SushiSushi, a dish from Japanese cuisine, gained popularity in Europe in the early ’80s and reached our shores in the early ’90s. Today, the capital boasts numerous restaurants offering a variety of rice-and-seafood dishes, complemented by special sauces and spices. To prepare this dish you need fresh fish, rice, nori (seaweed), roe, omelet, sesame seeds, cheese, pickled ginger, wasabi, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.
The only downside is the price—especially at restaurants. But all the ingredients are now easy to find, so you can make sushi at home without hassle.
As mentioned, sushi is rice combined with other ingredients. In Japan, rice is a staple. For sushi, specific varieties of rice are used because they have a characteristic stickiness. Fresh fish such as tuna, salmon, or eel is typically used for fillings, along with seafood like crab, squid, shrimp, octopus, and roe.
Another essential ingredient is nori—thin sheets of dried seaweed that provide nutrients beneficial to health. Common vegetables used in sushi include avocado, cucumber, and some pickled vegetables. You can also use tomatoes, bell peppers, and other familiar ingredients. Omelets made from eggs, mayonnaise, soy sauce, and sugar can be added, and you can wrap sushi in this omelet instead of nori. The primary condiment for sushi is soy sauce, which contains amino acids, minerals, and small amounts of vitamins. Pickled ginger helps cleanse the palate between different pieces, and wasabi—a type of Japanese horseradish made from the wasabi plant—adds heat. Often, a substitute made from horseradish or mustard is used instead of real wasabi.
This dish can be broadly categorized into two groups: sushi—rice with a filling topped or wrapped in thin slices of fish—and rolls—rice with a filling wrapped in nori leaves. The cost of ingredients for making sushi at home is relatively low. Buy products from specialty stores, where you’ll find a balanced selection of the necessary ingredients and can purchase them in small quantities.
Here are a few simple recipes you can try at home.
Sushi with Salmon
You will need:
125 g sushi rice
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp wasabi powder
100 g fresh salmon steak
1/2 sheet of nori
Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. This step is essential every time. Place the rice in a pot, add water, sugar, and salt, cover, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes. Transfer the cooked rice to a plate and add the rice vinegar.
Now wet your hands and form small rectangles from the rice, placing them on a board. Add a couple of drops of water to the wasabi powder and mix it into a paste. Using a sharp knife, slice the salmon into thin strips. Spread wasabi on each piece of salmon and place the salmon wasabi-side down on the rice, pressing gently. Cut the nori into narrow strips, moisten them with water, and wrap each piece of salmon with a strip of nori. Serve the finished dish with extra wasabi and pickled ginger.
Rolls with Smoked Tuna and Omelet
You will need:
275 g rice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
4 sheets of nori
1 tbsp wasabi
1/2 cucumber
50 g smoked tuna
4 green onion stalks
1 egg omelet
Cook the rice and place it in a non-metallic bowl. Sprinkle the rice with a mixture of vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 tbsp salt. Let the rice cool. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down on a bamboo mat for rolling. Using a spoon dipped in water, spread rice over the nori, leaving a 1-inch border on one side, and add a bit of wasabi on top. Layer cucumber, tuna, green onion, and omelet on the wasabi, then tightly roll the nori with the filling inside. Cut each roll into pieces using a sharp knife moistened with water. Serve with soy sauce and ginger.
For the omelet, beat 2 eggs, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sake or dry white wine, and 1 tbsp water. Grease a skillet with oil, place it over medium heat, and pour in half of the egg mixture. When the omelet sets, roll it up and push it to the side of the pan. Pour in the remaining half of the mixture, and when it sets, roll the first omelet into the second, push it aside, and repeat until all the egg is used.
Roll with Avocado and Tuna
You will need:
220 g tuna fillet
1/2 package of rice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 beaten egg yolks
6 sheets of nori
55 g avocado
1 red chili pepper
4 green onion stalks
Cook the rice, add the vinegar, and cool it in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a skillet, add the yolks, and cook until you have a thin omelet. Let it cool and cut it into squares. Place rice at one end of a nori sheet, create a small indentation in the rice, and line up pieces of avocado, cooked and crumbled tuna, and omelet. Top the tuna with green onion and cover with a layer of rice. Roll it up and cut into small pieces. Serve with shrimp, greens, and chili sauce.
