This Awesome Sushi Making Lesson

Learning how to make sushi was so much fun and informative too! 

To start we were each given a sushi mat to use with a piece of plastic wrap on top. 

Next was a sheet of nori (dried seaweed) which we were told has healthy omega-3 fatty acid just like tuna, salmon, and sardines. Makes sense, the fish eat seaweed. Just eliminate the middle man (fish) and eat the seaweed!   Place the nori rough side up to hold the next layer...rice. 

Sushi rice is very sticky and needs to be in order to keep sushi rolls together. Our instructor cooked the rice before class as it needs to be cooked then cooled (but not chilled) for best results.

Constructing the roll:

Use approximately 1/2 cup rice spread out on the bottom half of the nori. For a starter at a dinner party it was suggested to figure on 2-3 nori sheets worth of sushi per guest. One cup of sushi rice makes 3 cups of cooked rice. Do the math to figure out how much rice to cook for your number of guests!

There were several fillings to choose from, none of them sushi fish as this was a cancer wellness center class and some people would not be able to eat it.

In the image below I used a layer of mashed sweet potato, cucumber, radish and crab flavoured pollock. There's your fishy element!

Learning to roll was interesting.  (Note: the image above is sideways. The rice edge of the mat should be in front of you) Starting at that end lift the mat and plastic wrap with your thumbs, while your fingers rest on the veggies not the rice, as it's sticky. Sorry no picture of this as I only have 2 hands, LOL :)  

Gently squeeze from the middle out to the edge with each hand, then remove the mat and plastic. Fold some of the plastic back so there is just enough to go around the roll again. You don't want plastic rolled up in your sushi! Continue this way until the roll is completed.

To seal the edge of the nori dampen with water or soya sauce and roll up. So far, so good

I was worried that when I cut the roll the filling would squish out, but we were told to gently pinch up the nori to slice through, then the rolls sliced well. Of course you need to use a sharp knife.

A sprinkle of black sesame seeds looks great, but holy moly these little guys are packed with nutrients! Look it up! 

This next roll was vegetarian. So nori, rice, then a layer of sriracha mayo (about 1/4 cup mayo to 1 tbsp sriracha), some more sweet potato because it was SO good, then cuc, radish and avocado.

I think these ones came out a little rounder than the last batch.

We had soya sauce and wasabi as condiments, along with marinated sushi ginger (not pictured)

Next time I will try to cut my rolls in even thicknesses and take more time to be more artistic in presentation. 

Thanks to Nevine's Cuisine I think I can call this a success!