Sushi!

[mi_scusi]

So as of late I've become highly addicted to sushi. I figure it's time to try making some at home. Anyone ever try this? I have some basics and made a decent california roll but want to toss in something raw. Any tips or advice on how to include some fish without any issues  ? The one thing I found so far is acquiring some of that flash frozen fish that can be consumed raw.

[kopfjäger]

Kalifornia roll is Maki, not Sushi. Buy fresh Ahi from a Seafood place and make some Sashimi or Tataki with it.

[brimo]

Any half decent fishmonger will have sushi grade tuna ready to go. 

[Adamm0621]

I tried making it once, but it takes too long, the rolls never came out looking right, and I ended up eating most of the fish sashimi style before it got onto the rolls.  That, and for me to fill up on sushi at home, it would require more time in the kitchen prepping all of those damn rolls than it takes me to eat them...    sushi 

[cdnrcr]

I made some too.  Bought sashimi grade Ahi from Henry's.  Made the sushi rice and made a few rolls.  The sushi chef's make it look easy.  It was a lot of work and the rolls kept falling apart.  Tasted good though. 

[il d00d]

I love cooking and I love sushi and I love trying to do things myself that I might otherwise pay someone to do.  But, I tried maki once and decided I would leave it to the pros.  I don't have the patience to try 10000 variations on a rice recipe to find the right one.  I'm saying good luck with it, and your local Whole Foods or similar food snob enthusiast outlet should have some good, sushi-grade fish.  Failing that, you might ask where your local sushi joint gets theirs.

On the subject of sushi, has anyone ever tried real wasabi?  Not the horseradish pulp they serve (and I am happy to eat lots of) in most places, but the real $100/lb deal?  I have always wondered if it was better...

[gOoIe B]

I eat sushi at least once a week, and yes, I have considered rolling my own, but for all the work and money involved in making good rolls with good ingredients, I settle to take the 3 minute drive to my favorite sushi bar and pay the fine gentlemen there to make my meal

mmm... sushi... that might just have to be tonight's dinner.

[zooom]

I eat sushi at least once a week, and yes, I have considered rolling my own, but for all the work and money involved in making good rolls with good ingredients, I settle to take the 3 minute drive to my favorite sushi bar and pay the fine gentlemen there to make my meal

mmm... sushi... that might just have to be tonight's dinner.

add in the fact that if I bought my own yellowtail and spicy tuna, I would have WAY more fish than I need sitting around and wouldn't be able to use it up fast enough and therefore would have unfresh sushi which would suck!

[AJ]

The majority of the time I'll go out for sushi, but I do love to make it at home if I have the time.

Are you near a Japanese grocery store?  I get nori (seaweed), sticky rice, and great sushi-grade fish at my local store.  They sell beautiful fish in small amounts (one unit per maki) so I never have leftovers.  And of course they have anything else you'd need: bamboo mats for rolling, rice vinegar, pickled veggies, sesame seeds, tobiko, tamago, etc.  Experiment with the amount of filling and your rolling technique and your rolls will stay together.
Have fun!

[sugarcrook]

Like most of the replies, I found it to be a lot of work.  It's not too bad if you prep everything first, assemble the maki and nigiri, then eat.  Doing a little here and there is frustrating.  The advantage to making it at home is you can experiment with new stuff.  Roast beef maki with horseradish sauce is pretty good. 

[mi_scusi]

Thanks all for the input. Even the veggie rolls I made took some time but it was definitely cheaper and worth it. I am lucky to be 20 min from an asian grocery store so I will have to see what they have. From your comments it definitely sounds doable so the next non-bike day may have to be sushi feast day. So far I've been making the most of this fall weather.   

[Jaman]

In addition to all the above, making good sushi rice is key!

do a search, Allrecipes, Food.com, whatever - one thing I have found that works well is to make sure you fan the rice while stirring/folding/cooling in a big wide bowl, wooden preferably, then cover with damp towel, and use good rice!

Make sure to get good Nori

get everything all prepped, set up, ready to assemble 1st

Keep a bowl with water handy or work close to sink to keep hands & knife blade moist so rice doesn't stick

if doing "inside out" type rolls, use plastic wrap to keep rice from sticking to bambooo mat

**and talk to you local friendly sushi chef on where to get good fish, not all frozen is created the same**

Sake Bombs!

[rgramjet]

I took a basic sushi making class years ago.  It was fun getting wasted off way to much saki and eating the components separately when we got sick of making rolls.

The joy of sushi for me is in the variety of tastes and textures.  I'd get bored with one or two chunks of fish.