i bought jon a sushi making kit for christmas, and tonight we decided to try it out. first of all don't go in the kitchen 30 minutes before you're ready for dinner expecting to make rice in a flash... after reading the little "recipe/instruction" book it mentions that it takes 1-1/2 to 2 hours for the rice ALONE. well, it took exactly an hour and a half for me basically. the rice is insane! you have to wash it several times, let it air dry for a certain amount of time, cook it for a few minutes, turn up the heat for a couple more, turn off the heat and let it sit, stir it, cover it, transfer it, stir in another ingredient, cool, dry, cover, sit, cover, etc etc etc!
but, once all that was done the actual sushi making was fine. while waiting on the rice i cut up the ingredients we were going to use: avacado, crabmeat and cucumbers for california style rolls. so, all that was ready to go. i rolled up my first attempt with too much rice, making a very fat roll... although, it doesn't affect the taste/experience; jon seemed to get a pretty good balance. in the end, after making three more rolls for lunch and beyond tomorrow... they still look like homemade amateur rolls!
the only thing we're trying differently is seeing how they taste after being refrigerated. while eating them upon making them, they were a little bit room temp and the seaweed/nori was a bit odd. hopefully, they will be even better after a night in the frig. if you're into sushi, give it a try at home. it's really not that difficult (now that i know to make time for the rice). aside from not being extraordinarily pretty, in the long run this is a lot cheaper than buying it at the market or a restaurant.
Posted by mmharlan at January 15, 2002 11:55 PM