• Sushi is a great way to entertain at home – it’s fun, healthy, interactive and so easy! Read the Food & Home Guide to sushi for beginners below.

    The Food & Home Entertaining’s guide to sushi for beginners

    We have put together a few of the basics of sushi making so that you can ‘wow’ your guests with your newly acquired knife skills.

    The basics

    Rice should be sticky but not overly so; it shouldn’t be too soft or too hard; and it definitely shouldn’t have too much vinegar as this will mask the other flavours. Here are a few basic tips to remember when making sushi rice:

    • Always use sushi rice. The grain is short and slightly starchy, which helps the rice become sticky once cooked.
    • Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
    • Use a wooden bowl when adding vinegar to the rice to avoid any chemical reactions that might occur in metal pots or bowls.
    • Always keep your hands slightly wet while working with cooked sushi rice.

    Sushi rice


    Ingredients:

    400g (2 cups) sushi rice
    750ml (3 cups) water
    80ml rice wine vinegar
    30ml (2 tbsp) castor sugar
    2,5ml (½ tsp) table salt

    Method:

    1. Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear.
    2. Put the rice and the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
    3. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until the rice has cooled.
    4. Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a wooden bowl and stir until dissolved.
    5. Spread the rice over the base of a large wooden or plastic dish and drizzle with the vinegar mixture. Stir the rice until cool.

    Sushi essentials

    For a more authentic sushi experience, remember the following:

    1. Pickled ginger adds a sweet element to sushi and looks beautiful too. Pickled radish is a great alternative.
    2. Soy sauce: a light low-sodium soy sauce works best for dipping. Try adding a few flavour elements – 5ml (1 tsp) chopped fresh red chilli and 15ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh coriander are delicious.

    Wasabi adds a real kick and a touch of heat to sushi. Traditionally, wasabi is added to the sushi or sashimi rather than the soy sauce dipping bowl. Wasabi is available from local Asian supermarkets in a powdered format for mixing with water or ready-made in tubes.

    Quick and easy prawn and wasabi stacks

     

    Ingredients:

    300g cooked and peeled prawns
    2 cups cooked sushi rice
    ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
    30ml (2 tbsp) wasabi paste
    soy sauce, to serve
    pickled ginger, to serve

    Method:

    1. Line a large plastic container with plastic wrap. Thinly slice the prawns lengthways. Place a neat thin layer of prawns onto the plastic wrap.
    2. Spoon a layer of rice on top of the prawns. Press down with wet hands to create a flat rice layer.
    3. Repeat with a layer of prawns on top of the rice, followed by a thin layer of cucumber and a final layer of rice. Make sure the rice is in a flat, even layer.
    4. Cover the top of the rice with plastic wrap and weigh it down with bowls. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
    5. Remove from the fridge and slice into square stacks. Serve with the wasabi paste, soy sauce and pickled ginger.

    More sushi recipes:

    Deconstructed sushi 

    Tuna sashimi with corn salsa and Peruvian-style green sauce

    Chirashizushi (scattered sushi)

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