Have you ever tried to make sushi rolls? It can be a daunting task, getting the rice spread out in a layer on the Nori (seaweed), then rolling it up with the bamboo mat roller. Unless you are quite skilled or a professional, its hard to get it tight and keep all the ingredients inside. The end result can be quite pathetic and something you will not be proud to serve a guest, let alone be together enough to hold up between the plate and your mouth (in my experiences anyway, I've never been able to get it right that way).I have found what I call a 'magic' sushi roller here in Japan. It's a 3 part mold that makes anyone an instant sushi roll expert. It could probably be found at a better gourmet cooking store or at an Asian shop or market in US, especially in Hawaii. If you have a hard time finding it in your area, let me know and maybe I can help you get one! I could put some up for purchase by auction on Ebay though I have seen them on Ebay from time to time offered by other sellers.
Now I can make sushi rolls that I wouldn't be embarrassed to serve to my Mother-in-Law even (she is Japanese)! It's really fun too!
Here is what it looks like and the package it came in. This is the large size one, there is a smaller one that make narrower rolls. There are 3 parts, a bottom, an inner mold that fits in the bottom and an upper rounded mold that is used to press down and form the roll when you are finished adding all the ingredients.
Today I made a roll with real crab meat and a roll with avocado and that imitation crab meat you can get these days. You can add what ever you want to the insides of your sushi rolls. One suggestion I have is don't be shy about putting alot (amount wise) for your center ingredients. The first one I made I was afraid I was putting too much in but when the roll was finished, it seems like hardly anything was in there. Like a big rice roll! It could have something to do with the amount of rice I used as well, I filled the molds to the maximum, which was not a problem as far as using this sushi roll maker is concerned but in relation to the amount of goodies in the center..it wasn't balanced well. Don't be afraid to add lots of fun stuff for the inside!
Don't forget also that sushi rice is flavored with sushi vinegar.
You may notice in these photos that I used a Japanese brown rice but I think it might stick alittle better with a mixture of regular white Japanese rice and the Japanese brown rice or of course, just the white Japanese rice is always ok.
Here are some pictures of the whole process.
First, add some (sushi) rice to the bottom inner mold
Make a little indentation or trough to put some ingredients into.
Ingredients are then added, crab meat seen here, pushed down into 'trough' in the rice. Then veggies, in this case, cucumbers and yellow bell peppers (piman in Japanese) are laid on top. Don't add the ingredients right to the edges of the mold since you want the finished roll to have rice all the way around and not have the inner ingredients touching the side or poking out.
Alittle mayonnaise on top which will end up in the center of the sushi roll, it's not necessary to add this but that's how we like it in our house.
Place the filled inner bottom mold into the bottom container of the sushi roll maker.
Add more rice to cover everything.
I added to rice to the top edge of the bottom container of the sushi roll maker.
Place the top mold on and press down to form the sushi roll.
You may notice that there is a gap between the top and the inner bottom mold (even though I exerted a fair amout of pressure when pushing the top mold). It's not a problem if the pieces don't touch, however they may touch if you used alittle less rice than I did.
Next you need a sheet of Nori, which is the Japanese word for dried seaweed. Here is the type I used. Any brand will do, as long as it's a fairly large sheet like you see here.
Lay it out onto a flat surface such as a cutting board.
Lay it out onto a flat surface such as a cutting board.
Remove the top of the sushi maker to expose the formed rice roll, then turn it upside down so that the rice is on the Nori. Place on the edge and so that it fits well onto the sheet of Nori. Remove the outer bottom container, if it is sticking a bit, you can put your finger in the little holes at the bottom to ease it off.
Now you are left with the roll and the inner bottom mold sitting on the sheet of Nori. When removing this inner bottom mold, it is very likely to stick so there are some thoughtfully placed, very handy tabs that you can push gently down on to help ease the sushi roll out.
Now roll it up in the Nori, so that the Nori covers all the rice.
After that, I let the roll sit with the 'seam' down for a while. The Nori will start to soften up a bit from the moisture of the rice and it will stick and form a good seal after a few minutes. At first the Nori is pretty dry and if you left the roll sitting with the seam side up, then it might curl up a bit and not lay nice and flat on the rice.
After that, I let the roll sit with the 'seam' down for a while. The Nori will start to soften up a bit from the moisture of the rice and it will stick and form a good seal after a few minutes. At first the Nori is pretty dry and if you left the roll sitting with the seam side up, then it might curl up a bit and not lay nice and flat on the rice.
Here is the rolled sushi 'resting' for a bit on the cutting board, seam side down.
Slice and serve. Use a very sharp knife or a bread knife might work good. The Nori can be tough to cut and the rice very sticky. You don't want your nicely formed roll to get misshapen from a dull knife dragging across and sticking it! It may help to wash off the knife half way thru the slicing of the roll and continue with a clean knife for the other half (a clean knife that is even damp alittle, will slide thru the rice easier).
