Sushi Night! Sunshine Roll

I love Sushi, but it is sooo expensive. So after getting a fabulous deal from Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/r/uu249618 ) for Sushi a go go (http://www.sushiagogonyc.com/) I decided to make my own.

First I researched what exactly sushi grade fish was. I mean a tuna fish is a tuna fish what makes it sushi tuna? what I found out was there are no rules and regulations regarding sushi grade fish. the only standard regarding sushi grade fish is parasite destruction. which can be accomplished by freezing the fish for a day (15 hours). since I live in Austin, Texas and not on the coast most fish is already frozen and thawed when you buy it in the grocery store, but its not a bad idea to ask or freeze it yourself.

Second you need to get rice. The rice has to be sticky rice. I bought a long grain sweet rice. it is very sticky and yummy.

Third I had to figure out what exactly would be in my sushi. Since I'm making a Sunshine roll like the one i ordered at sushi a go go. I needed Tuna, Mango, and avocado to go in my roll. I also picked up some sesame seeds to use instead of sea weed.

Next start by cooking your rice. I have a rice maker, and I highly recommend it. when your rice is done cover it and put it in the refrigerator. Take a break, it will take a while for that rice to chill. when the rice is done chilling cut up your mango and avocado in to strips. then do the same to the tuna. there will be thin layers of connective tissue in between the layers of fish. I suggest that you take a bit of time to peel it away because the fish will be much more tinder when you do.

After you have all the ingredients prepared then it is time to put the pieces together. Professional sushi makes have bamboo rollers and boxes and other fancy things, but I was not willing to invest in such things. So I took some aluminum foil and spread the sesame seeds over it so that the sticky rice would not adhere to it. Then I spread the rice gently in a long rectangular shape over the seeds like I was icing a cake. after the rice is evenly spread across the seeds you can lay your ingredients side by side on top of the rice. Then very carefully roll the sushi over until the edges of the rice meet. Mush it together so that it forms the round shape of the sushi. then unwrap, chop and serve.

Some times its pretty and some times its not, but food is not about the look its about the taste. If you never try then you can never fail. and if you never fail then you never learn.

Happy cooking.

Sheri