Simple sushi rolls

Really good sushi is, well, really good. What makes really good sushi? Well, of course the fish has to be of good quality and fresh. And too, it has to be seasoned just right. And it has to be freshly made, so the nori--that is, the seaweed wrapping--remains crisp.

Now, you'll notice I don't specify sashimi-grade fish here. If you can get that, then by all means go nuts. But for the average person, any nice piece of fish will do the job. The term 'sashimi-grade' fish refers to how the fish was killed and stored. It's perfectly okay to use regular fish for sushi or sashimi. Indeed, I suspect many of the cheap sushi places around wouldn't use the expensive, sashimi-grade stuff.

I use salmon because raw salmon is one of my favourite things in the world. Feel free to use about anything else. If the fishmonger is telling you his tuna is really good today, then yeah, go for that instead. Anyway, with the salmon, I don't buy those cutlets. I get a fillet and pin bone it using a pair of tweezers. Invest in a dedicated pair of tweezers for pin-boning fish if you haven't already, as doing it by hand is a real pain.

To begin, steam some jasmine rice as normal. For a enough sushi for two people, I used two thirds of a cup of jasmine rice to just under one and a third cup of water. I added a little salt and brought it to a boil slowly, then dropped the heat and covered for twenty minutes. At the ten minute mark, I turned the heat off altogether. At the end of the twenty minutes, I removed the lid and fluffed it with a fork, before slowly adding some pre-mixed sushi seasoning (I picked up Mizkan brand from the local oriental grocer and it seemed okay), tasting and stirring as I went. I left the rice to cool while I prepared everything else.

I slice the fish about a centimetre thick. Too thin and it'll fall apart. I also julienned a spring onion and poured a little light soy sauce into a Chinese tea cup. Once the rice was about body temperature (about 37*C), I placed a sheet of nori on the bamboo sushi mat I'd picked up for all of a dollar. On top of the nori, I smeared a fairly thin layer of rice, although I left part bare.

Next, I layed, end to end, strips of spring onion. Then I took my finger and dipped it in the soy sauce. I smeared the sauce in a very thin film on one side of the fish. Be careful with soy sauce--use too much and you'll destroy the lovely flavour of the fish. Using your (clean) finger tip is perhaps the best way of applying it in this situation. I played the fish, soy side down, next to the slivers of spring onion. I put a few dots of wasabi paste on top of the fish. Never combine wasabi and soy sauce. And be sparing with the wasabi--people can add more later if they want, but if you use too much in the beginning you'll overpower the flavour of the fish. Finally, roll the sushi. Some people claim to have had trouble with this part, but for me it seemed simple enough. So long as you don't over pack it or use too much rice, you'll be fine. Eat as soon as possible, as it won't be long before the nori goes soggy.