The Ultimate Rice Cooker (35 page)
a plastic or wooden cutting board
a small saucer of rice vinegar (may be needed to seal the rolls)
a serving platter (a cake plate or small square platter works nicely)
condiments in serving bowls
2. Arrange the rolling mat in front of you, with the pieces of bamboo running horizontally (parallel to the edge of the work surface). Place a piece of nori on the mat, with the smoother side down.
3. Uncover the rice and use the spatula to section the rice into 6 parts. Scoop out one section and place it on the bottom half of the sheet of nori. Re-cover the remaining rice to keep it from drying out. Hold a fork in each hand, tines down, rounded side up. Use the forks like garden rakes to spread out the rice as evenly as possible over the bottom two-thirds of the nori. Don’t leave any margins; spread the rice all the way to the edges. About 1 inch up from the bottom, use the side of a fork to push aside some of the rice and make a sort of depression or trough where the filling will go. The trough should extend all the way across the nori. Don’t expose the nori, though; you want your filling to be enclosed in a layer of rice.
4. Lay the desired filling in the trough. It is okay to mound it rather high. You will compress it as you complete the roll. (You will quickly learn how much filling to use to produce a roll that is neither skimpy nor bulging.)
5. Slide the nori to the edge of the mat closest to you. Lifting the mat, not the nori, begin the roll by bringing the strip of rice closest to you to meet the strip of rice on the other side of the filling. Squeeze the mat gently but firmly, moving your hands along the entire length of the mat, to create a nice, even log shape. Now complete the roll, stopping every so often to gently squeeze the mat and shape the roll. At the end, give a final squeeze, hard enough to firm and seal the roll but not so hard that the filling oozes out the ends. If the nori doesn’t seal, dip your finger in vinegar and wet the edge of the nori.
Set the finished roll aside and continue filling and rolling the remaining 5 sheets of nori.
6. When all the rolls are finished, cut each into 6 pieces. You will make the cleanest cuts if you use a wet knife, wipe it with the damp towel after every cut, and cut with a back-and-forth sawing motion instead of pressing down. Arrange the rolls cut side up on the serving platter. Serve with the soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.
YIELD: 3 rolls ; serves 2 to 4
¼ pound cooked crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 to 4 teaspoons Chinese (hot) mustard, to your taste
1 to 4 teaspoons mayonnaise, to your taste
1 medium-size avocado (Hass is best)
1 to 2 Japanese cucumbers or part of a long English one
½ recipe Sushi Rice
3 sheets
yaki sushi nori
(toasted seaweed sheets)
Toasted Japanese sesame seeds
Soy sauce and wasabi paste, for serving
1. Using two forks or your fingers, finely shred the crabmeat. Mix the crabmeat with a dab of Chinese mustard and enough mayonnaise to hold the crab together; start with 1 or 2 teaspoons. Add more mustard if you want a spicier flavor.
2. To prepare the avocado, cut it in half the long way, working your knife around the pit. Remove the pit and use a knife to score the avocado into slices about ⅓ -inch thick. Don’t cut all the way through the skin. Use a large soup spoon to scoop the slices right out of the avocado shell. If the avocado is large, you may wish to halve the slices lengthwise.
Prepare the cucumbers
.
3. For each California
maki
,
spread the rice on the nori
. In the trough, layer the crab salad, cucumber, and avocado strips. Sprinkle the rice generously with the sesame seeds. Roll up carefully and cut each
maki
into 6 pieces, wiping the knife with a damp towel between cuts.
4. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi paste for dipping.
note:
Toasted Japanese sesame seeds are light tan and sold in a shaker jar in Japanese markets; they are larger and more flavorful than ordinary sesame seeds and have already been toasted; toast them again in a small skillet to enhance the flavor.
variation:
Shrimp-filled California rolls were the stars of the sushi platter at a Japanese restaurant in the shrimp-fishing town of Mazatlán, Mexico. Substitute ¼ pound poached shrimp, shelled and finely chopped, for the crabmeat.
These stuffed tofu pockets are great picnic or lunch box sushi; they travel well and are neat and easy to eat. Despite their exotic look, they are not difficult to make. You buy the tofu pockets packaged and ready to go in Asian markets. Look for packages marked “fried bean curd” or “seasoned fried bean curd” (
ajitsuke inari age
). Shirakiku is one brand.
Inari zushi
can be starkly simple; vine-gared sushi rice is a delicious filling on its own. You can add toasted sesame seeds, cooked egg, bits of vegetables like seasoned shiitake mushrooms or blanched grated carrot, or cooked fish. Whatever ingredients you mix with the rice should be soft and diced, shredded, or minced very finely. If you keep the tofu pockets on hand in the freezer, you can pull out a few whenever you make
maki
or hand roll sushi; finely chop your leftover fillings, mix with vinegared rice, and stuff a few
inari zushi
. If you are short on time, you can just add a package of the prepared vegetable mix called
gomoku sushi no
moto
to freshly cooked hot rice. (This product typically is sold in cans or plastic pouches.)These vegetable mixes include the vinegar; you just mix them into the hot rice while fanning to cool.
When you shop for tofu pockets, you are likely to see three styles. One
(ajitsuke inari
age)
, sold frozen in a plastic boil-in bag, is already seasoned and ready to use after thawing or boiling for about 10 minutes in a covered pot of boiling water. A second kind is canned; it is the easiest to use but not as tasty as frozen or fresh
age
. The third style is fresh,
abura age
. It is sold in plastic bags at Asian markets and, please note, it is not seasoned.
6 fresh or canned
abura age
Boiling water
2 cups dashi
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
¼ cup sugar
½ recipe (
Sushi Rice
), mixed with additional filling ingredients as desired
1. To use canned or fresh
abura age
, open the bag or can and place the desired number of pouches in a large bowl or a colander in the sink. Pour boiling water over the pouches to remove excess oil. (Or blanch them for a minute or two in a pot of boiling water.)
2. Slice each pouch in half crosswise and gently open it up with your fingers, as you would open a pita half. Then season by simmering in a small pot with Dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Continue simmering the tofu pouches for 20 to 30 minutes more, covered with a sheet of parchment paper, a saucer, the lid to a slightly smaller pan, or an
otoshi buta
(a flat wooden drop lid designed to keep simmering items submerged and yet allow some steam to escape; they are sold in Japanese markets or hardware stores).
3. To stuff, drain, then let the tofu pouches cool until you can handle them. Gently use your fingers to open one, being careful not to tear it. (Again, this is somewhat like opening a pita.) Fill with sushi rice. For the neatest looking
inari zushi
and to lessen the chance of ripping the pouch, shape the rice into a small oval first. Place about 3 tablespoons of your rice stuffing on a square of plastic wrap. Bring the ends of the plastic wrap tightly together and use your fingers to gently but firmly shape the rice into an oval. Remove the plastic and carefully insert the rice into the tofu pouch. (You can also shape the rice balls by hand, dampening your hands first with vinegar water.)
In Tokyo,
chirashi
sushi is like unconstructed
nigiri
or
maki
sushi, except the ingredients are layered in a bowl. It is typically made with slices of raw fish, vegetables, and other ingredients, beautifully arranged on a bed of rice. In Osaka, though,
chirashi
sushi is a more casual dish, somewhat akin to a rice salad. Sometimes called
barazushi
or
maze gohan
(mixed rice), it is frequently made at home or for parties with friends and family. Like a potato salad, it is subject to the cook’s skill, tastes, and whims, and the ingredients can vary enormously. Here is the way Julie’s colleague Sharon Noguchi makes it. Sharon is a terrific cook whose family came to San Francisco from the Osaka area about a hundred years ago. Sharon notes that it’s considered lucky to make
chirashi
sushi with an odd number of ingredients: five or seven, usually. She uses seven.