Preparing Sushi
Now let us kick-off with making a California roll a kind of Sushi, which, at present, can be said as the most sought after ‘nori’ roll in America. The required ingredients are given as follows, and you should get everything in the oriental foods section of the supermarket or the local Asian market will provide you with everything. The list is as follows -: Sushi rice (medium or short grain) ,Nori (roasted seaweed squares, Rice vinegar, meat of Imitation crab, Bamboo rolling mat Avocado, Cucumber, Wasabi, Soy sauce, Preparation, Sugar and Salt.
Now the rice is prepared according to the instructions on the package. Almost ¾ cup of cooked rice is needed for each roll, and 1 or 2 rolls are sufficient for most of the people. One tablespoon of vinegar with 1/3 tbsp of sugar and salt is taken in a small pan for cooking every ¾ cup of rice. The mixture thus formed is heated and shaken to dissolve the sugar. In the meanwhile, as the rice is being cooked, you should start cutting the vegetables. A cucumber is peeled and cut into thin longitudinal pieces of about ¼". Then the same is done to an avocado and if wasabi powder are also brought then it is also prepared by mixing with small amount of water till a paste, thick in consistency is made. After the rice is cooked just remove it from the heat and the vinegar mixture is then slowly folded around it. The rice is then laid on a wax paper or a cutting board for the sole purpose of cooling it. This was although done traditionally by continually fanning the rice with cutting and folding by a special rice spatula. The prepared rice should just be just a little damp and sticky than the vinegar, but it should not be wet and mushy.
As soon as the rice with vinegar is ready, be prepared to pull it all together. The bamboo rolling mat is laid horizontally in front of you (the bamboo sticks going from left to right). A sheet of ‘nori’ is now laid upon the rolling mat. The water should be kept handy for the fingers to be dipped in for the best luck with rice. Now a layer of rice is spread over the ‘nori’ covering only about 3/4ths of it, and the uncovered part of nori will hold the roll close (here a glue strip on an envelope or the gum on the cigarette paper should be thought of).
Now a strip of avocado and cucumber each was placed on the rice with a topping of crab meat. Then the fingers are watered with cold water to moisten the uncovered part of nori. The sushi is then carefully rolled by using the mat. This may sound complicated, but there is no reason to worry as it is so simple that it will be obvious to you once you have the actual ingredients in front of you, it will seem as if rolling a sleeping bag or a beach towel.
Then the rolled nori is sliced into edible sizes at usually 6 slices per roll. Dipping the knife into water will help in cutting the roll if there is any trouble of cutting it without damaging it. These pieces are laid down flat giving it a look of a colorful disc. These colorful discs like rolls are then served with wasabi and soya sauce on the sides.