Medi-taste

Yo, I know this is not really my forum for food, but I enjoyed writing out this recipe for my sister and find this process to be delightfully time consuming. Great activity for date night in my opinion. My favorite part is washing the rice and having an Amelie moment and feeling the cold water and grains on my hands. It's like a walk on the beach but in your kitchen. Some of the items are annoying for a 1 time deal, but hopefully you will like it enough to do it again!


Need:

2 packs Nori (each comes with 10 sheets)

Soy Sauce

Rice Vinegar

olive oil (or butter)

1 ½ cups sushi rice (try the bulk section of whole foods)

Avocado

Red Bell Pepper

Asparagus

Cucumber

Shiitake Mushrooms (about 2 handfuls)

Honey

1 bamboo sushi mat (amazon)

Optional: Wasabi, Green Goddess Dressing, pickled ginger

Rice:

Rinse the rice in a pot and swirl it around to wash off the starch, drain and repeat at least 3 cycles, it helps the rice become the right amount of sticky. Boil the rice about 20 minutes until soft, and add about 2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar (or more to taste). Add in about a tablespoon of honey (or to taste). Empty onto a baking sheet in a ½ inch layer to cool.

Prep:

Cut Shiitake mushrooms into thin strips and sautee with Soy Sauce, 1 clove garlic and olive oil. Store mushrooms in fridge until rice is at least room temperature and ready to roll! Cut the remaining veggies into thin strips and set in bowls/cups. I use a spiralizer to prep the cucumber.

Roll:

Have 1 bowl water handy for dipping your hands into to help keep them rice-free between rolls. Set bamboo mat down and put a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then take 1 sheet of Nori (shiny side on mat, rough side up) and dampen your hands with water. Take 1 handful of room-temp rice and press it onto the sheet in a *thin* layer, thin is good! Take your veggies (don’t forget your mushrooms in the fridge) and arrange them in a row closest to you-thin is still good! Roll the Sushi, use the plastic wrap+mat to add pressure, making sure not to roll the mat/wrap into the sushi. Now you have a tube of sushi! When cutting the roll, use your sharpest cooking knife to slice the loaf. Allow the knife to cut without added pressure. Have a glass of warm water and towel nearby to dip the knife into and wipe clean between each cut. Serve on plates with soy sauce in ramekins, set out wasabi and pickled ginger if you like. I like to dip the sushi in Green Goddess dressing & soy sauce!