This week has been a continuation of the “it is too hot to cook” days we mentioned in July. The planned main dish may be featured at a later date. We filled up on sushi . . . . . but did manage to leave a little room for desert, and we will get to that later.
This was our first time making sushi, and that resurrected gizmo made it pretty darned easy! As we have learned in previous postings, the right tool can make all the difference. (spice grinder?!)
Having never tasted a California roll we didn’t like, here is what we put in ours:
Roll 1: Spicy crab/avocado/cucumber/scallions
Roll2: Cucumber/steamed carrot/pickled green bean/spicy crab
Roll3: lump fish caviar/avocado/scallion
We rounded this out with shrimp and wasabi on sushi rice and inarizushi. You can buy the canned seasoned fried bean curd pockets at a source that carries Asian products. They were very simple to make and full of flavor.
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| Our platter of sushi!
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For every one cup of rice:
2 Tbsp. of rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt
Wash rice thoroughly and let it drain for 20 minutes. Cook per instructions for rice machine or stovetop. Let sit for twenty minutes.
Pour the rice vinegar mixture over the rice. Toss lightly with a carving fork, while fanning to cool the rice. You don’t want to smash the rice, and you want each grain coated the vinegar mixture. Cover bowl to keep moisture in until you start to make the sushi.
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| Roasted Seaweed |
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| Seasoned Bean Curds Stuffed with Sushi Rice
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Use the "press bar" with the letter side up to make an indentation into the rice for the filling. |
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| Avocado and Cucumber Added on Top of Surimi |
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| "Press Bar" upside down to press the sushi through the container |
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Our first California roll! |
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| Caviar Sushi with Avocado and Scallions
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1 dozen green beans, steamed in microwave with 2 tablespoons water
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. grated ginger
Cook beans until crispy –tender, drain. Mix the vinegar, sugar and ginger and pour over the beans. Cover and let sit until cool, drain and refrigerate.
Spicy Surimi Crab
½ c Surimi Crab
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 generous tsp. Sriracha
We know, sushi should have sake. Our sushi wanted Chardonnay, which was a good
choice, as it stood up to the combination of flavors in the sushi. You choose.
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| Gingered Litchi Gelatin |
Courtesy “Cool Food”, Laurel Glen publisher
Serves 6
20 oz. can of litchi
2 c ups clear apple juice (no sugar added)
1/3 cup strained fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 ¼ x 1 ¼ fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 sheets gelatin (1/4 oz.)
Mint leaves for garnish
Drain the syrup from the litchis and reserve 1 cup of the syrup. Discard remaining syrup.
Place the reserved syrup, apple juice, lime juice, sugar and ginger in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain into a heat proof bowl.
Place the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water and soak for two minutes or until they softened. Squeeze out the excess water, then add to the syrup. Stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Leave to cool.
Pour 2 Tbsp. of the gelatin mixture into each of 6 ½ cup stemmed wine glasses, and divide the litchis among the wine glasses. Refrigerate until the gelatin has set. Spoon the remaining gelatin over the fruit and refrigerate until set. Before serving, garnish with mint leaves.
Our changes:
We used about 2 Tbsp. of bulk gelatin and dissolved it about ½ cup of apple juice until softened. We made this as 4 servings instead of 6 servings. We also did two alternating layers of the litchis and gelatin. So in each glass, it was about 2 inches of gelatin, 2 litchis, refrigerated until firm. As soon as it was set, we divided the remaining gelatin in the glasses and then added 3 litchi’s to the top of each glass.
Our unsolicited and biased opinions:
We can’t go get a job at a sushi joint but this wasn’t as daunting as we anticipated. It was fun and we got to eat with our fingers, and because you can add as much wasabi as you want, it becomes a suitable meal for just about anyone. Even some of our friends who can’t eat shellfish could eat the Surimi.
This whole sushi thing is pretty adaptable to what you like – you just wrap it in seaweed and seasoned rice. Once you work with this seasoned rice, you understand how people can eat rice with chopsticks – it’s very sticky. So, if you want to show off your budding chopstick skills, make this meal.
We plan on making sushi again, and in the interim we’ll find a bamboo rolling mat; so the next batch will have some round versions. They all eat the same, but round cuts some corners.
Meg says the canned litchi is not as good as the fresh but fresh is not an option here in Nevada. This was Sue’s first experience with litchis, so she was able to just enjoy it. We are providing a link so that you can see what the fresh litchis look like. They are stunning and so unusual. Check them out:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=litchi+fruit&qpvt=litchi+fruit&FORM=IGRE
You did it again, another great meal. I like the new size of the pictures. Thanks. If you use the bamboo mat, wrap it in saran wrap, it makes it easier and the rice is less likely to stick to it. You will have to make the vegetables thinner. I like the square look of the sushi. Good job.
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