Roll Your Own Sushi !!

My brother and his family were the first to invite me to a "roll your own sushi" dinner.
The title is a bit deceptive, there isn't a lot of rolling involved but it is a fun and very tasty way to get your sushi fix for a fraction of the cost of a  restaurant. I  love it because everyone gets to make their own "rolls".

 You don't need any special equipment, and these days most large supermarkets and natural food stores carry the few specialty food items you will need.

Our local fish market carries "sushi grade" fish like ahi tuna. If you are lucky enough to live near an Asian market like Ranch 99 or Mitsuwa you can really get fancy !!

Here's what you will need:

Sushi rice, most short grain white rices will work
Rice wine vinegar
Nori, the sheets of seaweed for wrapping
Soy Sauce
Wasabi, green horseradish paste
pickled ginger

Fillings, here you can let your imagination go wild.
avocado
cucumber
cooked shrimp
fake crab
fresh crab
smoked salmon
lox
sushi grade Ahi tuna or any other fish that has the designation
chopped macadamia nuts
cream cheese
Inari, canned tofu pockets ( my Safeway even carries them)
etc...

To make the sushi rice I use a rice cooker and 1/14 cup water per washed cup of rice.
Once the rice is cooked but still warm, scoop it into a bowl. For each cup of rice dissolve 1 teaspoon of sugar and salt into 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar, then add to the warm rice, mixing to coat all the grains. Set this aside while you prepare the fillings.

cucumber spears and avocado slices

Smoked salmon and seared ahi, both from the fishmonger at our farmer's market.

 I set the table with small bowls for soy sauce and the wasabi, and finger bowls as the rice is easier to handle with wet finger, all the fillings, rice and seaweed.

To make your roll simple take some rice and flatten it onto your piece of nori, add your fillings, roll it up just enough to insert into your mouth, dip in soy sauce and eat !!