| If you're not making sushi at home you're | | | | your vegetables. Peel a cucumber and cut it |
| missing out on a delicious and extremely | | | | into long thin strips, about a 1/4" around. |
| diet-friendly meal. It's easy to make, fast, | | | | Same for the avocado. If you bought powdered |
| nutritious, and the raw fish you're afraid of | | | | wasabi prepare it also (just mix in tiny |
| is completely optional.First let's have a | | | | amounts of water until you get a thick |
| brief overview of sushi for those who've | | | | paste).Once the rice is done, remove it from |
| never had it or those who have tried it but | | | | heat and slowly fold in the vinegar mixture. |
| want to know more.Sushi is the catch-all name | | | | Then lay the rice out on a sheet of waxpaper |
| for a wide variety of Japanese dishes. The | | | | or a cutting board and allow it to cool |
| word sushi actually refers to rice with rice | | | | (traditionally this is done by fanning the |
| vinegar added. Since this is a very basic | | | | rice while slowly cutting and folding it with |
| and lightly flavored food, it is the many | | | | a special rice spatula). The rice should be |
| ingredients added to it that really define | | | | slightly damp from the vinegar and sticky, |
| what dish you are eating. The raw fish you | | | | but not wet and mushy, adjust the amount of |
| have heard of is sashimi -- which is a | | | | vinegar mixture you add as needed. Getting |
| crucial ingredient of many types of sushi -- | | | | the rice right is the most difficult part of |
| but you can create delicious sushi with | | | | making sushi, but a little practice will |
| almost any ingredient that goes with rice.In | | | | teach you what works.Once the vinegared rice |
| America by far the most common type of sushi | | | | has cooled off, you are ready to put it all |
| is maki-sushi, or rice wrapped in seaweed. | | | | together. Lay your bamboo rolling mat in |
| The seaweed is called nori and forms the | | | | front of you horizontally (the bamboo sticks |
| green skin you can see around sushi pieces. | | | | should run left-right). Take a sheet of nori |
| For this reason maki-sushi are also called | | | | and lay it on the rolling mat. For best luck |
| nori rolls. Also popular are nigiri-sushi, | | | | with the rice, keep water handy to dip your |
| small bars of rice topped with wasabi and | | | | fingers in. Spread a layer of rice on the |
| sashimi.It's easy to include sushi in a | | | | nori, covering about 3/4 of it. The part of |
| healthy diet. Think of the ingredients: | | | | the nori not covered in rice will hold the |
| rice, vegetables, and fish. Not exactly a | | | | roll closed (think of the glue strip on an |
| heart-attack in the making; just the opposite | | | | envelope or the gum on a cigarette |
| in fact. As long as you don't go overboard | | | | paper).Place a strip of avocado and a strip |
| on the rice it is extremely low in calories | | | | of cucumber on the rice, and top it with crab |
| in addition to being low in fat. While we | | | | meat. Now wet your fingers with cold water |
| chomp pork rinds and potato chips, the | | | | and dampen the part of the nori you left |
| Japanese have sushi. Care to guess which | | | | uncovered. Carefully roll the sushi using the |
| country has a longer average life span?Let's | | | | mat. If this sounds complicated, don't |
| learn how to make a California roll, easily | | | | worry. It's as simple as rolling up a |
| the most popular nori roll in America today. | | | | sleeping bag or a beach towel, and it will be |
| You will need the following items, all of | | | | obvious to you once you actually have the |
| which should be easy to find in your | | | | ingredients in front of you.Take the |
| supermarket's oriental foods section or at | | | | resulting roll and cut it into bite sized |
| your local Asian market:Bamboo rolling mat | | | | slices, usually 6 per roll. If you are |
| | | | having trouble cutting the roll without |
| Sushi rice (short or medium grain) | | | | damaging it, try dipping your knife into |
| | | | water between each cut. Lay the pieces flat |
| Nori (squares of roasted seaweed) | | | | and they will look like little colorful |
| | | | discs. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce on |
| Salt | | | | the side.If you feel brave and want to try |
| | | | do-it-yourself sashimi, here are a few safety |
| Sugar | | | | tips. First of all, understand that millions |
| | | | of people eat raw fish every day without |
| Rice vinegar | | | | getting sick. However, most of them live |
| | | | right next to the sea where fresh fish is |
| Imitation crab meat | | | | abundant. For many land-locked Americans |
| | | | this isn't the case. Fish that is prepared |
| Avocado | | | | for shipping to a grocery store in Boise is |
| | | | not handled in the same way as that bound for |
| Cucumber | | | | a San Francisco sushi bar. Look for fish |
| | | | that is specially labeled as sushi-grade. |
| Wasabi | | | | Avoid freshwater fish, with the notable |
| | | | exception of Salmon, which spends much of its |
| Soy saucePrepare the rice according to the | | | | life at sea. When buying whole fish, make |
| directions on the package. You will need | | | | sure the gills are bright red and not slimy, |
| about 3/4 cup cooked rice for each sushi | | | | the eyes should be transparent and not |
| roll, and most people will be full after | | | | cloudy, and there should be no fishy |
| eating 1 or 2 rolls.In a small pan, place a | | | | odor.Take up a healthy and nutritious sushi |
| tablespoon of vinegar and 1/3 tbsp of sugar | | | | addiction today. It may take you a while to |
| and salt for each 3/4 cup of rice you are | | | | get the rice and the rolling right, but once |
| cooking. Heat the resulting mixture briefly | | | | you are experienced you'll be able to whip |
| and stir until the sugar dissolves. When the | | | | out several nori rolls in no time. |
| rice is almost done cooking, begin cutting | | | | |