Gadgets. Rice. And Maki Sushi.

Southwest 5 or 6.

Slight or moderate.

Fog patches at first.

Moderate or good, occasionally very poor at first.

I absolutely adore food related gadgets. Even if they have very limited use. I am the kind of woman you see at stalls in food fairs, watching a demonstration. If the demonstration is on how to shape your radish like a swan with one simple brand new gadget, I will buy it. I hardly eat pineapples, but  I have a pineapple corer and cuber. Of course you will also find a heard shaped plastic ring in my drawer, just in case I feel like having my fried egg in the shape of a heart. The only reason I have to restrict myself, is space; so I tend to buy now gadgets where I can see myself using them more than once.

My love for sushi (and a certain inability to get them right), led me to that bizarre gadget, the sushi bazooka.

While it looked manageable, I did not like the look of a sticky, floppy log being ejected by a plunging rod onto the nori. Plus I like to experiment a bit with different fillings.

Further search let me to this one: Leifheit`s perfect roll sushi maker.

Not expensive and just what I needed.

So I set out to make sushi.

Contrary to popular belief, sushi is not judged on the freshness of fish (it is assumed that you anyway only use the best and freshest fish (so called Sashimi grade), but on the rice.

There are hundreds of websites on how to make Sushi rice, and each chef has his own recipe. They all agree on the basics: The rice needs to be firm, but not grainy or hard. It needs to be able to bond with its neighbour, yet each grain should be ideally retaining its own shape. The rice should not be broken or mashed, yet easy to form. It needs to be glossy and shine. And of course perfectly white. 

If you already despair: We have not come to the perfect seasoning yet.

Most commercial sushi factories use a ready-made seasoning and you can tell the difference. Seasoning is simple: Vinegar, sugar (or mirin) and salt. I cant tell you how many times you can get three simple ingredients wrong. And how much is too much (making the rice soggy) or too little (it wont stick)?

And to make matters worse: Sushi rice needs to be cold, but should not go into the fridge. Apparently it loses its shine in the fridge. But cooked rice has a dirty secret: Its is the perfect breeding ground for Bacillus cereus. They survive the cooking process and like it slightly warm. If you cool your rice too slow, or leave it in the rice cooker too long, you are done for. The “fried rice syndrome” is rampant in Chinese restaurants offering a buffet. No, it was not the not so fresh fish which gave you a night on the toilet; it was the innocent looking white rice.

I decided to bugger shine and work with the fridge. And cool it quickly.

And to leave it simple: Just very fresh salmon and cucumber, both cut in sticks. And of course nori sheets, I wanted to do Maki sushi.

Rice for Sushi (use a scale, the proportion water and rice is crucial):

90 grams short grain rice (best quality Sushi rice)

100 grams cold water

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/3 of a teaspoon salt

Fill a big bowl with cold water

Put the rice in a sieve (with holes small enough so the rice doesn't pass through) , place it in the bowl and wash the rice. Use your hands to remove the excess starch off each grain of rice by using a gentle rubbing motion.

When the water that runs off is mostly clear, drain the rice.

Add the rice to a pan and top it with the water. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Turn the heat onto high and bring the rice to a boil, with the lid on (be careful not to let it boil over). Turn down the heat immediately to low. Dont be tempted to have a peak, leave the lid where it is. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the alarm goes off, remove from the heat and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Don’t open the lid yet. I know you are curious but don’t do it.

While you wait for the rice to cook, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Whisk long and hard, and maybe adjust a bit for taste.

Dump the rice out onto a large plate, the key is that you want a container with a lot of surface area so you can spread the rice out. Pour the vinegar mixture over the hot rice. “Using a broad flat wooden spoon in one hand and a fan or piece of cardboard in the other, gently combine the rice and vinegar using a side-to-side cutting motion with the edge of the spoon. You want to separate each grain of rice, so the vinegar penetrates every surface, but you don't want to break the grains of rice or mash them together. Use the fan in your other hand to fan the rice”.

Now this is as easy as tapping your head with one hand and rubbing your belly with another. Impossible for one nervous person.

But nature gave us electric hair dryers, set it on cold and cool your rice like this. Or an electric cooling fan.

The rice is done when the surface is no longer wet and slippery, the rice is fluffy, and each grain is very shiny. It will still be a little warm, but it should not be hot. Cover with a damp towel until you're ready to use it, and put it in the fridge, you don’t want to suffer. Food safety first, shine later!

Verdict:

My rice was a bit too soft, but I looked at the water and thought: “That cant be right”. So added another 20ml. These were too much.

On its own, the taste was very delicate, a bit too little for my liking (don’t forget the only salt is in the vinegar, you don’t cook your rice with salt); but dipped briefly in soya sauce it was perfect.

I experimented also a bit with the filling. I was under the assumption that I still have Wasabi, but this was wrong. So I used the Korean hot red paste Gochujang, which I like very much. I actually think it worked better than Wasabi, the Gochujang has a fruity, hot taste, as opposed to the very sharp Wasabi.

As to my gadget: The first time was not very successful. It did not help that the template for the nori was missing and that the manual was not very clear. But after a bit of research on youtube, I got there in the end. And ended up with perfect formed Makis. Each roll gives about three pop-in-the-mouth Makis and I got 4 rolls out of it. Pretty substantial sushi feast.

It is important that you have a sharp knife to cut them, and it helps if you wet the knife (look at the first video in regards to the bazooka, at about 2.20 into the video).

Would I buy it again? Yes I would. I love sushi and it produced perfect Makis. It also allows having each roll different (as opposed to the bazooka). By all means, if you plan a sushi party or have a large family, try the bazooka. But if you are single or just the two of you, go for the Sushi roll.

Credit:
As usual I will cite my source which inspired this.
Copyright in recipes is a bit of a grey area. There is no copyright. Despite what some sites claim. However there is a copyright to the phrasing of sentences. Its a bit like referencing in academic research. If you change a sentence or sequence of sentences enough, you are normally in the clear. But it is good conduct to reference anyway. And polite. And in the end we all should thank the ones who gave us inspirations or brought us further. 
So, thank you Marc Matsumoto from Norecipes, your advice was spot on.

Update:
90gr rice, washed and with still a bit of cold water clinging to it, and 100ml of water is perfect.