For a one year anniversary, a former boyfriend took me to this amazing restaurant in Portland, called the Portland City Grill which is located on the 30th floor of the Us Bank building in downtown Portland. It was there that I was introduced to my new love: sushi. Previous to this experience, I had thought that I hated sushi, but I discovered that was only because I hadn't been introduced to the proper way of eating it. With the first bite, I was hooked! The combination of flavors and wasabi was like fireworks exploding in my mouth.
Even more fun than eating sushi however, is making it. Sushi is a fun meal especially with a group of friends. Set all the ingredients out on a table, and begin rolling!
Ingredients:
Sushi rice:
3 cups short grain rice
3 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. When it's almost done heat the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt on the stove and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Than slowly pour the liquid over the rice and mix in. Allow the rice to cool for thirty minutes or so before using in in sushi.
This is a basic recipe so I recommend experiment with the amount of vinegar and sugar. Some people prefer more seasoned rice, while others prefer it barely seasoned.
Wasabi: is a root that is often compared to horseradish. Many wasabi pastes or powders contain colored horseradish and little or no wasabi because it's difficult to cultivate and so is more expensive. Real wasabi will not be cheap, but it will definitely be worth it! Read more
Nori: thin, dried sheets of seaweed used to wrap sushi.
Pickled ginger: this is usually served on the side and eaten after of with a nori roll. According to one of my Korean friends, ginger was originally eaten to kill the parasites found in raw fish.
Optional ingredients: You can roll almost anything up in sushi, but some of the more common items are: avocado, cucumber, and shredded carrots. I've also used, green onions, eggs, cream cheese (vegan of course), and mushrooms.
Here's a video if you want to see how a professional does it:
