How-To Make Sushi at ShopRite, Slingerlands

Masaharu Morimoto

I tried to get this blog out before I went to Florida but in the mix of packing and getting excited about Disney World I wasn’t able to. Also, based on how many directions my brain was in, I assume the blog wouldn’t have been that great.

Anyway, for those of you who were able to join me at ShopRite Slingerlands the beginning of the month, thank you so much! I appreciate it! I saw a few familiar faces and I’m so grateful for your support for my first ever demonstration. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, you should check out my blog/Facebook a little more because I couldn’t stop talking about it. Earlier this month, I had the honor of being able to do a sushi demonstration at the new ShopRite. I made a salmon avocado

roll, a vegetable roll and a plain avocado roll all with ingredients found at ShopRite. You were able to taste the rolls as well as win some of the ingredients to help you make sushi when you got home.

Along with my business card, I handed out a pamphlet with instructions on how to make the sushi yourself at home. Sushi in the very basic sense is vegetables and/or fish wrapped in seaweed and rice held together by rice vinegar. Most people think that all sushi is made with fish and that’s not the case and even in terms of sushi with fish, not all the fish is raw so each kind is worth a try! The two kinds of sushi rolls I made were futomaki and hosomaki. Futomaki rolls are sushi rice and many fillings in a layer of seaweed (nori) and hosomaki is only one filling and rice wrapped in seaweed (nori). There is specific sushi rice, so make sure you have the right kind. Using other rice will change the overall consistency and change how the roll sticks together.

To make sushi, first you have to get some ingredients together: Rice Wine Vinegar, Sushi Rice, Bamboo mat (or towel and plastic wrap), Unsalted, Dried Layered Seaweed Sheets (Nori), Salt, what you want to fill your sushi with & optional items are Wasabi, Pickled Ginger and Soy Sauce. I had a few ingredients left after the ShopRite demonstration so I recreated it with pictures to help you better understand how to do it, if you missed the demo.

1. Sushi rice is made about the same as regular rice. Wash 2 cups of rice in a mixing bowl and wash until water poured off is clear. Place the 2 cups of rice into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered and when it begins to boil, reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes.
2. While the rice is cooking, wash your vegetables and seafood and on a cutting board, cut them length wise into skinny strips. This will make it easier to roll your sushi after you’ve filled the rice
3. When the rice has finished cooking, wash it until the water is clear and put it in a dish
4. Add about two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar to every two cups of rice you made, instead of stirring and breaking up the shape and consistency, slice it into the rice.
5. Place seaweed (nori) on your bamboo mat. Most seaweed in packages is too large and must be cut in half to be the right size. If you don’t have a bamboo mat, lay the seaweed on a towel covered in a layer of plastic wrap. The only benefit of the bamboo is that it takes away some of the moisture of the rice and allows for a tighter roll.
6. In the seaweed, about 75% of the seaweed; spread your rice with the back of a spoon or a rice paddle. Place your sliced ingredients at the top of the seaweed closest to you.
7. Begin to roll your bamboo mat or towel/plastic wrap over the ingredients. After each roll, squeeze your fingertips on the map to seal. Be careful to not roll your mat into the rice, you roll it more so by folding it over than rolling it in. It’s a hard motion to explain or take a picture of but you seal the roll by first squeezing under and pressing lightly on top.
8. Once rolled, slice roll into as many pieces as you want. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce. Enjoy! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email 518BitesNSights@gmail.com or on Twitter @518BitesNSights