The Ultimate Rice Cooker (34 page)
the plastic rice spatula that came with your cooker, rinsed in cool water
your vinegar mixture, at room temperature
an electric fan, a hair dryer with a “cool” setting, a hand fan, or a folded newspaper
6. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, let the rice steam for 15 minutes. Then use the spatula to scoop all the rice into the bowl. Holding the spatula in one hand (with the curved back side facing up) over the rice and the pan with the vinegar mixture in the other, slowly pour the vinegar over the spatula, letting it run off and fall lightly onto the rice. Move the spatula around the bowl as you pour. The net effect will be to sprinkle the vinegar as evenly as possible over the surface of the rice. Gently nestle the damp cloth over the rice, covering it completely and bunching up the cloth against the side of the bowl. Wait 2 minutes.
7. Mix and cool the rice. You want rice that is shiny, body temperature or a bit cooler, mostly dry, and fairly sticky. The grains should be distinct, not mashed. Force-cooling the rice keeps it from absorbing the vinegar and getting too sticky.
Aim the electric fan at the rice in the bowl (or get your hair dryer or hand fan ready), but don’t turn it on yet. Mix the rice with the spatula, holding the spatula vertically and using it like a knife, gently and repeatedly cutting through and lifting sections of rice. (If you stirred the rice in the traditional manner, you would quickly make rice mush.) Rotate the bowl so that all of the rice gets mixed. After 1 minute of mixing, turn the fan to low or medium speed (or begin to use the hair dryer or to fan the rice by hand). Continue “cutting,” lifting, fanning, and turning the bowl until the rice is shiny and about body temperature (feel it with your palm). The rice is now ready to use.
If you are not ready to assemble your sushi, just set the spatula on top of the rice and re-cover the rice with the towel. The rice can wait, covered with the towel, for about an hour or so.
Maki
are seaweed-wrapped rolls of rice with something tasty centered inside. The rolls are sliced to expose a cross section of the fillings, which range from the extremely simple, like cucumber strips, to the inventive, like California rolls, the crab, avocado, sesame, and cucumber combination that indeed was created in the United States.
Maki
sushi is typically made in three thicknesses; medium (about 1½ inches across) is the easiest to handle. You can be as creative as you want, but remember that anything used to stuff
maki
sushi should be soft. Raw cucumber is okay, but carrot strips should be cooked.
The only piece of special equipment you will need is a
maki-su
, the little bamboo-and-string mat used to support the seaweed while you roll it around the rice and fillings (it looks like a miniature window shade). These cost only a few dollars and are easy to find in Asian markets, import stores like Cost Plus, cookware shops, or health food stores. (Or substitute a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.) The dried seaweed wrappers,
yaki sushi
nori
, wasabi, and ginger are all sold in Asian markets, health food stores, and gourmet markets.
Here we provide general directions for making
maki
sushi, followed by a selection of common, easy-to-prepare fillings.
YIELD: 6 rolls; serves 4 to 8
1 recipe Sushi Rice
6 sheets
yaki sushi nori
(roasted seaweed sheets)
Desired fillings
Soy sauce, ready-to-eat wasabi (sold in a plastic tube or as a powder that you mix with water to make the paste), and slices of pickled ginger, for serving
1. Arrange around your work surface for assembly:
the sushi rice in its cloth-covered bowl
the sheets of nori
your fillings
a bamboo rolling mat for forming the rolls, or a 9 x 10-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil
2 forks
a clean, damp dishcloth
CLICK TO SEE SOME FILLINGS FOR MAKI SUSHI
a sharp chef’s knife