Homemade Sushi

Making sushi is a very difficult task. It is much more about the rice than it is the fish. My friend Adam wanted to make it for his family and also wanted to share the experience with me. This is how we made our sushi. To make sushi, the rice must be soaked for about 10-15 minutes before cooking. Then if you have a rice cooker, use that to cook the rice. If you don't have a rice cooker you can use a regular sized pot for rice. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for 15 minutes. Then after 15 minutes, bring off the heat and steam the rice for 10 minutes. The important part of the sushi rice making process is the vinegar solution. We used rice vinegar combined with sugar and salt. We then heated the mixture in the microwave to dissolve the sugar and salt. Then you have to fan the rice and carefully pour the vinegar mixture over the rice. It is important to not make the rice that wet. The drier the rice the better. We made many different makimono. We made cucumber maki, spicy tuna maki, yellowtail(which is also called hamachi), marinated baby octopus( these were cooked and marinated in a teriyaki type sauce which was irresistable) , regular tuna with cucumber and avocado, and salmon. We served surumi, and sashimi of tuna, yellowtail, and salmon. Sashimi and Sushi are two different things though. Sushi is fish with vinegared rice, while sashimi is just thin sliced raw fish. We ended the meal with amazing rambutan. Rambutan is a fruit in the same family as lychee, but it is much sweeter. When shopping for the fish, make sure you buy fish that is of sushi quality. You don't want to eat fish that is not for sushi. The fresher the fish, the better. My friend Adam and I went to H Mart, which is an amazing Asian supermarket. They cater to many Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. They sell many Asian products that you would not find in your typical American supermarket. Enjoy!