Christmas Sushi

There's a new tradition in the Taylor household: a fresh lobster dinner on Christmas, generously provided by Matt's uncle John.  Last year, Matt and I decided on vegetarian sushi as a fitting side dish (or a main dish, for me), and it was such a hit that we decided to repeat it again for 2011.  (As a side note, we have to thank Mark and Colleen for initiating us into the art of homemade veggie sushi!)

The key is a good sushi rice recipe and a willingness to chop veggies into thin strips.  Luckily, both are pretty easy.

Christmas Sushi Rice for 8

4 c sushi rice
6 c water
1 c rice vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp salt

1 package of sushi nori (ten sheets)

(Makes enough sushi for the picture above, plus about a cup or two of extra rice)

Making the rice: Wash the rice in a large colander until the water runs as clear as possible.  We generally wash the rice in small batches so it's a bit more manageable, but in the end we usually end up washing the rice for at least 20 mins or so.  It takes some patience.  Combine rice and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 mins.  All of the water should be absorbed, and the rice should be soft and a bit sticky.  Move rice into a large pyrex bowl to cool.

In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, oil, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat until all of the sugar dissolves, then cool.  Add to the rice and stir gently to mix.  The mix will seem very wet, but the rice will absorb some of this moisture as it continues to cool.

Assembling the sushi: while the rice is cooking, slice desired veggies into small thin strips.  We like to use red peppers, cucumbers (with seeds removed), avocado, steamed shitake mushrooms, and carrots.  This year we also tried slices of champagne mango (to be paired with crushed peanuts for a mango-peanut roll, yummy!).  Lay out one bamboo sushi mat, then place a large sheet of saran wrap on top of that.  Place a piece of nori on top of the saran wrap, and carefully spoon about 5-6 tablespoons of rice onto the nori (usually we use a large serving spoon to move a big spoonful of rice, then use fingers to spread the rice evenly over about 4/5 of the nori).  Add a strip of veggies, roll, and seal the edge with water.  Slice into sushi pieces with a sharp knife.

This year, we tried the following rolls:

mango + crushed peanut
cucumber
avocado + cucumber
red and yellow pepper
mushroom
and an all-veggie combo roll with everything above

Ita daki mas!