I Love Sushi!!!

Here are a few late pictures from Thanksgiving. I made a big plate of sushi for a potluck my parents took me to, while my friend "helped" by being my human garbage disposal and eating the mangled ends.

mmm rice <3
being at school means lots of badly cooked sticky rice. Oh how I missed my home-cooked jasmine rice! :( And I can have my rice, AND make it into sushi!

Shiitaki Mushrooms! Yet another commodity in college. I made some amazing shiitaki mushroom rolls, which my friend liked the best. In fact, she ate so many of the mushrooms before I began making the rolls that I barely had enough left for four small rolls.

The only avocado you'll find in UCLA is in the guacamole (and in the california rolls in Hedrick Hall, I suppose, but I like my california rolls better ;) )

 

Tina and I spent the better part of an hour staking the sushi, after they were done. The ones on the outside bottom are pork sung rolls (I came up with them myself, although I'm pretty sure pork sung is a common sushi filling with non-traditional sushi makers), the ones covered in sesame are California rolls, and the ones on the bottom (which are triangular!!!) are the shiitaki mushroom rolls. Here's a close up:

  My photography skills are still a work in progress, so this picture is out of focus, but at least you can see the shiitaki mushroom!  So from the left, california roll, shiitaki mushroom roll, and pork sung roll!

 

And here, for a bit of holiday goodness, is my (approximated) recipe for pork sung rolls!

ingredients:

4 sheets of nori
2 cups of prepared sushi rice*
1/2 cup of pork sung**
1/2 medium carrot
1/2 japanese cucumber

1. slice your carrot and cucumber into small stalks that are about 3mm on each side.

2. I hope you have a bamboo mat.. but if you don't plastic wrap works, but not NEARLY as well. Whichever you choose to use, place your nori sheet on it.

3. Spread about a quarter inch thickness of rice more or less evenly over the bottom 3/4 of the sheet of nori. In my case it's usually less evenly, but the areas where there are more rice will balance it out! I use a wooden spatula to spread the rice, but you can use your fingers, dipped in a bit of vinegar mixed with water, if you'd like.

4. at the very bottom of the rice, line up 2-3 stalks each of carrot and cucumber across the width of the nori. Take some pork sung, maybe a teaspoonful at a time, and squish it to the carrot/cucumber so you have a long line of pork sung. There's no right amount to use, but I use typically about. 3/4 of an inch wide strip of pork sung.

5. Starting at the bottom of the sheet, and with a firm and even grip, start rolling the nori up, making sure to press along the width of the sheet so it rolls evenly. Make sure you do not roll the plastic wrap / bamboo mat INTO the sushi (yes, dumb as it sounds, I have done this). Press firmly, so the sushi holds, but not so firmly that the nori breaks.

6. At the very end of the roll, the nori that was not covered in rice should overlap and seal together the ends of the roll. Feel free to spread a little bit of water along the edge of the nori to help it stick to the rest of the roll.

7. Slice into even sized pieces and enjoy!

*I use medium grain Japanese rice.. the kind they sell in Asian supermarkets :) and I mix it with a splash of vinegar.. then you want to cover the rice dish with a moist towel or paper towel so it doesn't dry out)

 

Yup thats it for this week! :)