How to Make Sushi Food Using Sushi Knife

To make sushi food, it takes dedications as well as skills to make that good sushi. If you want to prepare some tasty sushi rolls while at home, all you need is raw fish, sushi knife, probably rice and other ingredients if necessary.  However, a good sushi knife is an essential tool in this process, it will enable you to easily slice/cut your raw fish to make your sushi and for cutting sushi rolls.

Here are 5-major steps to follow when making your own sushi food using sushi knife. However, it’s essential to make a sushi based on the type of fish or seafood you certainly like best, this will help you to determine the way you’ll prefer it served. These Steps are simple and easy to follow especially for beginners.

5-Steps to make a Sushi Food Using Sushi Knife:

Step 1: Learn What You like

It will be good if you choose your favorite fish food when making your sushi.

Step 2: Assemble equipment

Just like when you’re preparing any food in your kitchen, it also applies when preparing or making sushi. The process will be much easier if you’ll have all the required tools ready to start your preparations. Here are the basic equipment needed though there are other additional ingredients required.

1. Rice cooker
2. Sushi-grade knife
3. Rice rolling mat/Plastic wrap
4. Cutting board.
5. Rice paddle/wooden spoon
6. Large bowl
7. Small bowls and plates
8. Dish cloths
9. Colander/bowl

Step 3: Line-up your ingredients

For best results when making sushi, you should have the best ingredients and for great-tasting sushi, you should focus more and scrutinize your rice and fish to get quality ones though Sushi-grade fish are somehow expensive; it’s advisable to use proper grade for greater taste and safety.

Here are what to consider when choosing your fish and seafood. They should be;

• Bright-colored fish, dull/brown/really dark fish simply means the fish isn’t fresh and has started to oxidize.
• Smooth and firm when touched. They shouldn’t be slimy.
• Shouldn’t smell; a strong smell proves that the fish id indeed old.
• Prefer fillets instead of steaks. Fillets have better shape when it comes to slicing sushi.

For Sushi Rice;

The best rice for making sushi rice is short-grained sushi rice. They are starchy and absorbent making them to be sticky. The likes of basmati or even other long-grained rice aren’t suitably absorbent; they tend to be too dry and hard. You can ask for your supermarket on which brands they offer that’s best for sushi rice if in-case you have no idea about it.

Step 4: Preparation and Assembling.

Sushi rice;

First, you’ll have to wash your sushi rice using cold water before it’s cooked so as to remove any unwanted compound in the rice. While washing your rice, the water will obviously turn cloudy; rinse it until the water becomes clear. Failure to do this, your rice might become too sticky as well as smelly when cooked.

Recipe for Sushi rice;

The rice to be cooked should be enough to make sushi-rolls for a four individuals preferably a family of four.

Rice preparation

• Measure 3-cups of sushi rice- before it’s cooked.
• Add 31/4 cups water to the rice maker
• Add the measured rice to the rice-maker then set the time for it to start cooking.
• When your rice is ready, prepare the sushi-rice vinegar mix to give it its distinctive taste.

How to prepare the Rice-vinegar mixture

Recipe;

• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 3 table spoon sugar

Procedure;

• Place your rice vinegar and sugar together into a small sauce-pan using low heat to mix until that sugar completely dissolves then let the mixture cool.
• When the rice is still hot, you’re required to move it into large wooden bowl.
• Take your vinegar mixture then sprinkle it lightly using small amounts over the rice; first make horizontal cutting motions thereafter vertical cutting motions all across the rice. This action will enable each rice grain to be properly coated by the vinegar mixture.

Don’t do things

• Never pour the liquid onto the rice, if you do so, it will clump into big-balls of rice and I beat you don’t want that.

To cool your rice, you can use a piece of newspaper or hand-held fan. After the vinegar mixture is cut into your rice; it should be sticky, shiny and slightly cooled. it shouldn’t be hot or cold. If the rice is too hot when you’re assembling your sushi then it will definitely become rubbery on the “nori”. Therefore, it is essential to assemble your sushi when it has slightly cooled off.

 For Vegetables and other ingredients;

• You should slice your vegetables thinly. It can be done using a slicer or even by hand. Your sushi ingredients should be sliced as thinly as possible.
• You can then set your ingredients in small bowls in-order to arrange them for easy access in a circle or line. Just take small bits from each and every bowl while you assemble your sushi.

For fish;

How to cut fish using Sushi knife:

After buying your sushi-grade fish, using sushi knives if your piece of fish isn’t precut; slice your fish at a 45-degree angle with a pulling motion. First, place your blades heal on the fish while having your blade as a 45 degree angle. Thereafter, pull your sushi knife towards you as you slice the fish from the knife’s heal to the point inform of one fluid motion. The size of your slices will all depend on the type of fish you’re slicing though since you’re preparing your own sushi, you indeed have full control on how your fish is to be cut.

It all depends with the type of fish you like and their availability in your area. Here are 5 basic ways of cutting sushi fish. They include;

• A rectangular cut- it’s the most common cut for all fish.
• A cube cut-for soft thick fish
• An angled cut- mostly used for nagiri
• A paper-thin cut- best suitable for some firm and white fish
• A thread-cut- for squid and thin-white fish filets.

Step 5: Wrap and Roll

• First, place an 8-ounce of water as well as 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar in the bowl to enable you dip your hands when you’ll be assembling the sushi to help keep the rice from sticking onto your hands.
• Then, cover the bamboo mat using plastic wrap so as to prevent rice from getting stuck to it.
• Place a half-sheet of the shiny side of nori down on your saran covered-bamboo mat. For an inside-out roll, you can use either sides of your nori.
• To prevent sticking, dip your hands in the mixture of vinegar and water.
• Take a small handful of sushi rice, cover the bottom with ¾ of nori sheet using thin layer of rice while you leave the top ¼ of the nori sheet to be empty. The empty section will be use to seal them together.
• Put a groove just along the rice length.
• While it depends on the recipe chosen; lay a thin-layer of vegetables/crab meat/fish in the groove just on top of the rice and on the bottom-third of your nori sheet.
• Make a groove along the length of the rice.
• You can then add a little swipe of wasabi just on top of your preferred other ingredients.
• Start rolling your sushi roll. First, put the tips of your 4 fingers on top of your sushi ingredients so as to hold them together while you keep both your thumbs slightly on the bamboo rolling mat’s back.
• Push the mat around the sushi roll until the nori top and bottom edges meets.
• Remove your fingers out from the roll and mat.
• Continue rolling your sushi mat in a circle just around the ingredients but don’t press too hard to avoid having a heavy rice log. You can use the mat to shape the sushi into a nice, long and round roll.
• Your sushi is ready now, you can set your sushi roll on a plate, you can add as many rolls as you want but first let them cool for few minutes before cutting to enable the rice as well as ingredients to stick and gel in shape
• To effectively cut your sushi roll, use a cutting board. Place on e sushi roll on the cutting board then using your sushi knife cut each roll into half, preferably cutting down and through. Thereafter, place those 2-halves above and below each other as you cut each section to get three pieces. You’ll have 6 bite-sized sushi-morsels; place your sushi on a plate. Using the same process, you can cut all your sushi rolls into bite-sized pieces.

Step 6: Eat

You can now enjoy eating your sushi rolls using chopsticks or your hands/fingers. In addition, to maximize your sushi taste, you can sparingly dip your sushi bites n soy sauce, too much of it will make the rice to fall apart and use wasabi to complement your sushi flavor. I think, this guide helps to make sushi food quickly and more tasty.