Thinking of making home-made sushi.

[ShadowTiger]

For a while now, I've been thinking of making sushi at home. Sushi as close to professionally made sushi, made in fancy upper-class restaurants. I do have the knack for detail required to do that, (Sesame seeds, the right amount of things sprinkled where, etc...) but I lack a certain amount of required goods and tidbits of info to begin.


For one, there's the rice. Obviously. The most critical aspect of the rice's ultimate destiny (lol) is how it's cooked. I don't care what kind of rice it is. It just has to be/have the right amount of moisture and consistency for when it's rolled up and held in place after matting. (The right amount must also be placed onto the mat for rolling. Otherwise it gloms very easily.) Vinegar is used to give it that sushi rice taste, but care must be taken that not too much is applied. Vinegar is quite strong on its own. Wondering how long to cook the rice, and how, so that it doesn't glom.

Then there's acquiring the nori. I have no idea where to get sheets of seaweed. Good god, that's going to be an interesting step. > >. Any tips on that?


Otherwise, the avocado and cucumber and other little plant spices are a cakewalk.

[erm2003]

Have you looked at any books on making your own sushi? I bought one for a friend of mine about a year ago because she loves sushi and I thought she would get a kick out of trying to make her own. I am pretty sure they will go into detail on how to properly make the rice and other little nuances. I will have to ask her how it turned out.

[ZTC]

what, did you see my uploaded pic on facebook? :p I bought one of those "ready-made" kits at the Walmart Supercenter last week and aside from looking wrong, my Philidelphia rolls were very tasty. I'm still expermienting with this myself, so I can't provide the best advice (though it'll still help, mind you). I've found stuff to make sushi at Jewel and at Walmart Supercenter. Just to start out, it's going to prolly cost around $10-20 depending on what you get and the quality thereof. There should be stuff in the Asian Food section of the decent grocery store, including rice and nori. Next time I go shopping, I'll get some of the different stuff to try and I'll let you know what the better stuff is. (if it's available in your area, of course). My question to you is that do you have a dedicated rice cooker, or are you planning to get one? I know at one time Kmart has sold those, and so does Mitsuwa. (dunno if there's one anywhere in your area, though)
Edit: clarified a few things

[ShadowTiger]

... Damnit. When I hear "dedicated rice cooker," the only thing that I can think of is "dedicated server." That sucks a bit. No, I don't think I have room to keep a pot just to be used for rice, no.


The only extra caviat that I suppose I need to mention, ... is that the nori must be kosher. I have no idea why though, as all it needs to be kosher is to be certified (Say "blessed" and I'll eat your head.) by a rabbi. Big deal. Still, it must have that magical O-U on the package. :rolleyes: Oh boy.

[Archibaldo]

What you need to make the rice lump together is to mix in a raw egg with the rice. My roommate made california rolls alot. Then you can go hog wild with the ingredients. Crab, shrimp, tuna, etc.

[ZTC]

Kosher nori... Didn't think about that :shrug: Anyways, I'll look into that later today and see if there's any online merchants that some can be purchased from and I might be inclined to have some shipped out to you.