If you were here a few weeks ago, I showed you how to make a Spicy Tuna Hand Roll -- now on to something a little more tricky to do, a typical sushi roll.
Sushi rolls are sold everywhere now, even Trader Joe's markets (at least in Los Angeles.) You can easily get colorful refrigerated sliced sushi rolls ready to go. The sushi roll selections are small, but I've seen a variety, including California Roll, Krab, Tuna, Veggie, Salmon, and Scallop Rolls. Although these pre-packaged rolls are a bit on the expensive side.
While I like the convenience, fresh is still best. And it's not that hard to make. You only have to cook sushi rice (my recipe is here.) The trickiest ingredient to find is sheets of dried seaweed, but even that is now being carried in larger chain grocery stores.
You can use a bamboo rolling mat, also carried at larger markets and Oriental grocery stores. They look like tiny bamboo window blinds, and they are super-cheap, just click here to see (or order) online. (Here is a video that shows you how to roll with a dry kitchen towel -- you could even roll sushi with a large one-gallon plastic Ziploc bag or a flexible placemat.) And with a little practice, you could try rolling it by hand.
Fresh sushi-grade fish is expensive, but I have a generous neighbor who supplies me with fresh, locally caught tuna for free (to see my blog post and video about him, click here.) So I can do this Sushi Recipe Series and stay within my budget - because it pays to be friendly with your neighbors. (For a cheaper sushi roll it's okay to substitute tuna with cooked imitation crab, or krab.)
My recipe uses chopped tuna, mixed with mayo and hot sauce.You can add some thin-sliced veggies to stretch out the expensive raw tuna.)
And for all my pescetarian visitors, this post is especially for you. (A pescetarian dines on veggies and fish, but no other meat.) Plus sliced Sushi Rolls make great party appetizers. You can make them with fish or keep it vegan to include everyone. If you are new to the sushi experience, click here to see a video about how to eat sushi.
Like my other sushi recipes, it takes a few tries to get good at it. So you may want to make your first couple of sushi rolls with cheaper faux crab, or just sliced veggies (avocado is a luscious seafood substitution.) But once you get the hang of it, you'll be sushi rolling often. It's actually fun to do.
Spicy Tuna Roll - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 17 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
- About 6 ounces of tuna - skinless and no bones. I used fatty tuna for this recipe. Okay to substitute cheaper imitation crab, also known as krab.
- 3 tablespoons mayo - I used light mayo. Add more or less to the desired creaminess.
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha Chili Sauce - can also use a favorite hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne pepper. Add a little at a time to reach your own desired spiciness.
Other Ingredients
- About 2 cups cooked sushi rice - for my recipe click here.
- 2-4 sheets of dried seaweed - depending how much Spicy Tuna you use for each roll.
- Favorite veggies - optional. Thinly chopped or sliced carrot, green onions, cucumber and avocado.
Directions for Spicy Tuna Roll
Prepare Sushi Rice according to my recipe, click here for details. The rice should be at room temperature when making sushi.
Roughly chop raw tuna into small pieces.
Mix mayo and Sriracha Chilli Sauce (or favorite hot sauce) in a bowl. Mix chopped tuna and spicy mayo in a bowl. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Now time to bring it all together.
Lay out sushi mat (dry kitchen towel, or large Ziploc plastic bag.) The surface should be dry, as dried seaweed is very absorbent. Place one whole dried sheet of seaweed on the center of the sushi mat.
Now dampen your hands (as Sushi Rice is sticky and water will make handling easier,) and spread out an even layer of cooked rice over the dried seaweed.
You will be rolling sushi, so leave a half-inch edge empty of rice. You can cover all the seaweed, on the right and left sides, with rice. As for how much rice you pile on, it's up to you. I just do enough until you can't see the seaweed underneath -- about a 1/4 inch deep.
When seaweed is covered with rice (except half an inch along the closest edge to you) gently press on the rice with damp fingers, so it's spread evenly across the seaweed.
Cover about a quarter to a third of the rice with Spicy Tuna. I spread it across the center area, end to end. You can use a lot of spicy tuna or just a little - it's up to you. Use less tuna if you are adding sliced veggies, too.
Now time to roll it up. You can rotate the mat away from you to roll, or keep it facing you. Roll the loaded seaweed with medium pressure as you go, tightening the roll. Keep rolling and adding pressure until you reach the half inch of clear seaweed at the end.
Dampen your fingers and moisten the seaweed edge and just press together to seal.
Once the roll is sealed, wrap the roll one more time in the mat and give the roll even squeezes from end to end. This will help keep the roll from falling apart when you finally slice it.
Remove the mat and place the whole Spicy Tuna Roll on a cutting surface. Take a sharp knife and dampen the blade with water. I start in the middle and slice it in half. Then I slice each half into 4 pieces, so I get 8 slices per roll, in total. You can make thicker pieces if you like, to get 6 pieces total. The object is to make each piece edible in one bite.
You can eat the sushi as is, or pour a small plate of soy sauce and dip sushi pieces as you eat them.
Hindsight
It's optional to add sliced veggies on top of the Spicy Tuna layer. Thinly slice favorite veggies such as a carrot, green onion, cucumber, and avocado. Slices can be long or short. You can use packaged shredded carrots, or peel and slice your own. For cucumbers slice in half lengthwise, spoon out seeds and slice. (You can peel some of the cucumber.) For green onion slice off and discard roots and any yellowed stems, then thinly slice.
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