Sushi Crunchies!

I discovered sushi crunchies (not sure of their 'real' name) when we were in Denver a few months ago. My parents favorite sushi place, where I think we ate like 8 times in 4 weeks (!!) makes a roll with sushi crunches inside it that I've been trying to replicate ever since. I think I've come pretty close with the roll you see in the photo above ... although, I don't roll mine inside out like they do.

I put avocado, dry roasted cashews, sushi crunchies and sometimes cream cheese. (the one pictured doesn't have the cream cheese) I top it will bulldog sauce. So yum ! It's my current favorite roll !

To make the crucnhies ... I watched this video ... you should watch it if you are going to try them. It gives some great tips.

I only make half his recipe ... here's how ...

Vegetable, corn or peanut oil

1/2 cup of Tempura flour (i actually used tempura batter mix),

1/2 cup of Water

1 egg white

Heat the oil in a pot. Don't fill it more than half way. I did the first time and ended up having to throw away the pot I used after I burned the oil to the outside of it ! Anyway, get the oil really hot (but not boiling)

While your oil is heating, mix the egg white, flour and water.

Test the oil by adding a drip of the mixture to the oil. If it instantly floats and sizzles at the top then the oil is ready. When the oil is hot, drizzle a bit of the mixture into it. (see the video for useful tips on this part !) Make sure you pour it slowly and not too much at once.

Once it's golden, remove it with a slotted spoon or small metal strainer to a plate covered with paper towel. Continue until all the mix is used up. Let it cool for a bit, then tip into a bowl. I smash it a bit with the back of a spoon because I like my cruchies broken up.

That's it.

These are so yummy.

One thing though, if you are making the sushi for the next day, don't add the crunchies, just sprinkle them on top the next day ! (they go soggy in the rice over night)

Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll

I'm not a huge fan of raw tuna. I mean, I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite.

This, however, is quickly becoming one of my favorites !

There's no real measurements, I just do this all to taste.

Ingredients (for the spicy tuna):

Sushi Grade Tuna, the size depends on how many you are feeding (and how much you want to spend!)

Kewpie Mayo

Spring Onion, thinly chopped

Sriracha Sauce

What else you need for the roll:
Masago

Avocado

Tempura Crunchies

Sushi Rice

Seaweed

To make the spicy tuna. Chop the tuna into small pieces. Add mayo and mix. (You can see how is should look in the photo) Add spring onions. Add Sriracha to taste. I only add a small squirt at a time. That stuff is spicy hot !

Once that is done, you can make your rolls. Just add the other ingredients, along with the spicy tuna, and roll it up ! Done !!

Auburi Scallop Sushi

These are amazingly delicious !  This is only the second or third time we've made them at home but they are quickly becoming a must have on our sushi nights !

Sushi (short grain) Rice, cooked

Sushi Rice Vinegar (you can buy it or it's EASY to MAKE)

Fresh Scallops, roe removed

Kewpie Mayo

Bulldog Sauce

I'm going to assume that you all know how to make sushi rice.  If you don't, I explain it in this post.

If you don't know how to shape sushi rice, here is a video I just found to show you.  It's in Japanese but you can see what he's doing.

Shape your rice and set aside.

Using a chef's blowtorch, sear the scallop on both sides and around the edges ... then pop the scallop on top of the rice.  Put a blob of kewpie mayo on top of the scallop and sear, just a little bit more.  Drizzle bulldog sauce on top of that and sear a bit more.

 

Eat while hot ! Serve with a bowl of soy sauce for dipping.

Salmon & Avocado Nigiri Sushi

I discovered this sushi at a local sushi place a while ago. 

I love it. I've made it a few times at home.

Last night, I had my camera out so

decided to take photos 

and now I'll share

the 'recipe'.

Here's what you need ...

Sushi (short grain) Rice, cooked

Sushi Rice Vinegar (you can buy it or it's EASY to MAKE)

Fresh Salmon (ask your fishmonger if it can be eaten raw), sliced

Avocado, sliced

Red Onion, as thinly sliced as you can make it

Kewpie Mayo

Tobiko (or Masago would do too)

I'm going to assume that you all know how to make sushi rice.  If you don't, I explain it in this post.

If you don't know how to shape sushi rice, here is a video I just found to show you.  It's in Japanese but you can see what he's doing.

Once that is done, top with salmon (if you don't know how to cut the fish, click on the 'sliced' link above), then avocado, red onion, mayo, and finally the fish eggs.

Serve with a dipping bowl of soy sauce. And wasabi if you like.

Jodie's Sushi Rice and Jono's Favorite Roll

if you're wondering why i haven't posted a menu this week, it's because i haven't made one. oh how i despise not having a menu ! but, we're pretty much just trying to eat out of the fridge/freezer/pantry this week. we're doing pretty well, if we are an ingredient or two short, i just run out and get them. so far, we're still UNDER BUDGET !! hoooray !!

the other night we did very simple sushi. the only ingredients we did were cucumber, avocado, cream cheese and tamago. i had run out of sushi rice vinegar so i tried my friend jodie's recipe for making your own ! it was great. i'll never buy sushi rice vinegar again ...

here's how you make it ...
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 TBLS sugar
1.5 tsp salt

mix in a bowl, zap in the microwave to help the sugar dissolve. i probably took it out and stirred it two or three times over a minute's zap ...

and that's it. use how much you need and save the rest for next time ...

as for this fancy inside out roll. my boy reckons this is the best way to eat sushi. he's always disappointed when we go to a sushi restaurant that doesn't have these. so ... i tried my hand at it and he said it was better than the one he gets at the sushi shop ! how's that for a compliment ?! it really was quite easy. Just roll the sushi mat with glad wrap (plastic wrap) before you start, otherwise you'll be picking rice out of your mat for years to come !

Do your rice as you normally would, sprinkle with sesame seeds and then turn it over. Add your ingredients as you normally would, only you're doing it on the seaweed, not the rice. I did cucumber, avocado and cream cheese for jono. Roll as per usual. Cutting is a bit tricky but if you have a sharp knife, you'll be fine.

That's it ! Easy and yum !!

I love gadgets ...

My mother in law gave me these cute little soy sauce holders years ago. They are perfect for sending with sushi lunches. However ... I've always had difficultly getting the soy sauce into them. When I was last in the States, I found a tiny little funnel at The Container Store. I bought it, brought it home, unpacked it and haven't seen it since. I think it must have gotten thrown away by accident. It was really tiny.

Anyway ... one morning, after pouring soy sauce all over my counter yet again, I had a flash of brilliance !! You know those little syringes that come with kids medicine ? Well ... I've got a bunch of them and they are perfect !! You just suck the soy sauce up into the syringe ...

and then squeeze it down into the bottle !!



Works wonders and now, these are not only handy, they are easy too ...

What's for Lunch ?

Leftover sushi rice, inari-zushi pockets, Annie's Honey Muesli Slice and some grapes.

Kids loved this one.

What's for Lunch ?

Jono and Alia love it when I put sushi in their lunches.

I usually just make them kappamaki ... cucumber rolls.

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 6

It's a bit of a "cook the easy meals" week for me !
Last week we tried almost all NEW recipes.
I loved making them, and eating them, they were all great.
But this week ... I am goin' with what I know best.

Friday
Pizza and Movie Night
We actually had pizza this week !!

Saturday
We took Sushi over to the resort where Gina and Eddie were staying.

Sunday
Remember when I made Enchiladas last week ?
I mentioned freezing it.
We had the frozen stuff last night and it was GOOOOOOOOD !
Just reheated in the microwave.
Couldn't tell it had been frozen !! Tasted just like last week !
(if not better !!)

Monday
That's tonight and I'm NOT COOKIN' !!
I've been a busy little bee today and I'm too tired !
Rory and I are going to do our Chinese/Indian thing for dinner.
He gets Indian ... the kids and I get Chinese.
We all get it to go and eat it at home together !

Tuesday
Rory's Carbonara
Have you all tried this yet ?
Gotta try it !

Wednesday
Fried Rice

Thursday
I think this Thursday will be a bit of a
"pull everything out of the fridge and see what I can throw together" night !

What's on the menu at your place this week ?
Head on over to this weeks Menu Plan Monday and share ....

Sushi

I love Sushi.

There are not any good sushi places around here.
I make my own.
It's not as good as a great sushi place but we like it.
If I can make it ... you can make it !
~

We had it for lunch on Saturday and I thought I'd take some
photos and do a little "how to" post for you !
~
You can put anything in it !
I like to look at the menu's my Dad sent me from a few places in Co
and experiment with those ingredients.
~
But, when I need it to be easy these are the ingredients I use.
Cucumber
Avocado
Tamago (see recipe here)
Imitation Crab Meat ( I keep it on hand in the freezer )
Sesame Seeds
Wasabi
Japanese Mayonnaise

Start with the rice. Short grain. I cook mine in a rice cooker.
I usually do two or three cups for our sushi lovin' family of four.
Add the sushi rice vinegar and let rice cool.
I just let it sit (covered) rather than use a fan like a real sushi chef would do.
If you do just let it sit, make sure to cover it with a clean hand towel
(or lid) because it will dry out if you don't.
How much vinegar ?
The back of the bottle should tell you.
Mine says 1 tbls per cup of rice. And I usually add a little bit extra !
~
Get your piece of seaweed on your little rolly mat.
Add rice ... like this.

Put your ingredients in ... like this.
(The sesame seeds are sprinkled along the bottom)
(The mayo and wasabi are underneath all that too !)

Roll it up ... like this.
Use your finger to put a bit of water along the flat outside edge
so that when you roll it up, it will stick better.

Roll the rest of the way and use your mat to give it a bit of a squeeze.

You can leave it long and just pick it up to dip in Soy Sauce or you can cut it.
Like this ...

"Itadakimasu."

"Let's eat."

Sushi bowl night

We were inspired by Bonnie's Sushi bowls, and decided to give it a try.
The result was AMAZINGLY YUMMY!!!

Here are some pictures :-)

We had miso soup as well as the sushi bowls.

The toppings we had available for putting in your sushi bowl were:

~Tuna

~Avocado

~Edamame

~Cucumber

~Shrimp (sauteed in peanut and sesame oil and then a lemon soy sauce was added at the end)

~Seaweed

~Sesame Seeds

~Roasted black sesame and salt

~Soy sauce (regular and the lemon one)

~Wasabi

We used short grain brown rice instead of white. It was very yummy and we did not miss the white rice at all. I, for one, was surprised at this because I LOVE white rice and have never been a huge fan of the brown. Jill and I made the meal while Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jim were at Church. The only slight mishap we had was that we didn't know about fanning the rice. I think that was pretty good for being novices at sushi making :-)
We had some nice green tea to finish off our meal.

YUM!!

Chirashi Sushi - My Version Anyway

My cousins Nicole and Kip got us the coolest book for Christmas ! It is called The Complete Book of Sushi and I LOOOOOVE it ! I had already planned sushi for tonight but decided to try my hand a chirashi sushi (don't know what the literal translation is but to me it is sushi in a bowl) It was yum !
~
Oh yeah. I almost forgot ... but then I looked at the photo and remembered ! Rory got me knives for Christmas. They are wonderful !! See them in the photo below ?! Cool, eh ?! I love them. I've been wanting to buy good knives for years. Really ... many years ! But, I just haven't. This year, Rory did ! I'm soooo glad ! I use them all the time !!!!!

So ... how to make the chirashi sushi. Start with the rice. Short grain. I cook mine in a rice cooker. Tonight I did three cups. (we have enough left over for a few rolls for tomorrow's lunch) Add the sushi rice vinegar and let rice cool. I just let it sit rather than use a fan like a real sushi chef would do. If you do just let it sit, make sure to cover it with a clean hand towel (or lid) because it will dry out if you don't. How much vinegar ? The back of the bottle should tell you. Mine says 1 tbls per cup of rice. And I usually add a little bit extra !

This is tamago. Easy to make.
Beat 4 eggs with 1 tbls sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.
Pour into tamago (or frying) pan. I heat on med-high and spray pan with oil.
Cook til almost cooked through but don't let it burn. Flip whole thing.
Cook til cooked through.

This is a tamago pan. My sister in law brought it back from Japan for me. Don't know what I'll do when it wears out !

Chop up whatever you want on top. I did tamago, cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab meat. That green stuff on top is chuka wakame. I've just discovered it and I love it ! After I took the photo, I also added thinly sliced (with scissors) seaweed, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Just put all of your toppings on top of your rice and voila ... dinner.

It's great too because people can pick and choose what they'd like on top. Can be a very kid friendly meal ! Of course, my kids didn't want their sushi in a bowl. Neither did Rory for that matter ! So ... I just made this for me and put the rest of the stuff chopped up on the table like I usually do when we have sushi. Rory rolled his own and he and I both made rolls for the kids.