Instead of dealing with crowded restaurants, set menus, and over-priced food, we decided to spend Valentine’s Day at home. Sushi at home was on the menu and we had a blast making it. It certainly wasn’t as pretty as the pro’s rolls but it still tasted amazing! The cooking, rolling, eating process takes so long it was the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with my man.
Now this was something very new, so I had to consult Google and do plenty of research. Luckily there are tons of great resources online for first-timers making sushi at home.
We collected most of the necessities at a local Asian food market. And the fish and veggies from Whole Foods. Here is a quick shopping list for a few simple rolls that include salmon, tuna, shrimp, avocado, and cucumber.
A few tips that I found to be super successful:
– Use a sharp knife – your life will be so much better if you have a nice sharp knife
– Wet the knife before cutting the sushi
– Use plastic wrap or a ziplock bag over the bamboo mat to keep the rice from sticking
– Keep your rice thin – it makes it easier to roll and makes the rolls a little smaller and easier to eat
– Wet hands – wet hands make it easier to handle the rice and roll
– If you are making a roll with the rice on the outside, put the seaweed down first, then add rice. Flip the whole thing over. It’s easier than putting down rice first and topping it with the sea weed
The good news is even if you sushi at home falls apart, it is still delicious.
The best part was just trying out different combinations to see what we liked. I would say it was a very successful Valentines Day. Now we just need to have friends over to show off our sushi skills.