Japanese

Vegetarian Sushi

Everyone loves sushi! Any well-stocked Korean, Japanese and maybe even Chinese grocery should have all the utensils and specialty ingredients on hand. It's quite easy to assemble. Just follow these steps, and if you mess up (which you won't) simply start over with a new piece of nori.

Here's everything you'll need for dream sushi:
· Wasabi powder or prepared wasabi
· Soy sauce in small bowls for dipping
· Pickled sliced ginger
· Bamboo sushi rolling mat
· Chop sticks, of course!

Basic Ingredients
•1 cup sushi rice made with 1 1/4 cup H20, prepared according to package directions
•About 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar (do not use regular or any other kind!)
•1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:
1) Prepare rice according to package instructions. It should be something like 1 1/4 cup H20 to 1 cup rice. Cook till rice is tender but firm, even a little dry.
2) Empty hot rice into a large glass bowl. Sprinkle with about rice vinegar and sugar. Fold rice gently with a large spoon or rice paddle. Rice should be moist and have a mild vinegar flavor. Cover with plastic wrap. When rice is slightly warmer than room temperature it's ready to work with.
3) Rest the nori sheet on the bamboo mat. With wet hands, take a snowball shaped handful of rice, about a cup's worth. Gently pat onto the bottom 2/3 or so of your nori sheet. The layer of rice should be less than 1/3 inch thick.
4) In the center of your rice lay or spread your fillings horizontally to the end of each side—the less filling, the easier it will be to roll.
5) Using the mat, gently roll up that sushi from the end facing you; try to keep your grip relatively tight for a firm roll. When you've reached the seaweed-only end, pat gently with a little bit of vinegar water to seal the roll.
6) Slice your roll into 1-inch pieces with a sharp, serrated knife. That's it! Make a hundred of 'em.

Suggested Rolls

•California Roll (makes 4 rolls)
1/2 avocado, peeled, seeded, sliced into long pieces
1/2 Hot house cucumber, peeled & sliced into long thin strips
cream cheese

•Yam Roll (makes 4 rolls)
1 small peeled Japanese or Korean yam (or sweet potato), chopped & boiled till tender
4-5 shitaki mushrooms (dried or fresh), steamed till tender with a dash or shoyu or mirin cooking wine, and sliced into strips
1/2 tsp sesame oil

•Elephant Roll (makes 4 rolls)
1/4 cup Roasted salted peanuts (the big oily kind are best)
1/2 avocado, peeled, seeded, sliced into long pieces

Tips

1) Have all your ingredients prepared
Prepare all your ingredients while the rice is cooking. Assembling sushi is all about having your fillings prepared and right there, so that you can make rolls assembly line style. Have your bamboo mat laid out on a kitchen towel. If you like, toast nori sheets briefly over a flame, holding with tongs (this only takes a few second, be careful!).
2) Keep your hands moist
Have a small bowl of water with a dash of rice vinegar handy. You'll need to keep your hands moist when working with the warm sticky rice.
3) Use the proper sushi rice
I used to go all heath nut and make this with brown rice. After all these years I can knowingly recommend...don't bother. The brown rice does not form as nice a firm, tasty roll, and I think its flavor interferes with the filling flavors. You'll still get plenty o' fiber from all those other veggies you'll be eating.
4) Fresh is best
Sushi tastes best right when you make it. If you must refrigerate it, don't use the avocado (turns brown & ugly), and let it warm up to room temperature before eating for best flavor.

*This recipe was modified from the Post Punk Kitchen website