I don’t make sushi at home often enough. I don’t quite know why this is – once you get going it’s just as simple as any other meal, really. Partly it’s because you do need to cook the rice a bit in advance to give it time to cool, and I’m notorious for leaving meal decisions and prep to the last minute. What I tend to do, being ingredients-focussed, is buy some nice looking fresh salmon and then decide to make sashimi and sushi because that salmon just looks too good to cook. I’m not one to plan meals and then go out and buy all the ingredients; for me the ingredients come first.
Sushi rolls and sashimi with ginger
Sushi rolls and nigiri in badly lit kitchen
Sushi is also a great idea for packed lunches. You can buy little triangle moulds in which you make yummy rice balls stuffed with whatever takes your fancy – tuna/mayo/onion, teriyaki chicken, smoked, fresh or poached salmon, omelette, or Japanese pickles are just a few ideas. No nori is used here, so you won’t end up having to hack your way through chewy stale nori the way you do at some parties where the sushi has been made too far in advance. In Auckland you can buy those sushi moulds at Japanese on Dominion Road (beside Silver Bell) and probably at Made in Nippon in the city.
Here are a few pics of some sushi and sashimi I made recently. Excuse the poor lighting in my kitchen.
Since Scarlett was born, I’ve been eating as much sashimi as possible!