Today, the question of how to make rolls at home, there are many answers, because there are a lot of recipes for their preparation. However, despite this variety, there are still common features that unite all seemingly somewhere and not similar recipes. It will be more appropriate to call them rules, which means the following: if we make rolls at home, we strictly follow the canons that were not invented by us.
So, for starters, pay special attention to the means at hand, which are integral attributes of making rolls: a makisu mat and a knife. As for the mat, the smoother it is, the more beautiful the rolls you get in the end. Today, its acquisition will not be difficult, because, for sure, in any city there is a specialized store or at least a department that sells improvised materials and products necessary for making sushi and rolls. It is worth noting the unsurprising fact that the most high-quality rugs are those that are of Japanese origin. If you suddenly cannot find just such, then try to find at least Taiwanese or Chinese - although they are somewhat worse, but in the absence of the first, they become a worthy alternative.
When wondering how to make rolls at home, many do not think at all about which knife to use for cutting them. But this is very important! Practice shows that for this seemingly simple procedure, you need a special knife. The whole problem is that the kitchen knives familiar to our everyday life are not sharp enough to cut the rolls - they simply crush them, and not cut them. After all, we need not only taste, but also the appearance of the dish, right? Therefore, try to find a real Japanese knife, which is distinguished by a particularly thin and, accordingly, sharp blade. If you managed to get high-quality makissa and a knife, you can assume that the beautiful appearance of the rolls you cooked is already ensured - you just have to choose the right ingredients, and also directly carry out the process of their preparation. In order to have at least some idea of this, below I would like to give an example of how to make rolls at home.
A special place in the process of making rolls has always been occupied by the question of how to cook rice properly. If we make rolls at home - this does not mean that ordinary rice can be used. Remember once and for all: no other rice, except for special Japanese, will give your dish such a bright taste. Despite the variety of recipes for making rice for rolls, there is one which, if followed, guarantees the excellent taste of the finished dish.
For the proper preparation of rice for rolls, you will need:
- 3 cups rice for sushi;
- 3 cups of water (and separately another 150 ml);
- 2 tbsp. l rice vinegar ;
- 2 tsp salts;
- 2 tsp Sahara.
First you need to wash the rice to such a state that the water after it remains clean. After this procedure, it must be laid on a fine sieve and left in this form for a while - until the water drains (usually this process takes about an hour). After that, it can be placed in a pan and pour water. The amount of water is a very important point in the preparation of rice for rolls. It should be equal to the amount of rice with the addition of an additional 50 ml additionally.
Prepared and flooded rice should be put on a fast fire and cook until holes appear through which air will escape. As a rule, this begins to occur after 10 minutes after the start of cooking. As soon as such holes appear, cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes, after which it is removed from the heat and, without opening, let it brew for about 10 minutes, after which the rice can be mixed with a wooden spatula and season with sauce.
This is exactly the way rice is prepared for rolls. This procedure is relatively simple and special culinary skills for its implementation are not required - they will be needed in the process of preparing the rolls themselves. And in order to familiarize you with how to make rolls at home, I would like to give an example of how to cook Philadelphia rolls at home. Why Philadelphia? The answer is simple - this dish is not very complicated, but at the same time it helps to develop skills that may later be needed in the process of preparing other types of rolls.
Rolls "Philadelphia"
This type of rolls became very famous almost immediately with the advent of Japanese cuisine in our everyday life. Lovers of sushi and rolls are not even embarrassed by the fact that Philadelphia is not entirely of Japanese origin. The only thing that connects them with this country is the ingredients of which they consist, but if you pay attention to their appearance, then connoisseurs and connoisseurs of Japanese cuisine will immediately realize that in Japan they don’t make rolls turned inside out, and “Philadelphia”, like It is known that it refers to such - on top is not a nori leaf, but salmon. Rolls of this kind are more typical of the United States - they were invented there as soon as the Japanese cuisine became known to the Americans.
To prepare one serving of Philadelphia rolls, you will need:
- 120 g of Japanese rice;
- 40 g Philadelphia cheese of the same name;
- 60 g of salmon;
- 1 sheet of nori;
- 1 cucumber;
- 1 avocado;
- horseradish wasabi, ginger and soy sauce to taste.
Immediately I want to draw your attention to the fact that rice can be cooked with rice vinegar - this will only give a special taste to the finished rolls. To do this, already cooked rice should be put in a bowl (preferably wooden) and, after stirring, pour it with vinegar.
Now pay attention to the bamboo mat - it needs to be covered with cling film. On top of it lay the nori sheet with the glossy side down. Now take the rice and lay it on top of the algae. The following action requires a certain skill: you need to very carefully bend and turn the mat so that the rice remains below, and the algae are on top of it.
Now is the time to start stuffing the roll, which consists of cheese, cucumber and avocado. The cheese is cut into thin strips and laid out in a peculiar way exactly in the center of the nori leaf, and the cucumber and avocado, sliced, are placed next to each other. Make sure that this filling is the same length and width, and, making sure of this, you can fold the mat again, but this time in order to form a neat and beautiful roll with square edges. After that, cut thin strips (about 1 cm wide) of salmon fillet and cover them with a roll.
After all these actions, the Philadelphia roll is ready - you just have to cut it into portioned pieces. In order for this to happen more evenly and accurately, you can use one small secret: before cutting, wet the knife with cold water.
Philadelphia rolls, like many others, are served with wasabi, pickled ginger and soy sauce.
Of course, in addition to the Philadelphia rolls, there are others that are no less tasty and mouth-watering. Among them, it is worth paying special attention to the most popular ones, namely: California rolls, which can be prepared with both red caviar and sesame seeds; Chinese roll, ebi syrogoma, akai roll, kaiji roll, ovara roll and many others that differ not only in ingredients and form, but also in the circle of lovers.