Many people who dream of learning how to make sushi at home consider this a rather tedious and complex process. However, in fact the opposite is true. In our article, we will share popular step-by-step recipes and tips that will facilitate the preparation of dishes that came to us from Japan.
The invention of Japanese culinary specialists
Sushi is the most popular Japanese food. But at the moment, the traditional dish of Japan has gained fame in other countries, including also Russia. Surprisingly, for the first time the idea of cooking it originated in the IV century BC.
After a lot of time, thanks to the development of technology, most of the sushi cooks, who traditionally made the dish by hand, were replaced by special robots that could cope with the task no worse than professionals.
Therefore, if someone still has questions about how to make sushi at home, or there are doubts due to the lack of proper experience in cooking, we recommend that you pay attention to this material. Our article lists recommendations and tips that will surely help you.
Key components
To prepare a national Japanese dish, firstly, you need to figure out what sushi is made of. Many believe that the main ingredient of this delicacy is fish, but this is not so. A dish is prepared, as a rule, from such key components as:
- Shari - boiled rice seasoned with special vinegar and salt.
- Neta - seafood to choose from and other savory ingredients.
Despite the variety of possible ingredients used for sushi, this dish is low in calories. The delicacy contains a variety of minerals and vitamins, while being a model of balanced food. With the help of such a diet, the human body will be able to normalize digestion processes, get rid of excess weight, and also maintain the beauty of hair, nails and teeth. What types of sushi are there and how to cook a Japanese delicacy?
The main types of sushi
It is impossible to list all types of popular dishes from Japanese cuisine, since there are a lot of them. At the same time, you can focus on only a few, which are the most famous species in Japan:
- Hosomaki (rolls) - consisting of nori leaves. Usually they include a single filling, as a rule, it is tuna or cucumber.
- Nigiri (sushi) - is a small bar of rice, decorated on top of a fish. Sushi bars are served in pairs.
- Uramaki (sushi) - composed of seaweed and toppings. Their highlight is that algae are located inside, and the filling is outside.
- Temaki - their distinctive feature is the large size and special shape in the form of a cone. Inside the land there is a filling, and outside - seaweed.
However, just having familiarized yourself with the theory of cooking and mastering the technique, you can start experimenting with the form and filling and create your own sushi recipes at home, which over time can become culinary masterpieces. Let's move on to the theory.
Ingredients for sushi
Below is a list of sushi products. They need to be purchased in order to cook a traditional Japanese dish at home.
- Rice for sushi. As a rule, it is sold in packages of 0.5 kilograms. This amount is enough to cook about 40-50 pieces.
- Nori - thin sheets of dark green color from dry and seaweed. Initially, the sheet is somewhat similar to parchment, but when it picks up moisture, it becomes soft.
- Wasabi is a light green pasta made from Japanese horseradish. Its distinctive characteristic is its pungent taste. The paste must be used in small quantities.
- Mirin - the so-called rice wine, which is usually used in cooking. Instead, you can take a special seasoning. It is produced on the basis of rice or apple vinegar.
- Soy sauce - used to complement the taste of sushi. Before you eat a cooked national dish from Japanese cuisine, it is dipped in the proposed sauce.
- Content. As the filling, various components are taken. When preparing sushi, you can use various varieties of cheese, cucumbers, shrimps, crab sticks, mussels, fish caviar, mushrooms, chicken, etc. However, the main filling is sea fish. From which sushi are the most delicious? It can be fresh or slightly salted fish: salmon, eel or salmon.
- Rug from bamboo - useful for cooking delicacy. With its help it is much faster, easier and more convenient to roll sushi.
After listing the main ingredients, it is necessary to start preparing the main component - rice, since the taste of the Japanese delicacy will change exactly how well it is cooked.
Sushi rice
To do this, use the grits processed in the Japanese style. It is better not to cook sushi from ordinary rice at home, as it is very dry and retains a large amount of liquid.
Rinse the groats many times. Chefs from Japan claim: to make quality sushi, this should be done at least 7 times. At the last rice wash, the water should be perfectly clean. As a rule, the whole process takes about half an hour.
Next, you need to drain all the liquid and add boiling water to the grits. Boil rice for the first 5 minutes over high heat, then another quarter hour - over low. Then leave for 10 minutes in a saucepan.
The next step in preparing the main ingredient is putting it on a wooden board. Then hot cereals need to be soaked with sushi seasoning. It’s easy to cook. To do this, add rice and sugar to rice vinegar. Heat the composition over minimal heat and wait until the added ingredients dissolve. Instead of rice vinegar, you can use 5% apple analogue or a mixture of apple and 3% wine vinegar.
The cooled seasoning with a wooden spoon must be evenly distributed over the cooked rice. In order for the cereal to cool completely, it is recommended to put it in a cool place for an hour, and in those days start preparing the filling. How to cook sushi at home?
Classic recipe
A step-by-step recipe for cooking a popular dish is quite simple and straightforward. The resulting sushi is served, usually with ginger and soy sauce. True gourmets of the Japanese dish eat it with chopsticks. In the event that they are not available, sushi can be eaten by hand.
The following components are useful for cooking:
- rice - 200 g;
- mackerel - 200 g;
- rice vinegar - 2 tbsp. l .;
- soy sauce - a small amount;
- ginger to taste.
The practical part of the process
To start making sushi, you need to cook rice, after which you need to add seasoning from sugar, salt and vinegar to chilled cereals.
Salted mackerel should be cut into small slices, about 1.5 centimeters thick. Then pour them with rice vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes.
On a cutting board should put a film for food. On top of it put slices of mackerel, then rice. The main thing is that the rice layer is completely uniform. After that, you need to slightly press down the film and leave the workpiece for 3 hours. After the allotted time, the film should be removed, and mackerel with rice cut into small cubes, 2 centimeters thick. Experienced chefs recommend doing this with a knife dipped in water.
Homemade Sushi Recipe
Using this version of the recipe, you can cook several types of national dishes of Japanese cuisine at once - with red fish and caviar, and with crab sticks. How to cook sushi at home?
To do this, you need the following ingredients:
- rice - 1 tbsp .;
- nori - 6 pcs.;
- red fish - 65 g;
- crab sticks - 4 pcs.;
- red caviar - 50 g;
- cucumber - 1 pc.;
- avocado - 1 pc.;
- rice vinegar - 2 tbsp. l
Cooking sushi you need to start with boiling rice cereals. After this, you should start preparing the seasoning. Mix rice vinegar with salt and sugar. Next, in the cooled rice you need to add the cooked seasoning and mix everything carefully. Lay the nori with the fiber side up on the mat. Then wet your hands in water and put a couple of tablespoons of cereal on nori. Use your fingers to evenly distribute boiled rice over the entire surface. In that case, if you do not wet your hands in water, the cereal will stick to your palms.
The next stage is the formation of the filling for a popular dish from Japan. On the rice evenly spread over the surface, put the filling. To create the first type of sushi, you need to use red fish, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese. In the second case, these are crab sticks, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese.
After that, using a rug, you need to form a roll. It must be tight and resilient. The resulting workpiece should be cut into 6-8 parts. The first version of sushi, if desired, can be decorated with a scattering of red caviar. A popular Japanese dish with soy sauce, ginger and sesame is served.
Tips & Tricks
When choosing rice groats, it is best to use such varieties as: Nishiki, Kahomai, Maruyu, Kokuho and Minori. You can replace them with cereals "Mistral" or "Japanese", which are analogues of foreign varieties.
To prepare ginger, you must use a glass or ceramic container. It is recommended to store the finished product no more than 90 days in the refrigerator.