Sushi!

I’ve been getting pretty obsessed with sushi recently. Not quite sure why but it really is my favourite food in the world right now. Pretty much the perfect meal. Its packed with flavour, has a kick (Mmmm, wasabi!) and is filling yet healthy! Definitely good karma food.

Manchester has a few decent sushi outlets (Wasabi, Samsi, Out of the Blue) but here’s the lowdown on how to make it yourself. Now, this is one of those tasks that is a bit tricky first time round but is pretty easy to get the hang of.

You’ll need:

• Sushi rice
• Nori seaweed
• Rice vinegar, sugar and salt (or ready prepared sushi rice seasoning)
• Wasabi
• Bamboo rolling mat
• Soy sauce & pickled ginger (to serve)
• Fillings of your choice
• Water

Firstly, prepare the rice. To serve 3 – 4 people (depending how hungry you are) you’ll need 300g of rice. Wash the rice in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear. Drain and place into a pan along with 350ml unsalted cold water. Place a lid on the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 mins. Take off the heat and leave to stand for 25 mins (don’t remove the lid at any point). While the rice is cooling, this is a good time to start arranging your fillings. Its up to you really, but if you’re cutting veg you need them in thin, regular batons. Things like avocado, cucumber, spring onion and courgettes work really well. If you’re making fishy sushi then you need fresh raw fish – tuna and salmon are great. It is very, very important you get the freshest fish you can. You’re best off going to a good fishmonger rather than buying packaged fish from a supermarket for this reason. Cooked prawns are also delicious.

When the rice is cooled, place in a non metal container and pour over 3tbsp of your sushi rice seasoning, folding and mixing the rice as you go. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down on your bamboo mat. scoop up the rice and cover the nori evenly in a thin layer, leaving about an inch at the top free. Dab a little wasabi across the middle and place your fillings along the wasabi in a thin, regular line.

Now here’s the tricky part – Moving away from you roll the mat, keeping an even pressure and tucking the roll in as you go. If you find this difficult, there’s loads of videos on YouTube explaining how this is done.

When you have a completed roll, slice into inch thick pieces with a very sharp knife. Serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger and extra wasabi. If you’ve done it right it should look a little like mine here. Tuck in!

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