Making Sushi - Kauai Style

Every now and then we get a craving for some sushi, so I've been trying my hand at making my own. Here on Kauai it's easy as most of the ingredients are readily available. I shop at Ishihara Market in Waimea, Kauai on my way home from my studio. They have a great selection of Japanese products as well as fresh fish and many varieties of ready made poke. Ono!!!

The first thing you need to do is to prepare the rice. I usually cook about 3 cups of rice with a rice cooker and use California calrose rice. It is the short grain variety normally eaten in Hawaii. Then once it's done cooking, I let it cool down for about ten minutes with the lid off the rice cooker. Next, I transfer the rice to a large bowl and using a rice paddle I sprinkle a few tablespoons of sushi seasoning over the rice and cut lines in the rice instead of stirring. You have to be delicate here or your rice will turn to mush. The sushi seasoning is basically a mixture of vinegar, sugar and salt. You can usually find it at the store already prepared.

Next, I cover my bamboo rolling mat with some plastic wrap, lay down a piece of nori, and spread out a thin layer of the rice.
Here's some fresh spicy poke (pronounced "po-kay") that I purchased from Ishihara market. I love to use this to make sushi as it is made from fresh ahi tuna, green onions, seaweed and a spicy sauce that is delicious.
Next, I cut up my vegetables. I mainly use green onions and fresh avocado, but you can also use carrots, eggs, or whateva!
Next, I sprinkle dry Japanese rice seasoning that is a mixture of sesame seeds, seaweed, and some other ingredients over the rice.
Then, I flip the whole thing over and lay out my main ingredients on top of the nori.
And, it's time to roll! This is the hard part for me as I never get it quite tight enough. It takes practice, practice, and practice!After using a sharp knife to cut the roll into 3/4 inch pieces, I lay them out on a plate. I could have made the roll tighter here, but oh heck, it all tastes the same ;-) This is an inside out roll.Here I did the same thing, but didn't flip the nori over. This is a regular roll.Lastly, while I was making my sushi, my hubby made some of his own. He calls this cone sushi and the outer part is a thin, deep friend pocket of tofu. You can get this at a Japanese market. He basically, just cut the tofu in half diagonally and then stuffed it with the left over rice. I also made some miso soup to go on the side.

Hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial. I am in no way a sushi expert. I'm just a gal having some fun making some food on the island of Kauai!

Aloha and Mahalo,
Marionette