Sushi Jin Next Door Food

VEGETABLE SUSHI ROLLS FOR ALL AGES

Steps:

• For the rice:
• Mix together vinegar, sugar, and salt.
• Rinse the rice in colander and drain. Put the rice and water in medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered. (For a good seal wrap the pan's lid tightly with a small kitchen towel and cover the saucepan. Make sure the towel's edges are folded up well away from the heat.) Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover) and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the vinegar mixture and toss with the rice, using a wooden spoon. Spread it out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Fan the rice continuously with a fan or magazine until cooled. Cover the rice with a damp towel.
• To assemble rolls:
• Place the sushi mat with the slats running crosswise directly in front of you on a clean work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down and lined up with the closest edge of the mat. Lightly moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori, with 1 1/2-inches uncovered at the far edge. Line up the fillings about 1-inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice. Leave 1-inch of rice uncovered at the far edge.
• Beginning with the near edge of the mat, tightly roll up the nori, rice, and fillings into a cylinder. Firmly tug on the rounded mat over the roll as you pull on the far edge of the mat to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal. Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings.
• Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife.
• Serve with bowl of soy sauce for dipping.

TUNA TATAKI

Steps:

• On a shallow plate, mix together the ginger, sesame seeds, and cracked black pepper. Season the tuna with salt.
• Make 1/2-inch deep slices in the tuna, every 1/4- to 1/2-inch or so to make it easier to slice at the end. Roll the tuna in the ginger mixture, pressing lightly so the mixture sticks to the tuna.
• Place a saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and sear the tuna on all sides, about 30 seconds per side. Remove the tuna from the pan and set aside. Deglaze the pan with lime juice. Pour the lime juice over the tuna.
• In a bowl combine the avocado, greens, red onion, and tomato. Toss with some of the Ginger Sauce. Slice the tuna, following the incisions made earlier. Place some of the dressed greens on 4 plates. Top with sliced tuna and drizzle with some more of the Ginger Sauce.
• In a small bowl, combine the shallot, ginger, a few grinds pepper, soy sauce, and lime juice. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and set aside. When ready to serve, whisk thoroughly to combine.

HAWAIIAN SHOYU MUSUBI

Steps:

• Cut the Spam into 6 slices and pat the slices dry with paper towels. Wash and dry the Spam can, then line the inside with a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Whisk together the soy sauce and brown sugar in a small bowl.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Spam slices and cook, flipping once, until evenly brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the soy sauce mixture to the skillet, making sure to scrape in all of the sugar, and quickly flip the Spam slices to coat them. Turn off the heat, leaving the Spam in the skillet to continue absorbing the sauce as it cools.
• Add 3 tablespoons of rice to the Spam can, dipping the tablespoon measure in cold water as needed to prevent the rice from sticking. Use the back of the tablespoon to pack the rice into a level, compact layer. Top the rice with a generous pinch of furikake and a slice of Spam. Add 3 more tablespoons of rice and pack the rice into an even layer. Grasp the plastic wrap to lift the rice-Spam stack out of the can.
• Place a sheet of nori on a clean work surface rough-side up. Transfer the rice-Spam stack to the center of the nori--so its length is perpendicular to the length of the nori. Tightly fold one end of the nori up over the rice-Spam stack. Dab water across the second end of the nori, tightly fold it up over the first end and press to seal the seam. Flip the musubi over so the seam side faces down. Repeat with the remaining rice, furikake, Spam slices and nori, replacing the plastic wrap with a new sheet every time.
• Dampen a sharp knife with cold water and carefully slice each roll crosswise into 4 pieces.

CALIFORNIA ROLL

Steps:

• Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.
• Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap. Cut nori sheets in half crosswise. Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat. Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1/2 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Turn the sheet of nori over so that the rice side is down. Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet. Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth. Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.
• Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.
• Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.
• Yield: 4 cups

TUNA POKE

Steps:

• Combine 1 pound diced sushi-grade tuna, 1 cup diced cucumber and 1/4 cup chopped scallions in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon each lemon juice, sesame oil and rice vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon each red pepper flakes and kosher salt; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Serve in Bibb lettuce leaves with root vegetable chips.

SUSHI RICE

Steps:

• Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.
• Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.