Cucumber And Wasabi Sushi Recipes

CUCUMBER AND AVOCADO SUSHI

Steps:

• Combine the water and rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender and water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.
• Cover a bamboo sushi mat with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking. Place a sheet of seaweed over the plastic. Use your hands to spread the rice evenly onto the sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch of seaweed empty at the bottom. Arrange strips of cucumber and avocado across the center of the rice. Lift the mat and roll over the vegetables once and press down. Unroll, then roll again towards the exposed end of the seaweed sheet to make a long roll. You may moisten with a little water to help seal. Set aside and continue with remaining nori sheets, rice and fillings.
• Use a sharp wet knife to slice the rolls into 5 or 6 slices. Serve cut side up with your favorite sushi condiments.

CUCUMBER AND WASABI SUSHI

Steps:

• Cut the cucumber lengthways into four and scoop out the seeds.
• Depending on preference, slice each quarter lengthways into thick or thin strips.
• On your work bench lay out a sushi mat or cling film (you can also roll by hand - which i find much easier).
• Place a sheet of nori on your workspace shiny side down.
• Put a layer of rice on your nori leaving a gap of approx 1 inch around the sides. (how much or how little rice you put on depends on your personal preference, just beware! your roll may end up morbidly obese instead of just fat).
• On the side closest to you put a line of wasabi paste on the rice - use your finger to do this.
• Place the cucumber strips on top of the wasabi.
• Fold the nori "lip" nearest to you over and begin rolling up the sushi like a swiss roll. Everybody rolls sushi in a different way, find what works best for you.
• Gently wet the last "lip" of the nori and stick it to the outside of the rolled log.
• Roll log onto its seam and leave for a few minutes.
• Dip a sharp knife into cold water and allow the excess to drp off but do not dry.
• Slice the log into pieces, I like a 1/2 inch slice personally. Make sure you dip and drip between each cut.
• Arrange on a plate and serve with either shoyu or tzatziki.

CUCUMBER NORI ROLLS

Steps:

• Sushi Zu Preparation:
• Combine all of the ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil. Take off of the heat and allow to cool.
• Rice Preparation:
• Rice volume increases 2-2 1/2 times as it cooks. Almost all the short grain rice needs to be washed before cooking, because of the starch on the surface of each grain. If you cook rice without washing, starch makes the texture and taste less palatable. The following is the procedure to prepare rice:
• Wash rice with care, putting rice in a big bowl and washing gently with cold running water for 10 minutes. Drain rice in a big colander and dry for 20-30 minutes. Place washed rice and water into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Allow to cook for 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Place in a large bowl and pour over Sushi Zu mixture.
• Sushi Preparation:
• Place 1/2 sheet of seaweed (nori) lengthwise, shinny side down on a bamboo roller. Place approximately 3 ounces of sushi rice formed into a bar in the center of the seaweed, going lengthwise, spread rice evenly, covering entire nori except for about 1/2 inch at the top edge. Spread wasabi thinly in the center, on top of the rice, lengthwise from one and to the other. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of rice, if desired. Then place a couple strips of cut cucumber in the center to fill the length of the roll.
• Bring seaweed and rice toward you to the edge of the bamboo roller and holding the edge of the bamboo roller with one hand and, holding the cucumbers in place with the other hand, lift up the edge of the mat closest to you. Begin rolling mat away from you, rolling over the cucumber and connecting rice to rice. Then stop to make sure you still have a 1/2 inch strip of just nori left over at the top (this is what seals the roll). Lift the edge of bamboo roller slightly and roll another 1/2 inch away from you connecting the seaweed to seaweed and sealing the roll.
• Gently squeeze both sides while pressing gently down on top with both index fingers. Cut roll in half, then turn one piece around so they are parallel to one another, line them up, then cut both pieces twice, to make 6 pieces. Cut remaining rolls and serve.

SALMON & CUCUMBER SUSHI ROLLS

Steps:

• First, make the rice. Rinse the sushi rice in a colander, massaging it with your hands until the water runs clear. Leave to drain for 15 mins.
• Put the rice in a saucepan with 200ml water and the sake or mirin, if using. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 mins until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat. Set aside, covered, for 15-20 mins.
• Transfer to a large bowl. Dissolve the sugar, if using, in the vinegar with a good pinch of salt, pour over the rice and mix. Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside at room temperature until ready to use.
• Put 1 nori sheet on a bamboo mat and cover the surface with half of the cooled rice. Lay half of the salmon and cucumber slices along the length of the rice in a strip, being careful not to overfill it. Run a pea-sized blob of wasabi (more if you like it really hot) along the edge of the filling with your finger.
• Roll up tightly and squeeze to seal when you reach the end. Repeat with the remaining nori, salmon and cucumber, and more wasabi. Slice each roll into 6 pieces, and serve with extra wasabi, ginger, soy sauce and salmon roe, if you like. Will keep in the fridge for 1 day.

SIMPLE SUSHI

Steps:

• KIDS the writing in bold is for you. ADULTS the rest is for you. TO MAKE SUSHI ROLLS: Pat out some rice. Lay a nori sheet on the mat, shiny-side down. Dip your hands in the vinegared water, then pat handfuls of rice on top in a 1cm thick layer, leaving the furthest edge from you clear.
• Spread over some Japanese mayonnaise. Use a spoon to spread out a thin layer of mayonnaise down the middle of the rice.
• Add the filling. Get your child to top the mayonnaise with a line of their favourite fillings - here we've used tuna and cucumber.
• Roll it up. Lift the edge of the mat over the rice, applying a little pressure to keep everything in a tight roll.
• Stick down the sides like a stamp. When you get to the edge without any rice, brush with a little water and continue to roll into a tight roll.
• Wrap in cling film. Remove the mat and roll tightly in cling film before a grown-up cuts the sushi into thick slices, then unravel the cling film.
• TO MAKE PRESSED SUSHI: Layer over some smoked salmon. Line a loaf tin with cling film, then place a thin layer of smoked salmon inside on top of the cling film.
• Cover with rice and press down. Press about 3cm of rice over the fish, fold the cling film over and press down as much as you can, using another tin if you have one.
• Tip it out like a sandcastle. Turn block of sushi onto a chopping board. Get a grown-up to cut into fingers, then remove the cling film.
• TO MAKE SUSHI BALLS: Choose your topping. Get a small square of cling film and place a topping, like half a prawn or a small piece of smoked salmon, on it. Use damp hands to roll walnut-sized balls of rice and place on the topping.
• Make into tight balls. Bring the corners of the cling film together and tighten into balls by twisting it up, then unwrap and serve.