April 02, 2007

Here fishy fishy fishy...

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Rolling sushi is not like riding a bike. For all of the obvious reasons like how you don’t have to wear a helmet while rolling sushi, (well, you could if you wanted to) but mainly for the fact that once you’ve learned how to ride a bike, it’s engrained and you don’t have to learn again. For me, sushi is the opposite. Every time I roll sushi it’s like the very first time all over again. The first few rolls are lopsided, the rice is spilling out, usually somehow ending up in my hair, that stuff is sticky. And even once I’ve managed to roll something that somewhat resembles a proper cylinder, then I have to learn how to cut the thing. I think I need to add a kitchen ruler to my ever growing list of kitchen gadgets, that and someone to sharpen mine knife between each slice. By the time I finally learn how to roll and cut sushi, for the umpteenth time, I’m finished. The last roll is always the nicest one. Then time passes and my knowledge of sushi making is completely erased from my brain. As soon as I’m absolutely sure that I have no clue how to make sushi rolls, that’s when I decide to make them again and the whole process is repeated. Bike riding is so much easier. In case you were curious, these rolls contain shrimp, mango, cucumber, pickled ginger and wasabi. They were very good, even if they were misshapen.


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Aside from the sushi, I decided to give a new salmon recipe a try. Despite the fact that I had never made this before, it was a breeze. There was definitely no sushi-like learning curve for this one. I modeled the recipe after one I saw on Chef at Home. The recipe doesn’t seem to be online so I was just going with what I remembered. The reason this recipe stuck in my mind was because it involved cooking the salmon on a bed of bean sprouts. That’s not something that would have occurred to me, but after having tried it I’ll certainly be making it again. For the salmon I took a layer of tinfoil and lined the bottom with sliced limes, covered those in bean sprouts, layed the salmon on top and covered that with more bean sprouts, chopped red onion and some ginger. The whole thing was wrapped up in tin foil and put on the bbq until the salmon was cooked through. It was such a simple dish but it was packed with flavour. I’m giving this one a gold star. And hurrah for no longer having to bbq in sub-zero temperatures!



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27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brilynn, I feel your pain. The same thing always happens to me when making sushi, though my end result is a little different: I find I'm full from eating all the poorly rolled ends (and, sadly, other pieces) by the time I've finished preparing the sushi. That means I have no appetite when the time to eat finally arrives. Nonetheless, I applaud your perseverance and your sushi.

Elle said...

Maybe it's like the thing with Chinese food that an hour later you feel hungry...anytime later and you forget how to make the sushi. The ones pictured are beautiful and the salmon is stunning. I can almost smell all of those wonderful ingredients.

K and S said...

Bravo! this looks great and the different kinds of filling. Wow! Good Job!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Brill, Bri! I have not as yet ventured into Sushi making yet. Something I keep thinking I need to do. You have inspired me to be "DARING!"

Gattina Cheung said...

Brilynn, they're already restarant-standard babe!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Your sushi are lovely -- and you've mastered the inside-out roll, which is always a bit tricky. I'd be happy to help you eat these, if there are any leftovers!

Anonymous said...

I've never made sushi before.Yours look wonderful and I'm very encouraged to make them.

Anonymous said...

Your sushi rolls looks terrific! Mine, not so photogenic. The rolls always end up *huge* because I can't seem to gauge just how much rice I'm supposed to use... we jokingly call them Rice Rolls

Rachel said...

they look great! i've never tried to make them with shrimp before.

Anonymous said...

Your sushi looks great! This is a prime example of a dish that I absolutely love but have never even tried to prepare at home...a standing ovation to you! :)

mickey said...

I think your sushi looks gorgeous-the mango shrimp ones sound delicious

Anonymous said...

I think your rolls look really good, I've always wanted to learn how to make them. Bravo Brilynn!

sher said...

ng part is difficult for me too! But, your sushi looks marvelous. I could eat sushi everyday. Maybe if I made it more often, rolling it wouldn't be so hard? Love those pictures.

Anuhea said...

Wow, I wouldn't have guessed you had trouble, those sushi look amazing. And I would know being surrounded by sushi/Japanese cuisine here in Hawaii all the time! And salmon, yum!

s'kat said...

IMO opinion, sushi-making is one of those jobs best left to the experts! Although the rolls you show here look very nice indeed.

The salmon sounds really interesting, I may have to follow suit with that one!

Peabody said...

It looks beautiful. Sadly, no sushi for me...no raw fish of any type. :(

Jenny said...

I remember seeing that Chef at Home just a week or two ago! It was the camping in the backyard one!
Your sushi looks just fine, btw!

janelle said...

The salmon sounds fantastic; and the rolls look good enough to eat-while-standing:).

jasmine said...

Perhaps the trick is just to keep on making sushi...and never stopping?

Your pictures look wonderful, btw.

j

Helene said...

They look great! Now I can only picture you with a bike helmet rolling sushi! i made some once and said "ok, now that I know how to do it, I'll make sure to have someone else do them for me!" I applaud your effort, it paid off!

Freya said...

The sushi looks really pretty! I've only made it once and it wasn't brilliant! The salmon on the bed of beansprouts is great too!

emily said...

they look plenty good to me! and you could always fake it with nigiri if the rolls and cutting escapes your mind.
do you have a dipping solution for your knives when you're cutting? i learned that at a course i took, and i think it helps a lot in slicing neatly. all the same, i'd never know they looked bad if you didn't tell us.

Anonymous said...

brilynn, they look beauuuuuutiful! i like how you did them inside out, those to me are always tastier. one day i'll take a sushi class so i too can roll away. drooling...

Lis said...

I don't think your rolls look funky at all. Do you have the bamboo mat? I don't have one, but I've got all the ingredients to make sushi and just wondered how hard it'd be to roll with just plastic wrap underneath? The salmon sounds fantastic, too!

Anonymous said...

I am in total awe! I would never even attempt to do this at home.

I bow to you!

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Brilynn, your sushi rolls look great! I agree with you on the learning curve thingy for sushi making. It's always like your first attempt even thought you could have done it a few times before! I always have problem with the rolling, and my knife appears to be only good for slicing tofu whenever I try to cut the sushi rolls ;)

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