Sushi, at home

It's no secret that our family likes Japanese food. I grew up eating Japanese food at least once a week. It was a tradition of sort, a Sunday dinner with my father after we picked him up from his office (the one time a week that we saw him, it felt like. Busy man that he was...busy man that he still is).

There was a restaurant near by that we would stop for dinner before heading home called Hakata. I still remember its open room, the tatami area where our family tended to sit, the warm white towels offered to us when we first sat down. It's a comforting, almost nostalgic experience for me, eating Japanese food. 



Here in Columbus, we have frequented a few Japanese restaurants, near and far. The kids eat the food with zeal, and we all leave happily full, every time (except for the times when one of us ate just one too many rolls!).

Earlier in the day, we had planned on going to a different Japanese restaurant – one recommended by a Japanese living in Northwest Columbus. We had a hearty breakfast at home, a light lunch at home, and for dinner, I was going to put my feet up and rely on the restaurant to feed (and clean for) us.



Late afternoon came, the kids played outdoors amidst high winds, and torrential rain. They came in for a warm bath; and re-emerged in...pajamas. Wait! I said. We are going out for dinner!

Oh NO, Mommy. We are eating at home! They both protested.


But...we were going to go out for Japanese, remember? Sushi? Unagi? Miso? I tried to stand firm. Those clean dishes didn't need to come out again...until tomorrow.


You can make all of that stuff, Mommy! We don't need to go anywhere! They both looked at me with puppy eyes.

Alright. Yes, I can do it. Where's the sushi roller?



Sushi Rice

Make your sushi rice as normal (we use our handy rice cooker), make about 2 cups of rice.

In a bowl or pot, combine 2 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of salt. Heat this on the stove or in the microwave until all dissolved.

Once the rice is done, add the vinegar mixture to the rice. Mix well.

To make the sushi rolls

You will need Nori sheets (seaweed sheets for making sushi rolls), a sushi bamboo roller, and anything that you like to go inside your sushi rolls. We like avocado, cucumber, pickles, mango, roasted eel, crab sticks...

Put the nori on your sushi bamboo roller. Add a thin layer of rice (like first snow falling onto the ground) all over the nori. Put your contents in a straight line on the edge  closest to you (not too much, less is more here). Now, carefully roll the bamboo roller together with the nori, and keep rolling, keeping the contents inside using a firm grip. Roll until you get to the end of the nori, and give it a good squeeze.

Wet a sharp knife under cold water, and cut the roll into bite size pieces.

Serve immediately with a little soy sauce on the side. Wasabi and pickled ginger also welcome.