Turning Japanese
Lately, I have been craving for sushi. But instead of going to the restaurant, I headed for the grocery store to buy ingredients for sushi! And one weekend, it was just sushi and nothing else!
I found the recipe from this cookbook on the left. It was a gift from the Ridao Family of Hawaii. They came over to the country last March, and then sometime in October, a package for me arrived from Hawaii with this gigantic book inside!
At first, I was just interested in the Spam Musubi recipe. But then, I thought, why not make the other good stuff too? I was reluctant at first, though. Because other cookbooks with pictures make sushi-making look so complicated. But once I got started, I realized it wasn't!
So now, I am sharing the recipe, plus a step-by-step photo guide on how to make sushi.
First, the Sushi Rice:
Now, for the Vinegar Sauce:
Next, slice some crabstick and ripe mangoes and set aside. Get your sushi mat, lay a sheet of Nori, and spread some of the rice.
Lay a piece each of the crabstick and ripe mango strips on the rice.
Roll the sushi from the end nearest you. Make sure you roll tightly! Repeat until you use up all the rice, crabstick and mangoes.
Get an ultra-sharp knife. Slice each sushi log nicely, wiping off the rice sticking to the knife with a damp towel. Be careful with wiping though! I had my knife sharpened a week before I made the sushi.
Arrange nicely on a plate or sushi boat (I gotta buy one of those!), and serve with Kikkoman soy sauce and wasabi.
For the Spam Musubi, make the same sushi rice, but this time get a can of Spam (or any luncheon meat), original flavor. Slice the spam into serving sizes, and set aside. Do not throw away the can! You can chop off the bottom third of the Spam can and use the top portion as a musubi maker.
Mix 2 tbsp shoyu (I used light soy sauce), 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp mirin or any oriental rice wine. Cook over low fire to dissolve the sugar. Add in the spam slices and cook in the mixture until the sauce is almost dry. Do not forget to turn the spam occasionally to coat both sides with the shoyu mixture.
Your Nori sheets should be as wide as your spam can. Lay a piece of nori on your mat, put your mold in place near the center and fill with 2.5 tbsp of sushi rice. Pack the rice with the back of a plastic spoon.
Gently ease the can up, leaving the perfectly rectangular rice on the nori. Place a spam on top, roll the ends of the nori tightly over the spam and place on a serving plate spam-side down to seal the ends of the nori.
Tadah! Spam Musubi!
Well, どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare!) or enjoy your meal! (said by the cook/ chef himself)
At first, I was just interested in the Spam Musubi recipe. But then, I thought, why not make the other good stuff too? I was reluctant at first, though. Because other cookbooks with pictures make sushi-making look so complicated. But once I got started, I realized it wasn't!
So now, I am sharing the recipe, plus a step-by-step photo guide on how to make sushi.
First, the Sushi Rice:
- 3 cups rice (I got the Japanese kind from the supermarket)
- 3 cups water (plus a little more to make rice fluffy)
- 1/2 cup Japanese rice vinegar (I got mine from Saizen)
- a pinch of Maggi Magic Sarap granules
- 1/3 cup sugar, dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
Next, slice some crabstick and ripe mangoes and set aside. Get your sushi mat, lay a sheet of Nori, and spread some of the rice.
Lay a piece each of the crabstick and ripe mango strips on the rice.
Roll the sushi from the end nearest you. Make sure you roll tightly! Repeat until you use up all the rice, crabstick and mangoes.
Get an ultra-sharp knife. Slice each sushi log nicely, wiping off the rice sticking to the knife with a damp towel. Be careful with wiping though! I had my knife sharpened a week before I made the sushi.
Arrange nicely on a plate or sushi boat (I gotta buy one of those!), and serve with Kikkoman soy sauce and wasabi.
For the Spam Musubi, make the same sushi rice, but this time get a can of Spam (or any luncheon meat), original flavor. Slice the spam into serving sizes, and set aside. Do not throw away the can! You can chop off the bottom third of the Spam can and use the top portion as a musubi maker.
Mix 2 tbsp shoyu (I used light soy sauce), 2 tbsp water, 2 tbsp sugar, and 1 tbsp mirin or any oriental rice wine. Cook over low fire to dissolve the sugar. Add in the spam slices and cook in the mixture until the sauce is almost dry. Do not forget to turn the spam occasionally to coat both sides with the shoyu mixture.
Your Nori sheets should be as wide as your spam can. Lay a piece of nori on your mat, put your mold in place near the center and fill with 2.5 tbsp of sushi rice. Pack the rice with the back of a plastic spoon.
Gently ease the can up, leaving the perfectly rectangular rice on the nori. Place a spam on top, roll the ends of the nori tightly over the spam and place on a serving plate spam-side down to seal the ends of the nori.
Tadah! Spam Musubi!
Well, どうぞめしあがれ (douzo meshiagare!) or enjoy your meal! (said by the cook/ chef himself)
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