This adorable old Japanese woman is 84 years old, and has been making nori maki since she was a little girl. Here she shows how to make saikuzushi, or festival sushi. This is considered an art form where rice is tinted different colors, sectioned off and rolled. When it is sliced, complex images are created. They say in this story that in that area, if a girl can’t make more than three of these rolls, she can’t marry!
Making saikuzushi is really hard, I have tried a couple of times and just gotten frustrated and the patterns have turned out looking nothing like art. I guess it takes a lot of practice. Good thing I am already married! 
Here everyone are invited to “be a part of sushi history and win fantastic prizes!” To take part in the contest you to come up with an idea for a new kind of sushi that includes vinegared sushi rice. Your entry will be judged by the Seven Sushi Samurai based on the criteria of taste, presentation and originality.
Now this is the way that sushi instructions should be handed down. Instead of on a computer or through a video, having a good friend that sits down and hand draws for you really how to do it, illustrating it even, so to make it a collectable work of art. One is of making different types of nigiri and maki sushi and the other is of how to make sushi rice. They are just so inspiring!
Miso is one of the main ingredients in Japanese cooking. Miso contains a lot of protein and are used as a base ingredient in many types of dishes such as sauces, dressing in addition to Miso soup. Traditionally, miso soup should be at eaten at the end of the meal and not at the start as many Westernes seems to do. Dashi is the soup base to which miso is added to make the miso soup. The final contents of the miso soup depend on the season and family recipe. This one contains a primary and secondary dashi.
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Preparation: (Serve 4)
- 3 1/2 cups primari dashi or secondary dashi
- 1/2 inch cubes of tofu (bean curd)
- 4 tbsp white miso
- 4 tbsp green onion
- 1 ounce dried seaweed (wakama)
In proper sushi bars in Japan there are often no menus at all. There is usually just a list of fish on the wall telling you what are the recommended fish that day. You can then sit down at the sushi bar and leave it up to the chef saying “omakase onegaishimasu” (お任せお願いします).
This tradition is not very common in Norway, so I did not really know how to behave when doing this. It was my goal for the LA trip to learn and appreciate the tradition of leaving my food choices up to the one behind the sushi bar. It was a bit scary but worthwhile experience!
Proper maintenance of your Japanese knives will ensure a lifetime of enjoyment. Here are some tips that will help keep your knives in good shape.
Cleaning your Japanese and Sushi Knives
Keeping your Japanese knives spotless is just as important as sharpening them. Apply cleanser on a sponge or wet cloth to clean and polish. You may want to use a little brush on the joint area where the blade and handle are connected. Pour hot water on both sides of the sushi knife to disinfect it. Do not use bleach. Use a clean dry cloth to wipe and dry it. For less frequently used knives, apply oil very thinly after the knives are sharpened, cleaned and dried. Wrap the knives individually with desiccant and paper towels or newspapers.
I found this beautiful sushi website the other day! This girl, Allison, makes wonderful sushi at home and shares her recipes with the rest of us. You should go and check it out. She writes about it in detail and takes great pictures of it. I get hungry every time I go there! She is the one that says that every day is a sushi day! We so agree…
I gathered some links to some recipes that I will try myself… Mmmmmm.
I am going back to school… More exact - I am going to take a class on basic sushi at the California Sushi Academy! According to the website, this is what I am in for:
“This course is a hands-on class for anyone with love of sushi and big appetite. Come as individuals or groups for fun Saturday morning of sushi making. Learn how to make cucumber rolls, California rolls, rainbow rolls and spicy tuna hand rolls. Best part is that you get to enjoy them all at the end of the class. The course covers how to prepare sushi rice, how to make cucumber roll, California roll, rainbow roll and spicy tuna hand roll.”
Well, I will tell you how it goes, and also try to document my hopefully steep learning curve…
Ahh. I wish we had TV-shows like this! This Japanese originated TV-show “Iron Chef” has it’s first sushi battle in their Kitchen Stadium. Edo style sushi chef Keiji Nakazawa vs. Iron Chef Japanese Masahara Morimoto. Fascinating! I love the actor guys facial expressions and his American voice over…
Making the Sushi I
See the rest of the post for the other parts of the program.
>> Continue reading ‘Great Sushi Competition - The Iron Chef’
Especially if you are a novice and need to read an articles about how to eat sushi (I am, I admit that) then it is very important that you learn how to choose a good sushi bar. I feel like I have met so many people that say they hate sushi, and when they tell me their experience, it has been with picking up cold, old sushi at a corner store or going to a all you can eat sushi place where everything is greasy and the fish is just sloppy. None of which you should really do. Not at least until you know there are also something called good sushi out there.
I think it is really sad to think that these people cannot enjoy sushi because of they had this bad first experience. Here are some pointers that I have found in choosing a good sushi restaurant. Doing this blog and having to eat at almost all of Oslo’s good and bad sushi places has given me some insight into spotting good and bad ones. Unfortunately we don’t have many good ones.
Going into a sushi bar to have sushi for the first time might be scary. But you should aslo think that it is about having fun and that it is an experience you will treasure. This is how I go about it, and even being so much into it like I am, I feel like I am learning something new about it all the time!
I was asked to put up a post on how you actually behaved in a sushi bar. I am not an expert, so I needed some help in this. I found some websites that I found good, in addition to looking up some of my Japanese books on the subject.
Eating using chopsticks is common in some parts of the sushi experience. Or more correctly - the sashimi experience. Many people say that using chopsticks eating nigiri sushi actually is wrong and that you should use your hands. If you still choose to use chopsticks, the sushi chef will pick up on this and have to press your nigiri sushi rice harder than he would have if you were using your hands as you are supposed to. The nigiri sushi is supposed to just dissolve and melt in your mouth almost without having to chew it… mmmmm.
Some tips on how to make your own rainbow roll at home. It just looks soo easy…
Genmaicha (玄米茶, “brown rice tea”) is the Japanese name for green tea combined with roasted brown rice.
It is sometimes referred to as “popcorn tea” because a few grains of the rice pop during the roasting process and resemble and taste like popcorn! This type of tea was originally drunk by poor Japanese, as the rice served as a filler and reduced the price of the tea; today it is drunk by all segments of society and is my favourite kind of japanese tea. Its flavor is mild and agreeable and combines the fresh grassy flavor of green tea with the nutty flavor of the rice. (Source: Wikipedia)
>> Continue reading ‘How to make Genmaicha (brown rice tea)’
Noel from RAW and Okane in Spokane shows you how to make a spicy tuna roll.
Mmmm. Gonna go and make myself some rolls now.
