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