Sushi Love American Style

We rang in the New Year in grand style this year; we hosted a roll your own sushi party. We stuffed ourselves silly with little hand rolls (temaki) filled with everything from flying fish roe (tobiko) to soy sauce-and-mirin-braised lamb (for which I am pretty sure there is no Japanese word).

Sushi has been a favorite food of mine since the first time I tried it in land-locked St. Louis over twenty years ago. My friend, Adam, who introduced me to this incredible cuisine, was a sushi connoisseur (or at least I thought so at the ripe-old age of 20) and ordered for the table. Our first round included octopus (tako), squid (ika), and sea urchin (uni) with a raw quail egg. I think he was testing me to see how adventurous an eater I was. I ate every bite.

My friend disappeared from my life but sushi is still one of my favorite foods. If given a choice of cuisines, it’s always first on the list. I don’t think I’m alone. The fact that you can get sushi in Sandpoint and almost anywhere else in the US attests to its popularity.

The sushi we know and love today is a far cry from its beginnings in China in the 3rd century BC! Back then sushi, which translates to “sour tasting”, was a way to preserve fish. The fish was packed in rice and salt and left to ferment for long periods of time. The rice was then discarded and only the fish was eaten (and I’m guessing it was pretty sour by then).

Eventually this technique made its way to Japan where vinegar was added to the process and the rice was eaten as well as the fish. The addition of vinegar to the rice also made the fermentation process faster and it took only days instead of weeks or months for the sushi to be ready.

At some point in the late 1600s in Tokyo (then known as Edo) someone figured out how to make fast food sushi, where the fish was raw and the rice was cooked then seasoned with vinegar rather than fermented. The idea caught on quickly in cosmopolitan Edo, where the pursuit of pleasure was the fashion of the day. Sushi carts and stands popped up at sumo-wrestling matches, at the theatre, the baths and the brothels.

But fast food is not really an accurate description of sushi. Yes, the sushi chef might make it look quick and easy while you are sitting at the sushi bar but sushi chefs in Japan undergo a ten-year apprenticeship. They learn everything there is to know about fish and rice (not to mention nori, wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce) and spend three of the ten years just working on knife skills.

One of the most deceptively simple examples of nigiri sushi (those hand molded blocks of rice with a tasty morsel on top) is hen’s egg (tamago). It looks like a block of omelet but it is lighter, fluffier and tastier than any American omelet. Each sushi chef has their secret recipe, which often includes shrimp or fish broth, sugar and sake. The omelets are made in a special pan, in thin layers that are folded over one another. Good tamago, which is lightly brown on the outside but soft and supple on the inside, is time consuming to make and is considered a great way to tell how good the chef really is.

As in all Japanese cooking, the aesthetics of the food are at least as important as the taste. The fish is cut in just such a way and with just the right knife to reveal the beauty and texture of each part of the fish. Sushi is arranged in ways that mimic or call to mind natural settings. Nigiri is served in pairs, hoso-maki (thin nori wrapped sushi) is cut into six piece, and futo-maki (thick rolls) are cut into eight pieces.

But don’t let all of that tradition and complex knife skills deter you from making sushi at home. And don’t feel like you have to make it with raw fish, even though you can get good sushi grade fish in town (from Flying Fish, who also carries just about everything else you need for sushi), there are all kinds of things you can roll up in nori and rice.

Coming up with different fillings for your guests to roll is half the fun of having a roll your own sushi party (which, I found out while writing this article, is not just some American bastardization of the cuisine but something the Japanese invented). You can stick with the standards like cucumber, avocado, salmon and shrimp or you can go crazy and add ham and eggs or even bacon for a BLT roll. Make small amounts of different fillings and let your guests come up with their own combinations. Have some wasabi, different flavored sauces, and home made pickled ginger on hand as well.

However, the most important element for your sushi party is the rice. After all, sushi is about 80 percent rice so it better be good. The only bad sushi I’ve had has been because the rice was either flavorless or too wet or dry. Taking the time to make your sushi rice delicious will make anything you roll up in it divine.

The second half of the fun is, of course, eating all the great combinations that can be made with the ingredients you provide. But beware, they will probably all taste good and you’ll want to keep trying new ones until you are stuff. The nice thing about that is you don’t have to worry about dessert.


Sushi Rice (Sumeshi)
Makes about 4 cups

2 c. short grain sushi rice
3 c. cold water
3 T. rice vinegar
1 ½ T. sugar
1 t. salt

Place the rice in a fine mesh colander and run cold water over it while gently stirring the rice. When the water runs clear (about a minute) fan the rice up the sides of the colander set it aside to dry for 30 minutes.
Place the rice and water in a 2 quart saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium for 5 minutes then down to very low for 15 minutes. Bring the heat back up to high for a minute until steam escapes the lid. Remove from heat and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the vinegar, sugar and salt together until the sugar and salt just dissolve.
Place the rice in a thin layer in a flat wooden bowl or glass tray that is slightly wetted. Slowly pour the vinegar mixture over the rice while folding it in and fanning it at the same time (it nice to have a third hand help at this point). Continue folding in the vinegar until it is well dispersed and the rice has cooled a bit. The individual grains should be coated and glossy. Use immediately or cover with a damp towel and use in the next hour or two. Sushi rice does not keep well and shouldn’t be made too far ahead of time.