Sushi is a great way to entertain at home – it’s fun, healthy, interactive and so easy! Read the Food & Home Guide to sushi for beginners below.
The Food & Home Entertaining’s guide to sushi for beginners
We have put together a few of the basics of sushi making so that you can ‘wow’ your guests with your newly acquired knife skills.
The basics
Rice should be sticky but not overly so; it shouldn’t be too soft or too hard; and it definitely shouldn’t have too much vinegar as this will mask the other flavours. Here are a few basic tips to remember when making sushi rice:
- Always use sushi rice. The grain is short and slightly starchy, which helps the rice become sticky once cooked.
- Wash the rice until the water runs clear.
- Use a wooden bowl when adding vinegar to the rice to avoid any chemical reactions that might occur in metal pots or bowls.
- Always keep your hands slightly wet while working with cooked sushi rice.
Sushi rice
Ingredients:
400g (2 cups) sushi rice
750ml (3 cups) water
80ml rice wine vinegar
30ml (2 tbsp) castor sugar
2,5ml (½ tsp) table salt
Method:
- Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear.
- Put the rice and the water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until the rice has cooled.
- Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a wooden bowl and stir until dissolved.
- Spread the rice over the base of a large wooden or plastic dish and drizzle with the vinegar mixture. Stir the rice until cool.
Sushi essentials
For a more authentic sushi experience, remember the following:
- Pickled ginger adds a sweet element to sushi and looks beautiful too. Pickled radish is a great alternative.
- Soy sauce: a light low-sodium soy sauce works best for dipping. Try adding a few flavour elements – 5ml (1 tsp) chopped fresh red chilli and 15ml (1 tbsp) chopped fresh coriander are delicious.
Wasabi adds a real kick and a touch of heat to sushi. Traditionally, wasabi is added to the sushi or sashimi rather than the soy sauce dipping bowl. Wasabi is available from local Asian supermarkets in a powdered format for mixing with water or ready-made in tubes.
Quick and easy prawn and wasabi stacks
Ingredients:
300g cooked and peeled prawns
2 cups cooked sushi rice
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
30ml (2 tbsp) wasabi paste
soy sauce, to serve
pickled ginger, to serve
Method:
- Line a large plastic container with plastic wrap. Thinly slice the prawns lengthways. Place a neat thin layer of prawns onto the plastic wrap.
- Spoon a layer of rice on top of the prawns. Press down with wet hands to create a flat rice layer.
- Repeat with a layer of prawns on top of the rice, followed by a thin layer of cucumber and a final layer of rice. Make sure the rice is in a flat, even layer.
- Cover the top of the rice with plastic wrap and weigh it down with bowls. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge and slice into square stacks. Serve with the wasabi paste, soy sauce and pickled ginger.
