Spicy Tuna recipe!!!

So I've decided to post the recipe that I use for spicy tuna. I was going to make a video, but I don't have everything with me. 

Anyways, in the past I've been pretty exclusive to who I share this with, but I think it's better to share ;) Some chefs will keep things like these secret because it could give them some kind of upper hand. However, I was once told that: It's not about the recipe, but the hands that make it. Over time I've realized that this is very true. You could give multiple people the same recipe, but it doesn't always turn out identical.

On with the show...

When it comes to tuna, you want ground/minced tuna. You can usually find this at most Japanese markets or you can get a block of tuna and then mince it yourself. If you're using a block you want to watch out for all the sinew (that stringy white stuff.) It doesn't look good, it's hard to cut and hard to chew. Best to remove it. If you use a spoon to scrape at the meat (so that it kind of flakes away into small pieces) it's easy to pull all the sinew out. AGAIN, make sure your fish is SUSHI GRADE.

Spicy tuna mix:
5-6 large cloves garlic (minced fine)
Diced green onions (the amount should be equal to that of the garlic)
4 generous pinches of Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese chilli powder)
1/2 cup Sriracha
1/4 cup Sesame oil

Mix all of the ingredients together (leave the tuna out for now.) The oil will separate naturally so if you still see a little floating on top, that's ok. 
This recipe will yield about a cup of sauce. If that's more than you need you can always refrigerate it. (it goes great on just plain rice too.)
Take your ground tuna and gradually add the mixture. You want the tuna to be well saturated, soft and shiny. Don't be afraid of adding too much because it will eventually soak in, and by using more sauce it helps keep the tuna from drying out.

Hope you guys give this one a shot! It's very easy and if you don't have tuna around it's a great condiment for whatever you want :)

Back to Basics - Food for Thought

Sushi is becoming an extremely popular food in the US and it's spawned great creativity in the world of rolls. There are a variety of them with many ingredients and beautiful toppings. It's all very delicious, but lets not forget about the simpler things.

I really enjoy making up rolls and new "fusion" style sushi, but I admit I kind of forgot how good just simple pieces of sushi are. 
A little while ago I started some part time work at a new sushi bar. I really enjoy it there and of course I couldn't resist tasting everything. I was reminded how good just a piece of fish and some rice is. Not much to it, but with good quality fish there's not much room for improvement. Honestly, as beautiful as rolls can be, there's usually just so many components that you get lost in a vortex of textures and flavors. All together they create something good, but you have to be able to appreciate each ingredient for what it is. All these sauces and toppings you usually find in a roll just mask the taste of the fish inside. I understand that to each their own, but everyone should try to take the time to get back to the basics. 

Love the food for what it is, don't try too hard to turn it into something it isn't. 

Sushi vinegar revisited

I am doing a new post, another recipe for sushi vinegar. Again, this one is very simple, maybe even easier than the last one i posted.

I picked up another job at a Japanese Izakaya downtown and lucky for me, the chef there has been making sushi for 23 years! Yuji-san is very, very talented and I'm so excited to gain new knowledge from him, and I'll be posting it here too!

Onwards!
So you will need:
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Kombu

There are 3 numbers you should remember: 6,3,1. 6 parts vinegar, 3 parts sugar and 1 part salt.
EASY!

Combine all ingredients with a whisk and make sure everything is disolved. Don't worry about heating it up. Once everything is mixed add a piece of kombu, about the size of your hand. Now all you have to do is let it sit and you can use it the next day!

This recipe may taste saltier to some, so you can add more sugar if desired, but I think the saltiness really compliments raw fish.

Sushi Basics - California Roll

(img from California Sushi & Teriyaki)

So today I'm going to post something basic, something that I probably should have put up first to help you guys get into it quicker.

Everyone knows what a California roll is, in my mind it's like the peanutbutter & jelly of sushi, but it's simple and pretty much everyone likes it. 

For those of you who don't know, it contains:

-Crab or Kanikama (kanikama is like crab salad, usually made with mayo. Also "kani" means crab.)

-Cucumber cut into strips

-Avocado

Very simple list of ingredients. (excluding the rice, nori and sesame seeds, but that's found in pretty much all rolls.) Also there is no raw fish in this so it's an easy starting point for people who are new to eating sushi. 

You will need-

 Nori 1/2 sheet

4 oz sushi rice

Roasted sesame seeds

Avocado (2 - 3 slices)

Cucumber cut into strips

Crab/kanikama (about 2 oz)

Sushi mat

Sharp knife.

 

Remember to spread the rice over the rough side because it will better stick to the nori. You also want the rice to stay soft and fluffy, so don't press it down too hard. Once you've evenly spread the rice out, sprinkle some sesame seeds over it and then flip it over, seaweed facing you. 

Next step is pretty self explanatory. make sure all of your fillings are spread evenly across the seaweed.

Almost done! Now gently pick up the edge facing you and roll it over the fillings. You want to stop part way so that the opposite edge is still showing because that little bit will help seal the roll. You should squeeze it slightly so that everything is tight and then finally finish rolling it over so the seam is on the bottom.

After you're happy with your rolling - take the sushi mat (flat side down) and shape the roll. I usually press inwards, making the roll a bit taller and keeping the top rounded. Some people make their rolls square, others make them round. It's really up to you. You can also shape them into triangles and so on, I'll post about that later.

So finally you're going to cut your roll. Usually rolls are 8 to 10 pieces. The easiest way to get even sized pieces is to cut your roll in half, then quarters and then eighths. The actual cutting motion can be tricky for some people. It's a rocking, heel to toe motion. Heel being closest to the handle and toe being the tip of your knife.

And now you can plate it! :)

A cool little tip to make handling rice easier:

A lot of people use water on their hands, but cooking spray works great! Just spray a bit into one palm and then rub it in both hands.

Review: K1 Teck - Silicon Makisu (Sushi roller)

Hey everybody,
So this is a product I randomly stumbled upon while cruising through Hmart. I decided it would be a good idea to give it a test run. 

When making rolls it's very important to have a "maki", the bamboo mat that is used to form and actually roll your sushi (pictured on left). These aren't super hard to find and are pretty cheap. I'm seeing these more and more in stores that have any kind of Asian foods section. One thing that can be kind of annoying though is that cleaning can be difficult, between each little piece of wood and after time the string holding it together can become worn. One easy way to keep it clean is to wrap your mat in plastic wrap, but this has to be changed every so often. 

So, when I saw this product I thought it would be a good investment since it's non-stick and would be easy to clean. (not to mention the color is kinda fun.)

It totally looks like a silicon pot-holder, but I tried to look passed that. 

It's extremely flexible and, like I said earlier, it's really easy to clean. Rice doesn't stick to it at all so plastic wrap isn't necessary.

Unfortunately
Being so flexible and flimsy, it's difficult to get a firm and uniform shape. Honestly, I thought I just needed to get used to it, but it just became more annoying over time. 
Currently it's sitting all alone on the oyster station at work. 

If you see one and want to give it a try, go ahead. It was only 4.99 and it could work better for smaller rolls. If not, you got a pot-holder out of it. 

I've seen similar products that might yeild better results. There are some out there that are made from harder material. When the chance arises, I'll pick up one of those.  

Mountain Goat Roll (Vegetarian) and Palisade Wedding Expo!

During the spring/summer, Palisade held a wedding expo to display their facilities and banquet menu. It was really nice, held indoors and outdoors with a bunch of great little bites. Pictured above is the platter I made for that event as well as an awesome sculpture made by Creative Ice.

For being a vegetarian roll, it has a meaty flavor that everyone can enjoy. However, it does have goat cheese in it. 

This roll consists of:
Cucumber (Cut into strips.)
Goat cheese
Stir fried Shitake mushrooms
Avocado
Sweet chili sauce (May Ploy)

For the mushrooms:
You should remove the stems from the mushrooms and slice the caps. You want to cut about twice as much as you think you will need because they will shrink when cooked.
Heat up a pan with sesame oil and add your mushrooms. The mushrooms will soak up the oil as they cook so if it looks like it's disappearing, don't freak out. 
Next you should add a little salt and fresh ground pepper, soy sauce and white sugar. Make sure you add enough sugar so that you can taste some sweetness. 
After you've added all your ingredients keep stir frying the mushrooms. You want to cook them till they're dark and kind of dried out looking. Don't worry about frying them to death. Over cooking the mushrooms gives them a great texture and kind of a charred, meaty taste. The roll is mainly made up of very soft ingredients, so having that "toughness" balances it out. 

The mushrooms are kind of addicting. I like eating them with goat cheese on a cracker as well. 

Moving on, 
Start a roll Uramaki style (rice outside) and place the cucumber, goat cheese (putting softened cheese in a piping bag makes this easier and less messy) and mushrooms inside. Try to have an equal amount of cheese to mushrooms because the cheese can overpower the other flavors.
Once rolled, I put sliced avocado on top and then pressed it with a bamboo mat to hold things together.
Cut your roll then top with sweet chili sauce and some roasted sesame seeds.

I usually don't like vegetarian rolls (and hardly make them) but this one is a great snack and is very light. Good for anyone who doesn't really like raw fish. 

Here are some more pictures from the expo :)

OMG Roll!

So this is the OMG Roll! (pictured in back)

This roll was an adaptation of something I saw on Sushi-vids.com
Usually I'd explore the web for ideas and came across this roll which I liked very much, but thought I could add a little more to it :)

This roll is a little more advanced, but it's basically an Uramaki roll with toppings, that's then seared. If you don't have a torch, it's perfectly good left unseared as well. It's got great flavor and is like having multiple rolls in one!

OMR Roll (My version) consists of:
Avocado
Cucumber
Cream cheese (cut into strips for easier handling, or you can soften and put in a piping bag.)
Kanikama (crab mix, what you see in a California roll.)
Shrimp tempura (You can find frozen tempura at most stores that's easily heated in an oven.)
Salmon (Make sure it's sushi grade!)
Spicy mayo
Unagi sauce
Masago (optional)
Green onion
Roasted sesame seeds
Sriracha (optional)

A lot of ingredients, I know, but if you can pull it off it's worth a try :)

Since there's some much filling you want to be careful when rolling, and make sure it's completely sealed. In case any of you were wondering, the plastic wrap prevents sticking between the roll and your bamboo mat. It also keeps the toppings in place while cutting. Also be sure to use a rocking motion when cutting your rolls. It's "heel to toe" movement (Heel meaning the back end of your blade.) Making sure you use fewing motions when slicing will give you a cleaner cut, so try to avoid sawing at it if possible. 

Thanks again :)