times in my experience. Use real cold water, even if it hurts your hands. Cold grains and cold pot water are desirable for Shari.

Fill the pot up with water just until the rice is covered--it's hard to say how much, because in a sushi bar setting, it is done by putting your hand on the rice and measuring using your knuckles. But the proportions are different with small home pots, and without you already knowing what it looks like, it's hard for me to relate. But you don't want the rice cooked all the way--the acidic vinegar and extra liquid will finish off the rice, and you don't want it to get mushy. The goal is to get the rice to stick to itself, but fall apart when damp(in your mouth).

Don't beat the rice up afterward, especially right after it comes out of the pot. You can work it like bread dough and make it all gluey and terrible--so fold and cut the rice, don't smash it.

The amount of vinegar you put on the rice is basically up to the rice and you. You want it to saturate the rice, but the rice should just shine, not drip or sit soggy. If you add it all at once, you'd better know exactly how much you need, because there's no going back--but if you add it a tiny bit at a time, it is easy to overwork the rice between adding it.

Cool it with a moist towel covering--this is important. Stir it occasionally until it's about body temperature.

IME a hangiri isn't necessary unless you are doing batches over and over or lots at a time--and it's a hassle to keep up with(it's a saturated cedar bowl). I use a normal glass prep bowl here at home, and have had no issues. Just use a big one.

Don't wait for the Nori to get stretchy and wet from the rice/fish when rolling Maki. Its tempting, but if you just roll the maki with confidence and conviction, but not force, as long as it closes, it will be crispy and perfect at first, and then as it sits, the nori will shrink and hold it tight--if it's tight when you roll it, it will shrink and bust on the table as it sits(not that sushi ever sits around my wife and I).


Buy imported crab sticks, if that is your thing--don't buy American imitation crab, the stuff made from Pollock, you want the stuff made from Bream or Tai, usually from Japan or Thailand. Might be labeled "Surimi"


Sauces and stuff--man I barely like any of those. I like sugar-soy-marinated Shitake mushrooms for sushi, but I never got into the eel sauce, mayo and more mayo thing. If you can get real wasabi it is life-changing and totally worth it. Totally worth it.


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## ecchef (Jan 21, 2012)

Toast the nori sheets a little by waving them over an open flame. Ancient Japanese secret! :nunchucks:


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## lowercasebill (Jan 21, 2012)

might want to pick up some wasabi. ... put some on the end of your index finger and run a light bit down the length of the filling ,, i assume you have soy sauce ? kikoman is fine and easy to find , ,most of the sushi chefs i know use yamasa . gari the pickeled gingger is a nice touch too. cooked shrimp and crab sticks are a great way to start if you cannot find suitable raw fish.. you need sushi grade fish.. other than sushi grade fish should be frozen for 24 hrs for safety reasons from what i have read.. hopefully a pro will comment on that. one of my favorites of my own creation is asparagus grilled to a slight char and chilled .. and very very rare cold thin sliced london broil . use the beef and asparagus as the filling.... rice and nori . make maki [the rolls] slice and dip in the soy. good way to intruduce the raw fish haters to sushi


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## Mike Davis (Jan 21, 2012)

Wow, great info guys  I apprecite it very much. I do have wasabi and a few different soy sauces. Wasabi is a staple item to me...I am looking into getting fresh wasabi, but it is kind of pricey, no biggie  I suppose the sauce i need to get is sweet chili sauce, love that stuff. The london broil/asparagus sounds fantastic!! Going to try that for sure!


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## bcrano (Jan 21, 2012)

Morimoto has a book out with an extensive and beautiful sushi section. While I've not tried it (I live next to little Tokyo in Los Angeles, which I would stack against the best Japanese food in the country, so there's little need for me to make my own sushi) everything else I've made out of the book has been phenomenal. And it's a beautiful book with great photos. Hope that helps...


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## Mike Davis (Jan 22, 2012)

Ok, so on my list of stuff to get:
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Mirin
Spicy chili sauce(or make)
Ginger...Can't stand it but i will get some lol
Crab/tuna/salmon/tiger shrimp.
I will make some spicy mayo.
Tamago
Masago
The little crunch things 
Possibly some tempura batter...

Ok...Anything else i should add to this list, Aside from what is listed above?

Thanks again
Mike


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## SpikeC (Jan 22, 2012)

I wanted a bottle of non-salted mirin and found it here:

Takara Sake Tasting Room 
Berkeley, CA 
Tel: 510-540-8250 

They do mail order.


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## ThEoRy (Jan 22, 2012)

Just make the tempura batter yourself.

Stir everything gently with a pair of chopsticks in this order. Don't beat it up and be sure to leave some lumps in it, these provide texture when fried.

Ice cold carbonated water
Baking Powder
Corn Starch
AP Flour
Salt 
Pepper

You can also just free fry the batter, save the crunchies and sprinkle them on top of your rolls.


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## Eamon Burke (Jan 22, 2012)

+1 on making tempura batter. It's really not rocket science, very forgiving IME.

Also, don't bother making chile powder unless you really want to. Just buy a bottle of Sriracha. No, it's not Japanese, but it's tasty.


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