Rice Continued.

Perfect---your rice is cooked. Now you should add vinegar so it will truly be 'sushi rice.' You will need, in addition to the six cups of rice,

5 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar

Combine the three ingredients and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved.



If you have a cool Japanese rice tub, soak, then drain, then pat dry so the wood doesn't absorb every bit of moisture from your rice.

If you have to use a glass bowl (I did), use a wooden spoon so some moisture can be absorbed. Otherwise might get a little sticky.



Put your cooked rice into your rice tub (bowl), pour the vinegar evenly over it, then flip your rice around, and "slash" the vinegar through the rice with your paddle (wooden spoon).





Fan it to cool.

While you prepare sushi, keep the unused rice covered with a damp kitchen towel. Just like with bread baking, you don't want it to develop an unpleasant skin.




The final important thing to know about rice, is when you're dealing with it, your hands will get sticky. UNLESS! You have a bowl filled with water and a splash of rice vinegar to dip your hands in whenever you begin to feel it stick. (The vinegar is just for flavor, of course.) This is an important key to getting your nigiri rice balls to form well.
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Thanks



Chopping vegetables hopefully will go easily for you as long as you have a sharp knife. My guideline is to cut everything to the approximate diameter of asparagus, and about the length of a piece of nori. (You will line things up with the nori, and you don't want the people who get the 'end piece' of the roll to get the shaft!)



There are many ways to cut vegetables decoratively for garnish. The only one I felt brave enough for was the 'cucumber cup' which holds wasabi in a pretty way.

Make four cuts on the cucumber, then twist:


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I didn't, and I usually don't. The few times I have is when I have been trying to follow Indian friends' rice-cooking instructions, and they never cover it. They just cook it at medium heat all the way til all the rice is gone... I must not be attentive enough for that style.

I would suggest, if you're getting rice stuck to the bottom of your pot, turn the heat down much sooner.

My mom brings her rice to a boil once, then puts her stove to the absolute minimum that still has a flame, and covers immediately. Her rice takes a lot longer to cook, but she doesn't have to worry about scorching it.

And to everyone---if you get scorched or stuck rice on teh bottom, just leave it behind and throw it away. It will only ruin the flavor of the good rice on top of it. less

I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
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I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
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I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
less

I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
less

I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
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When your fish has been de-skinned, begin to cut thin slices to fit on the nigiri.



Honestly, my friend sort of handled this process while I was making Maki Rolls, so maybe one of our more experienced guests wants to chime in about this step?



In the foreground is the salmon nigiri, in the background is the escolar. The salmon we fixed on with some nori. You make it stick by dipping the end in vinegar or water to make it stick to itself.
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I was really lucky in choosing fish, because there is a nice seafood store in my city. I was able to get fresh salmon and fresh escolar, already cut into nice sushi-able pieces.

If you cannot get fresh fish, there are lots of good things to use: packaged crab meat, packaged eel, tinned mackerel or other fish, smoked fish.

Can you get fresh fish in your area?
less