We are accustomed to the unusual cuisine of the Land of the Rising Sun for a long time. For many, going to a sushi restaurant is an indispensable tradition of their favorite holiday, and someone uses the services of delivering rolls to their home or office. Those who are passionate about the culture of the East try and independently master the preparation of rolls, often interpreting classic recipes for local products and their own culinary habits. Even tempura maki - fried rolls - have long ceased to be perceived as a curiosity. Well, what's so surprising? This appetizer is nutritious and tasty, all the necessary components can be easily bought at any grocery supermarket, and preparing such a dish yourself is not so difficult. Let's try to consider some simple recipes.
Preparatory Stage: Rice Cooking
Experienced "dryers" assure that the main thing in Japanese cuisine is properly cooked rice. Groats in a beautiful package that says “Especially for sushi” usually costs five times more. But in fact, varieties of Japanese rice are practically no different from Vietnamese and Korean. If you know the rules of choice, excellent rice for making homemade hot rolls can be easily found in any grocery department. Give preference to round-grained rice of a white shade. You should not use steamed rice and a chop for rolls.
First rinse the cereal thoroughly. Then soak it for an hour in ice water. Then fold it on a sieve, leave for another hour to dry the rice. For 5 parts of rice you need to take exactly 8 parts of water. Pour the cereal with boiling water, put on medium heat. Stir often. Do not cover with a lid. When the rice grains are soft when cracked, remove the pan from the heat. When you cook fried rolls at home (a recipe with rice), remember: rice porridge is not suitable for these purposes. Grains should not be boiled to such an extent that they lose their shape and turn into a paste. Season the finished rice and leave to cool. As a dressing, use a small amount of rice or wine vinegar, sugar and salt. Add the ingredients in small portions, mixing and tasting.
What to use as a filling?
While the rice is cooling, let's get stuffed. Fried rolls at home are cooked with salted and pickled fish, seafood, vegetables, cheese, omelette. If you do not set yourself the task of strictly following the authentic Japanese recipe, you can very well improvise. This not only opens up scope for creativity, but also facilitates the task. Firstly, some of the classic Japanese techniques for many of us will seem completely unacceptable, and secondly, many products are simply impossible to get on the shelves of domestic stores. For example, the Japanese often wrap raw ocean fish in a roll. It is difficult to buy this ingredient in Russia, and not everyone will like the idea of such an outcome.
For home-fried rolls, you can use salted salmon and pink salmon, smoked or boiled squid, mussels, shrimp, fresh cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, glass noodles and even chicken. If you plan to cook fried rolls of several varieties, prepare different options for the filling.
Nori and more
Pressed seaweed remains the most popular roll wrapping product. In addition, you can cook homemade fried rolls in rice paper, which is sold in the grocery or sushi department. You can also wrap the filling in thin pancakes from omelet.
Spread nori on a bamboo mat. Spread the rice evenly, leaving an empty area a couple of centimeters wide at one end. Lay the filling on the edge with a tube, roll the roll, pressing it with a rug. Moisten the free edge with water and press firmly. Let the roll lie down a little before frying, without slicing into portions. The rolls of omelet and rice paper are formed on the same principle.
Spring rolls and their features
Fried spring rolls, the recipe of which, oddly enough, was invented not by the Japanese, but by the Americans, they are prepared from products traditional for eastern countries: squid, shrimp, fresh vegetables, bamboo, asparagus. You can make them according to the following recipe.
Pour boiling water over 50 g of rice noodles. Boil 400 g of shrimp and peel them. Grate 2 carrots and a cucumber on a Korean grater . Iceberg salad or Beijing cabbage cut into strips. Moisten 8 sheets of rice paper with water to make them soft. Wrap the rolls, evenly dividing the noodles, shrimp and vegetables into 8 parts.
Batter for rolls
Before cooking, dip the fried rolls into batter and breading. To prepare 8-10 rolls, you will need 3 eggs and half a glass of ice water. Beat the batter with a blender.
Roll the whole roll in flour. Then dip in the egg, and then roll in breadcrumbs. To crackers, you can add a pinch of spices. Salt batter is not worth it, as soy sauce, which has a pronounced salty taste, is usually served on the rolls.
Roasting
Fried rolls, the recipe of which was invented in the USA, can be cooked in a deep fryer. Heat the olive oil, dip the rolls on the wire rack and hold for about 2-3 minutes. Take out and place the basket on a folded paper towel to stack excess fat.
If you don’t have such a technique, use a frying pan or a wok. Fry the rolls in oil, turning over as they fry. You can use odorless sunflower oil.
Serving tempura maki to the table
It is customary to eat fried rolls hot. Cut them with a sharp knife into pieces. Serve with pickled ginger and soy and wasabi sauces. Japanese food should be eaten with chopsticks.