Maki Sushi

Ingredients

• Sushi rice, warm -- 1 recipe
• Nori sheets, very lightly toasted over a stove-top flame -- 6 to 8 sheets
• Filling (choose from below) -- 1 recipe

Method

1. Center a sheet of nori on a sushi rolling mat. Using wetted hands, spread about 1 cup of warm sushi rice over the nori to the edge of the sheet on the sides and to within 1/2 inch at the top and bottom and about 1/4-inch thick.
2. Lay filling ingredients across the rice in thin rows about 2/3 of the way down from the top.
3. Starting at the bottom, roll the sushi mat up and over the sushi, gently pressing down to firm and compact the rice.
4. Remove the mat and cut the sushi into 1-inch pieces. Serve with gari, wasabi and soy sauce for dipping.

Makizushi Variations

California Rolls

• Cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienne -- 1
• Crab, cooked and shredded -- 1/2 cup
• Avocado, cut into thin strips -- 1

1. Lay ingredients in rows across sushi rice and roll as directed above.

California rolls actually originated in Los Angeles' Japantown and are considered an American oddity in Japan.

Ebi Soboro (Fluffy shrimp)

• Shrimp, shelled and cooked -- 1/2 pound
• Sugar -- 2 or 3 tablespoons
• Sake -- 1 tablespoon
• Salt -- pinch

1. Chop the shrimp into small pieces with a knife, or pulse in a food processor.
2. Add the shrimp to a saucepan ans stir over low heat until it begins to dry out.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the shrimp begins to dry out again. Remove from heat and cool.

Kampyo Filling (Dried gourd)

• Kampyo -- 1 ounce
• Boiling water -- 1 1/2 cup
• Dashi stock -- 1 cup
• Sugar -- 3 tablespoons
• Soy sauce -- 3 tablespoons
• Mirin -- 1 tablespoon

1. Place the kampyo into a bowl and pour boiling water over the kampyo. Soak for 20 minutes, or until soft. Drain.
2. In a small saucepan, add the kampyo and the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat and allow the liquid to reduce until almost dry.
3. Remove from heat, cool, and squeeze slightly to remove the excess liquid.

Shiitake Filling (Mushrooms)

• Dried shiitake mushrooms -- 10 to 15
• Boiling water -- 2 1/2 cups
• Sugar -- 3 tablespoons
• Soy sauce -- 3 tablespoons
• Mirin -- 1 tablespoon

1. Place the shiitakes into a bowl and pour boiling water over the shiitakes. Soak for 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain mushrooms and reserve the soaking liquid. Julienne the mushrooms.
2. In a small saucepan, add the mushrooms, 1 cup of the soaking liquid and the remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over low heat and allow the liquid to reduce until almost dry.
3. Remove from heat, cool, and squeeze slightly to remove the excess liquid.

Seasoned Vegetables

• Vegetables (see note), julienned, or cut into thin strips -- 1 cup
• Dashi stock -- 1 cup
• Soy sauce -- 2 tablespoons
• Sugar -- 1 1/2 tablespoons
• Mirin -- 1 1/2 tablespoons

1. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook until the vegetables are just cooked through.
2. Remove from heat, cool, and squeeze to remove excess liquid.

• Suitable vegetables include bamboo shoots, carrot, celery, daikon, spinach (squeeze especially well), green beans, asparagus, snow peas. Use your imagination.

Usu Yaki Tamago (Egg crepe)

• Eggs, beaten -- 3
• Sugar -- 1 tablespoon
• Salt -- 1/4 teaspoon

1. Beat all together well. Strain through a sieve.
2. Heat an oiled skillet over low heat. Ladle a small amount of the egg into the skillet and distribute evenly over bottom.
3. Let egg set. Flip carefully to set second side. Remove.
4. Cut into strips to use as a filling.

Use a whole egg crepe as a wrapper for other sushi ingredients.

Other Fillings and Variations

• Ura makizushi (inside-out sushi): Maki sushi can also be made with the rice on the outside. Wrap the sushi mat in plastic wrap. Spread the rice on the mat out to the size of a sheet of nori, only a little bigger at the top and bottom. Lay a sheet of toasted nori over the rice, and then lay the fillings on the nori and roll. Roll the sushi rolls in toasted black or white sesame seeds or in both if you like before cutting. A nice filling for ura maki zushi is shrimp tempura.
• Temakizushi (hand-rolled sushi): Spread rice on a piece of nori. Add the fillings diagonally across the rice and roll into a cone with your hands.
• Raw fish and seafood: Maguro (tuna); hirame (halibut); hamachi (yellowtail); ika (squid); awabi (abalone); tai (snapper). Use only very fresh, sushi-grade fish or seafood. Slice thinly or julienne.
• Cooked seafood: Ebi (shrimp); kani (crab); tako (octopus). Poach lightly until cooked through and slice thinly, shred or julienne.
• Sake (salmon): Smoked or cured salmon, cut into strips.
• Unagi (eel): Grilled and seasoned.
• Kappamaki: Thin rolls with just cucumber.
• Oshinko: Thin rolls with just pickled daikon.
• Tekkamaki: Thin rolls with just raw tuna.
• Pickled vegetables: rinsed, cut into julienne strips.