Easy Sushi at Home

A number of years ago now, a couple of friends of mine went "WWOOFing" (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms – an organization that connects volunteers with farms all over the world in need of assistance, often in exchange for room and board) in Japan. One of the farms they stayed with introduced them to a way of preparing sushi for a large, busy family without someone having to spend hours assembling all the rolls or cones. When they came home, they introduced this technique to our group of friends:

First, get your sushi rice cooking. For how to make the sushi rice, see this recipe.

Sushi ready for assembly: Steam broccolini stems, avocado, baked sweet potato sticks, cucumber sticks, and homemade tamago.

Second, prepare all the ingredients you like to have in sushi rolls. We like veggie rolls of various kinds, so we cut tofu, avocado, and cucumber into sticks and grate a bit of carrot and/or radish. We also lightly steam asparagus or broccolini/broccolette stems and bake yam sticks. You may also want to get more adventurous and add raw or cooked mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, mango, green onions, baked squash, homemade tamago, tofu (plain or marinated), or, of course, shrimp, crab, and sushi-grade fish. For condiments, in addition to soy sauce or tamari, you may want wasabi, pickled ginger, mayonnaise, cream cheese, toasted sesame seeds or gomasio. Check out the online menus of sushi restaurants for inspiration.

Third, cut your sheets of sushi nori into square quarters.

Finally, when your rice and other ingredients are cooled, lay out all the ingredients on the table. Just like having a taco night, everyone grabs some nori squares, add some rice and their favourite ingredients and condiments, roll it in their hands into a rough cone shape or just hold it like a taco, and eat!

Add in bowls of miso soup to complete the meal.

Citrus-Radish Relish

INGREDIENTS

1.5 bunches (about 9 oz) radishes
1 orange
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter
Sea salt and ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

Trim the stems off the radishes, then cut them into 1/4 inch thick slices. Zest the orange, being careful not to include any of the white pith.

Find a wide shallow pan. Put all the ingredients into the pan and then add water to almost cover everything.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has reduced down to a few tablespoons of rich buttery syrup and the radishes are very tender; about 30 minutes.

Serve warm with fish, meat, or bread and cheese.

Radish Dip

INGREDIENTS

5-6 radishes, washed and trimmed
3 oz plain chevre or cream cheese
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp apple juice
Sea salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place radishes in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add remaining ingredients. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with crackers, chips, or fresh raw vegetables.

Baked Radish Chips

INGREDIENTS

10 radishes, cleaned, tops removed, and sliced very thin
1 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika

DIRECTIONS

Steam in microwave for 5 minutes, or in a steam basket on the stove for about ten minutes. Put in bowl with spices and mix well.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, flip the chips, and bake for another 10 minutes.