Miso Soup

Miso is one of Japan's most important staples. Miso soup is served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is packed with protein.  Miso is basically a mixture of crushed and boiled soybeans, wheat, barley or rice that is injected with a yeast mold and then allowed to mature over months or even years. There are a few different forms of miso, each having its own flavor, color, and texture. Yellow miso is fairly sweet and used in dressings. Dark miso is used in strong, chunky soups. And finally there is the red miso, which is excellent for winter soups. This is what we will use for our soup.

Ingredients

1 small leek, washed and trimmed

2 shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 piece (4-6 inches) dried kombu, wiped

3-5 packets (0.175 ounces each) dried bonito flakes

A few strands dried wakame seaweed

4 ounces fresh tofu (about 1/3 of a cake)

2 Tablespoons red miso

Prepare the soup

1. Slice the leek into fine strips.

2. Slice the shitake mushrooms.

3. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes.

4. To make the soup stock, put the kombu into 7 1/2 cups cold water and bring to a simmer (careful not to boil kombu since this makes it bitter).  Remove any surface scum that forms. Add 2 or 3 packets of the bonito flakes and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the stock is well reduced.  Add another 1 or 2 packets of bonito and quickly remove from the heat. Allow the flakes to settle to the bottom and then strain.

5. Warm the stock back to a simmer. Break the wakame seaweed into small pieces (trim off the tough stem if necessary). Add leeks, mushrooms, tofu cubes, and wakame pieces and simmer for 2-3 minutes until leeks and mushrooms are cooked. Dissolve the miso in a few tablespoons of the hot stock, blending it with a wire whisk. Stir half the mixture into the soup, then taste and add sufficient of the rest to make a rich well-flavored soup.  Heat until nearly boiling.

6. Ladle the soup into 4 warmed soup bowls, distributing the leek slices, mushrooms, wakame, and tofu evenly, and serve immediately.

Serves 4

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California "Are You Ready To" Roll

Recipe makes 4 to 5 rolls (32 to 40 pieces)

The Stuff You Need

1 Haas Cucumber (English or Hot house cucumbers are best; you'll find these in the grocery store usually wrapped separately with plastic wrap)

Crab Meat: imitation crab is fine; it is usually white fish with 10% crab essence. Real crab meat will cost 8 to 10 times more. Put a little mayonnaise in the crab meat so it binds together.

1 Avocado: the preferred avocado is Haas because it has more oil. It is a richer avocado that has the texture of mayonnaise. Avoid avocados such as "Fuente" which have less oil and more water.

2 sheets of Nori: Japanese seaweed wrappers; flat roasted sheets that need to be thin and pliable; it cannot be brittle or chewy; 1 whole sheet of Nori is folded in half, pressed with the fingers and pulled apart to be used for two rolls.

Sesame seeds

Extras: have a small bowl of water next to your preparation area. This is for moistening the fingers so the rice does not stick to them while preparing your rolls. You can mix a little lemon juice or ginger juice in your water. Jay prefers just water.

Spicy Tuna Roll

Spicy Tuna Mix, Cucumber, Avocado (optional), Nori, Rice, Sesame Seeds

(recipe is measured per roll)

The Spicy Part

Chopped Tuna - approximately 4 ozs. It's best if you can get this fresh from an Asian market. It is usually cut already into strips for sushi. In the American markets, fish is cut in steaks. The flesh should be vibrant in color and firm.

Kewpie Mayonnaise - 1/4 tsp (will absorb some of the heat so adjust to taste). Japanese mayo you might see abbreviated as QP on the label. It is a heavier mayo than most American brands. You can use Miracle Whip or Regular mayo if you can't find the QP.

Smelt Eggs 1 tsp. Some sushi bars call this orange sherbet because it looks like ice cream.

Sriracha Hot Sauce - 1/2 tsp (again according to your heat factor). This is an excellent Vietnamese chili sauce. It has some garlic in it also which gives it a good flavor.

Mix all of this together. The mayo cuts the spice somewhat, so if you want it hotter, leave out or reduce the mayo. Another option is to go Hawaiian style and add to your sauce a 1/4 tsp of sesame seed oil, a pinch of sesame seeds, and 1/4 tsp of red chili flakes.

Assemble the roll with the innards consisting of the spicy tuna mix and cucumber. Optional avocado as in California Roll. Roll and cut the sushi pieces. Garnish the top with sesame seeds.

Rainbow Roll

First you need the Rice

Then you need the insides...

5 oz crab meat (imitation crab flakes or 2 imitation crab sticks)

� oz cucumber slices

Avocado

Then you need the Rainbow...

2 slices of tuna

1 slice of smoked salmon

1 slice of Japanese yellowtail

On top of your finished, uncut roll, alternate tuna, avocado, salmon, avocado, yellowtail, avocado, tuna. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and smelted eggs. Cut and serve.

Shrimp Tempura Roll

Prepare the Tempura...

2 pieces of 16-20 Black tiger shrimp (16 to 20 shrimp per pound, it's a size)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp cornstarch

1 egg

1 1/2 cups chilled ice water (seems like double-talk but I want to emphasize cold)

Combine flour, cornstarch, egg, and ice water. On a separate plate put some extra flour. Peel and de-vein shrimp. Score the shrimp across the back and press down to elongate. You need a separate frying pan with vegetable or peanut oil.  Check the temperature of the oil by dropping a touch of tempura batter. The temperature is right if the piece drops halfway and then floats back to the surface. If it goes to the bottom the oil is still too cold. Batter the shrimp and fry.

Prepare the Roll

Imitation/Real Crab meat

Mixture of crab meat Mayo & Sriracha Hot Sauce (adjust mayo/sauce to taste)

Cucumber

Kiware Radish Sprouts

Avocado

Cream Cheese

Prepared tempura shrimp

The insides of the roll will consist of crab mix, cucumber slices, kiware  radish sprouts, avocado and a touch of cream cheese to offset heat from the spicy crab mix. Lay the 2 shrimp pieces across.

Prepare to Eat...

Roll it up, add 5 strips of avocado across the top, sprinkle with smelt eggs, and cut.

Philadelphia Roll

Also known as the roll of brotherly love. The roll gets its name from the cream cheese applied to the insides.

Give me insides...

1 oz of smoked salmon (Sushi-style is best if you can find it. The flavor is mild. Other forms such as locs are fine but expect it to be more salty and strong-flavored).

1/2 cucumber, cut into strips (see tutorial

3 to 4 tbsp of cream cheese (enough to form a thin line on the inside of the roll).

Prepare just as the California Roll but with the above inner ingredients.

Cut into eight pieces. Do not add wasabi to the center since it will tend to mask the flavors.

Give me toppings...

Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

To make the Philadelphia Roll "special" add sliced avocado and smelt eggs.

Cooking rice for sushi

The preparation of the rice for sushi is very important and probably the key ingredient for being a successful sushi chef. Follow this rice recipe and you'll be a professional sushi chef in no time!

3 cups raw rice

31/4 to 3 3/4 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/3 cup vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Wash the rice thoroughly and let it drain for one hour before cooking. 

Put the rice and water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil.

Cover the saucepan and simmer the rice for fifteen to twenty minutes or until it is just tender.

Rice cooked for sushi should be slightly harder in texture than for other dishes.

Remove from the stove and let it stand covered for ten minutes.

Put the vinegar, sugar, and salt into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and remove from the stove.

Put the hot rice into a large bowl, wooden if possible.

Pour the vinegar mixture evenly over the surface of the rice, mixing it into the rice with quick, cutting strokes. Fan the rice at the same time. This fanning, which cools the rice quickly, produces the glossy sheen prized in a good sushi base.

Easy seaweed roll recipes

Each seaweed sheet makes 6-8 bite-size rolls.

California Roll

1 medium cucumber thinly sliced

1 medium avocado thinly sliced

1/2 cup - imitation crab

Directions:

Cut cucumber, avocado and imitation crab into thin sliced sticks.

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of rice over entire sheet. Turn the sheet over.

At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, add ingredients in layers to cover a one inch rectangle section of the sheet.

Starting from the edge closest to the filling, gently fold seaweed sheet over filling, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Cucumber Rice Roll

1- cucumber

1/2 cup- cooked white rice

Directions:

Slice the cucumber length wise into four equal rectangular pieces. Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of cooked rice over entire sheet. At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, place one cucumber slice with the green skin facing the rice.

Slice a separate sheet of seaweed to fit directly over cucumber slice. Once seaweed slice is arranged, place a second slice of cucumber on top.

Starting from the edge, gently fold seaweed sheet over, lightly pressing to

form a roll. Continue rolling. Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Lemon Shrimp Cheese Roll

1- 4 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup- cooked baby shrimp (if desired, substitute chunks of smoked salmon)

1/4 cup- lemon juice

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of cream cheese over entire sheet.

At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, arrange shrimp to cover a one inch rectangle section of the sheet.

Brush shrimp lightly with lemon juice. Starting from the edge closest to the shrimp, gently fold seaweed sheet over shrimp, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Pesto & Rice Roll

1- Tbsp pesto sauce

1/2 cup - cooked white rice

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of pesto sauce and rice over entire sheet. Gently fold seaweed sheet over, light pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Chinese Fried Rice Roll

1- cup Chinese style fried rice

1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce (optional)

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of rice over entire sheet. If desired, pour soy sauce down the center of the rice.

Gently fold seaweed sheet over filling, lightly pressing to form a roll.

Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Chicken & Rice Roll

1/2 cup- thin cooked chicken strips

1/2 cup- cooked white rice

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of rice over entire sheet.

At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, lay chicken strips over rice to cover a one inch rectangle section of the sheet. Starting from the edge closest to the chicken spread, gently fold seaweed sheet over, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Veggie & Rice Pilaf Roll

1- cucumber thinly sliced

1 -cup cooked rice pilaf

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of rice over entire sheet.

Place three thinly sliced pieces of cucumber down the center over the rice.

Gently fold seaweed sheet over, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Veggie Roll

1/4 medium cucumber sliced

1/4 Takuan (yellow pickled daikon)

1/4 tomato sliced

1 - Tbsp pesto sauce

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of pesto sauce over entire sheet.

At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, add ingredients in layers to cover a one inch rectangle section of the sheet. Starting from the edge closest to the filling, gently fold seaweed sheet over filling, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll into one inch pieces.

Mexican Breakfast Roll

To fill one seaweed sheet:

1/4 cup - scrambled eggs

1/4 cup - sausage

1/4 cup - cooked shredded home fries

1- Tbsp salsa

Directions:

Lay seaweed sheet on a flat surface. Gently spread a light layer of salsa over entire sheet.

At one inch from the edge of the seaweed sheet, add ingredients in layers to cover a one inch rectangle section of the sheet.

Starting from the edge closest to the filling, gently fold seaweed sheet over filling, lightly pressing to form a roll. Continue rolling.

Slice roll in one inch pieces. Each roll should make from 6 to 8 finished rolls.

Scattered Sushi

This sushi is called "Chirashi-zushi" and is a popular dish in Japanese restaurants and sushi bars. The dish can vary by region but a common way to make it is a bowl of sticky rice topped with an assortment of fish, steamed vegetables and even tamago (layered omelette). As with most Japanese food, scattered sushi can be a beautiful presentation usually served in a special decorative bowl or box

To serve 4:

Prepare the sushi rice.

Ingredients

Sushi Rice

12 dried shitake mushrooms: soften by soaking in lukewarm water for 3 hours.

Cut off hard parts after soaking. Simmer softened mushrooms in 1/2 cup of dashi (all-purpose soup stock made most easily from a jar or package of instant dashi found in international section of supermarket),

1/4 cup dark soy sauce,

1/4 cup mirin,

1 1/2 tbsp sake heated for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, let mushrooms soak for an additional 2 hours. Cut the best 8 into halves and chop the rest for mixing with sticky rice.

4 large shrimp

8 oz of fresh tuna (or seabass, yellowtail, crab): slice crosswise against the grain into 1/4 in slices.

16 snow peas : boil in lightly salted water, wash under cold water and drain.

1 tamago omelette Cut into thin threads.

Wasabi

Sliced pickled ginger

Put together by mixing the cooled sticky rice with the chopped mushrooms.  Pack into a decorative bowl. On top of the rice, spread a layer of the chopped tamago. Now use your culinary artistry to decorate the top with remaining ingredients. "Scatter" the mushroom halves, shrimp, raw tuna slices and snow peas. Garnish with small mounds of wasabi and pickled ginger.

The wonderful dish should not be refrigerated but eaten at room temperature.  It takes some work but the results are fabulous.

Shrimp Tempura Very Special

Ingredients

1 Cup Sushi Rice

2/3 piece of Nori (roasted seaweed)

3 to 4 tbsp cream cheese

2 pieces of tempura shrimp (see below)

1/8 cup radish sprouts

1/4 of an avocado (sliced into thin pieces)

1/4 cup imitation crab meat or flakes (with a touch of mayo to bind)

1 oz smoked salmon

2 pieces of grilled shitake mushrooms

2 tbsp sweet eel sauce

1 tbsp chipotle vinaigrette

1 tbsp masago (smelt eggs)

Prepare the shrimp tempura

Prepare with the insides consisting of cucumber, radish sprouts, avocado, crabmeat, and 2 shrimp tempura pieces. You are using a little bigger piece of nori because of the amount of ingredients.

More detail on the insides:

lay the cucumber strips in piles along the center line across the short side of the nori. Lay radish sprouts along cucumber. Lay 3 avocado slices along the top of the cucumber pieces. Spread crabmeat over the top of the avocados. Place tempura shrimp pieces to meet in the center with tails out.

The outside of the roll is fashioned by interlaying salmon and avocado across top of the roll. Garnish with the mushrooms and smelt eggs. Using plastic wrap and the makisu, form the roll as shown in the tutorial Cut the roll.

Pour eel sauce and vinaigrette over the roll and serve.

Sunomono Salad

A great way to start out your sushi meal is with a Japanese salad called sunomono, which literally means "vinegared things". Many wonderful variations can be had with sunomono. The salad can be made of kelp, chopped cucumbers, crab, little pieces of octopus, shrimp, and other shellfish. It's also good with chopped omelette (tamago) The two most popular dressings are "amazu" (a sweet vinegar sauce) or ponzu.

Amazu Sauce

1 part rice vinegar

1/2 part water

1/4 part sugar

Mix together in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil. After just coming to a boil, remove from the heat. You can optionally add fish flakes (hana-katsuo), which you allow to briefly soak. Remove the flakes after 1 minute. Another option squeeze 2 lemons into your dressing. Allow to cool to room temperature. It will keep refrigerated indefinitely.

Ponzu sauce

1 part soy sauce

1/2 part rice vinegar

1 part orange/lemon juice (cut the orange in half, squeeze the juice and put the rinds into the sauce)

This is the standard recipe. Other products you can put in are harder to find but if you can, they can really make the sauce even better.

1 inch piece of Kombu. This is a heavy, thick kelp. It is not seaweed like the sushi wrap. It smooths out the flavors of the sauce, giving it an ocean flavor. Let it soak in the sauce.

An additional option is to add hana-katsuo, which are dried bonito fish shavings. Some is like spaghetti, but the one you want to use is chunky and thin like wood chips. Interestingly, the dried fish is actually planed like wood in this case to produce these chips. Add a pinch of this stuff into the sauce and let it soak.

You can even add something called daikon uroshi, a chili paste and daikon mixture. This will give it a bit of a pungent flavor.

Don't be in a hurry with this sauce. Let it all soak overnight for the best results. If you must have it the same day, some chefs will boil it. I prefer, however, to let it marinate overnight. The next day, you need to squeeze out the juice from the rinds that has been soaked up and strain all of the stuff out of the sauce.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Omelette)

The recipe is for one serving.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of flour

1/3 cup of water

1 egg

1 boneless chicken breast

A handful of various greens

1/4 of a medium onion

1 tablespoon of stir fry oil

Sauce:

Soy sauce

Ground ginger

Celery salt

Nutmeg

Dried sweet basil

Instructions:

Add seasonings to soy sauce to taste for the sauce. Start with just a pinch of each.

In a bowl, mix flour, water, and egg. Chop all vegetables and meat. Cook chicken pieces on stove in 1 tablespoon of hot stir fry oil.

Mix vegetables and chicken into the mixing bowl batter. Heat pan and cook small amounts size of pancakes until golden brown on each side.

Place cooked okonomiyaki onto plate divided into slices, placing sauce on top and serve.

California Roll Special

Ingredients

1 Cup Sushi Rice

1/2 piece of Nori (roasted seaweed)

1/8 cup of Cucumber (sliced thinly into strips)

1/4 of an avocado (sliced into thin pieces)

1/4 cup imitation crab meat or flakes (with a touch of mayo to bind)

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp of masago (smelt eggs)

The "special" is more avocado on top and the addition of the masago. It adds not only to the flavor but brightens the presentation as well.

1. Place nori on your preparation surface with the long side facing you. Dip your fingers a couple of times in the water bowl rub your hands together and give a little clap to remove excess.

2. Place a ball of sushi rice in the center of the nori and re-moisten hands.

3. Press and push the rice, spreading it with the thumbs and fingers to cover the nori.

4. Continue to moisten and clap hands. Flip the nori over so that the nori is now on the top.

5. Put the cucumber strips in to piles along the center line and short side of the nori.

6. Lay 3 avocado slices along the top of the cucumber pieces.

7. Spread crabmeat over the top of the avocados. Roll the side nearest over the central ingredients and finish the roll such that the "seam" is on the bottom.

8. Lay slices of avocado along the top of the roll.

9. Spread the smelt eggs over the avocado slices and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

10. Tear a sheet of plastic wrap about the same size as your makisu. Place plastic wrap over the roll. Place the mat over the roll and plastic wrap.  With both hands, press lightly on the sides to firm up the roll. You are ready to cut the roll into 8 pieces.

11. Place the tip of the knife into your water bowl and with the handle down; tap the end of the handle on the table such that the water flows over the entire blade. This will insure that the rice does not stick to the knife. Remove the makisu and with the plastic wrap still on, cut the roll in half. Cut each of the halves in half and again and one more time so that you have 8 pieces.

12. Place the makisu over the roll again and press lightly to re-form the roll. Remove the mat and the plastic wrap.

13. Mix wasabi and soy sauce as a dipping condiment and serve with a side of ginger.

Baked Green Mussels

Go get some mussels:

First make your way to the seafood market for some whole shell mussels. Now how to get them into the half shell so you can eat them. Do you:

a. Rely on the strength of your bare hands?

b. Knaw on them with your incisors?

c. Use your power tools with special seafood attachments?

d. Place them in boiling water?

The answer is d.

Prepare the mussels:

Boiling them in water for a few minutes will cause the shell to open. When the shells have opened, take them off the flame and rinse with cold water.

Remove the shell that does not contain the mussel. Separate the mussel from the other shell but keep the shell. Chop the mussel into pieces and put pieces back into the shell. Lay the half shells containing the chopped mussels into a baking dish.

Prepare the sauce:

Kewpie Mayonnaise - 1/4 cup (will absorb some of the heat so adjust to taste). Japanese mayo you might see abbreviated as QP on the label. It is a heavier mayo than most American brands. You can use Miracle Whip or Regular mayo if you can't find the QP.

Garlic 1 tsp

Smelt Eggs 1 tsp. Some sushi bars call this orange sherbet because it looks like ice cream.

4 sticks of imitation crab chopped roughly

Sriracha Hot Sauce - 1 tsp (again according to your heat factor). This is an excellent Vietnamese chili sauce. It has some garlic in it also which gives it a good flavor.

Mix all of this together. The mayo cuts the spice somewhat, so if you want it hotter, leave out or reduce the mayo. Another option is to go Hawaiian style and add to your sauce a 1/4 tsp of sesame seed oil, a pinch of sesame seeds, and 1/4 tsp of red chili flakes.

Shake and Bake

Cover mussels with the dynamite sauce and bake in the toaster oven until golden brown.

Spicy Scallop Fantasy Roll

Jay's newest creation. The spicy scallop center with fresh asparagus produces a vibrant combination of flavors. It consists of spicy scallop mix, asparagus, cucumber, avocado, and radish sprouts.

The Spicy Part

Chopped Scallops - approximately 4 ozs. Frozen bay scallops are best. Sushi bars rarely use fresh scallops. They are usually flash frozen for sushi. Let these thaw to room temperature and chop. Mix with dynamite sauce

The Rice Part

Sticky Rice

The Roll Part

Use 2 stalks of blanched asparagus per roll. Let the spears stick out. Cut up the cucumber Assemble the roll with the innards consisting of the spicy scallop mix, asparagus, cucumber, avocado, and radish sprouts. Roll and cut the sushi pieces. Garnish the top with slice avocado and smelt eggs.

Alaska Roll

You can Eskimo kiss your appetite goodbye after eating this luscious roll.  The secret is the Alaskan King Crab.

You've got to have Rice...

You've got to have something from Alaska on the inside in order to name it the Alaskan Roll...

1 oz of Alaskan King Crab

1 oz of smoked salmon (Sushi-style is best if you can find it. The flavor is mild. Other forms such as lox are fine but expect it to be more salty and strong-flavored).

1/2 cucumber, cut into strips

3 to 4 tbsp of cream cheese (enough to form a thin line on the inside of the roll).

Prepare just as the California Roll but with the above inner ingredients.

See the picture above for how the insides look. Cut into eight pieces. Do not add wasabi to the center since it will tend to mask the flavors.

You've got to have toppings...

Top with avocado slices and wasabi-flavored tobiko. Tobiko is flying fish roe. You can find it in Asian stores as black, orange, red, or infused with wasabi or ginger.

You've got to take your time savoring the flavors.

The Cucumber Roll

The cucumber wrap makes for a refreshing variation on the theme.

Make the rice

Make the wrapper. Cucumber as a wrap takes a little practice to do it just right. Use a cucumber that is straight and uniform. Cut the ends off, cut it in half and peel. Cut the cucumber into a paper-thin ribbonlike sheet by holding an eight-inch knife firmly, moving the cucumber against the knife, and turning the cucumber gradually around. Throw away any seeds. You now have a sushi roll wrapper. A short cut would be to hollow out a peeled cucumber leaving just a thin shell. Stuff the hollow with rice and other ingredients, then slice into one-inch round rolls.

Prepare the ingredients

Wasabi

Japanese Mayo (Kewpie brand)

Crab meat

Smoked salmon

Avocado

Make the roll

The sheets of cucumber should be about 5 inches long. Place the sheet on the bamboo mat (makisu) and spread with about 2 tablespoons of sushi rice.

Season to taste with a thin strip of wasabi and optionally mayo. Arrange crab meat, smoked salmon and avocado along the center of the rice. Using your makisu as a guide, roll the cucumber until the edges meet. Slice the roll in half and then slice those again in halves to produce 4 pieces.

I love the crispy and light texture to this roll.

Shrimp and Cucumber Pressed Sushi

Pressed sushi or oshi-zushi is made with a wooden sushi mold or press.

Before using the sushi press, soak it in water. Wipe with a dry dish towel and then moisten it with a dish towel soaked in tezu After you are done, wash it well and let it dry comletely before storing.

Prepare the sushi rice

Ingredients

6 pieces of 16-20 Black tiger shrimp (16 to 20 shrimp per pound, it's a size)

4 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 Tsp salt

1 cucumber

Prepare the shrimp

Boil the shrimp

as shown on our site. Shell, remove the head and tail and cut down the center to lay the shrimps open. Marinate in a mixture of the vinegar, sugar and salt.

Prepare the cucumber

Cut 1 cucumber to the length of the sushi press and slice.

Build your pressed sushi

Fill the press half way with sushi rice. Arrange three to four cucumber slices closely together on top of the rice. Fill the press the rest of the way with sushi rice. Arrange the shrimp tightly across the top. Cover with the lid. Add a weight and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. Holding the lid, ease the frame off. Remove the lid. Wetting a sushi knife with water or tezu cut the pressed sushi into bite-sized pieces.

Serve with pickled ginger slices

 How do you make the pickled ginger slices?

Amazu-shouga. Amazu is a sweet vinegar sauce, shouga is ginger. Umezu-shouga is another option which is to use plum vinegar instead of rice vinegar. For some reason in sushi bars, they call it gari. A different name for everything...

4 to 5 ginger pieces cut into thin slices. Sprinkle the slices with salt.

Blanch the slices in boiling water and soak in amazu. To make amazu, bring one cup of rice vinegar, 3 oz of sugar, and 2 tsp of salt to a boil and let it cool. The pinkish color you find in restaurants is food dye.

How to make the spicy sauce for spicy rolls?

Kewpie Mayonnaise - 1/4 tsp (will absorb some of the heat so adjust to taste). Japanese mayo you might see abbreviated as QP on the label. It is a heavier mayo than most American brands. You can use Miracle Whip or Regular mayo if you can't find the QP.

Smelt Eggs 1 tsp. Some sushi bars call this orange sherbet because it looks like ice cream.

Sriracha Hot Sauce - 1/2 tsp (again according to your heat factor). This is an excellent Vietnamese chili sauce. It has some garlic in it also which gives it a good flavor.

Mix all of this together. The mayo cuts the spice somewhat, so if you want it hotter, leave out or reduce the mayo. Another option is to go Hawaiian style and add to your sauce a 1/4 tsp of sesame seed oil, a pinch of sesame seeds, and 1/4 tsp of red chili flakes.

Ginger Salad Dressing:

� knob of fresh ginger

� cup of salad oil

� cup of rice vinegar

Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

1 tsp of light soy sauce for color

optional veges:

� of onion minced

5 cloves of garlic

Sesame Seed Dressing:

3 tbs white sesame seed (toasted and ground)

1 � tbs of dashi (Japanese fish stock)

1 tbs sugar

2 tbs rice vinegar

� tbs of light soy sauce

� tbs sesame seed oil

Onigiri are rice balls with fillings and are usually shaped in triangles or ovals. These rice balls are what the Japanese eat as we would eat sandwiches. They are normally brought on picnics and any leftovers are grilled without the nori and seasoned with soy sauce. "Nigiri" means clenched and it takes some practice to get good at making the balls. You need to press the rice with the right pressure so as to keep the grains together but without crushing them.

Ingredients:

5 cups hot cooked short-grain rice

4 sheets dried nori seaweed

Possible Fillings:

Dried bonito flakes (hanakatsuo) moistened in soy sauce

Salted salmon, grilled

Salted cod roe (tarako), grilled

Pickled plums (umeboshi)

2 tbsps black sesame seeds, toasted

Prepare the rice as plain white boiled rice (basically the sushi rice recipe without the seasonings). Ongiri are made while the rice is still hot. While preparing the rice, toast the nori sheets by passing them over a flame and cut crosswise into 1 inch strips.

You fill each "ball" with any one of the optional fillings. Prepare which ones you want. Grill salted salmon and break into small pieces. Grill the cod roe. Pit the pickled plums (peter piper pitted a peck of pickled plums).

Cut the plums into smaller pieces. Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry frying pan.

To form triangles: When handling the hot rice, keep your hands moistened with salty water to season the rice slightly and to keep it from sticking to your hands. Place a handful (about 1/2 cup) of rice across the bent fingers of your left hand. Make an indentation in the rice and tuck in one of the fillings--about 1 tsp of soy-doused bonito flakes; 1 tsp of cod roe; a few flakes of salmon; or a whole pickled plum. Use your index finger, middle finger, and thumb to mold the triangular shape. Mold to cover the fillings.  Try not to make the rice too salty or pack it too hard or too loosely.

Here is where the practice comes in. Set the triangles down on their base and cover the top 2 sides with a strip of nori, shiny side out, like a roof on a house.

There are a couple of recipes for a sweet rice ball with a sweet red bean paste filling. The sweet or glutinous rice is called mochi. One is wrapped with a cherry blossom leaf and is therefore called: Cherry Blossom Mochi.

The leaves are edible, brined cherry leaves. The leaves give the dessert a nice fragrance.

12 servings: 24 balls (1 1/2 inch diameter)

2 cups of glutinous rice

red food coloring

2 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

2 1/2 cups sweet red bean paste

salt-preserved cherry leaves

Prepare the bean paste:

There is instant sweet red bean paste that you can buy called sarashi-an. It just needs to be boiled, then sugar and a pinch of salt are added.

A cheese cloth or cotton bag are used to squeeze out excess water so that you are left with a paste. A chunky paste can be made from scratch using 1 cup of azuki beans, 1 cup of sugar, pinch of salt.

Wash the azuki beans and place in a saucepan of water. Bring just to a boil and drain and discard the water.

Add 3 cups water to pan and simmer over medium heat until beans are very soft. Add more water as necessary to prevent dehydration but the water should be almost gone when the beans are done.

Add sugar and stir with a wooden paddle over low heat. You want a thick mixture in which the beans are half-crushed. Add salt and mix well. Now the sweet rice. Wash glutinous rice repeatedly, until the water is clear. Put rice in a bowl with ample water and add one drop of red food coloring to tint the rice pink.

Let rest for 3 hours.

Drain and steam the rice for 40 minutes until tender. Pour small amount of water over the rice 3 or 4 times while steaming.

Put hot rice in a large bowl. Add sugar, salt and mix. Crush rice with a pestle or back of spoon until rice grains are roughly cut in half (this should be quick and easy).

Spread a thin layer on a non-stick baking pan.

If you can purchase the salted cherry leaves at a Japanese food store (doubtful), separate them, place briefly in hot water and drain. Vine leaves in brine are available canned or bottled at Middle Eastern food shops. Vine leaves will do but don't have the same ambience of cherry leaves.

Roll about 1 2/3 tbsps of sweet red bean paste into a ball. Dampen hands and roll this over the hot tinted rice. The rice should adhere to the bean paste. Pack the rice around the bean paste till about the size of a golf ball or a little larger. Flatten the ball slightly and wrap with leaf, shiny side in. Arrange in a steamer and steam over high heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve at room temp.