Sushi may be the most exotic food you order when you dine out, but it’s also a fun project to make at home. Although it’s a challenge to find pristine-quality fish and the sanitary conditions you need to make raw-fish sushi, you can prepare an easy variation. Start with precooked baby shrimp or smoked-salmon strips, add thin slices of your favorite vegetables, and you have the start to an elegant dish.
To add to your culinary pleasure, accompany the sushi with wine.
“We always think of beer or saki [with sushi],” says Mick Schroeter, winemaker with Geyser Peak Winery in Sonoma County, Calif.
Beer can be very filling, which doesn’t bring balance to the sushi dish. Saki isn’t that popular in the U.S. Wine, however, goes with everything, according to Mr. Schroeter.
He recommends sauvignon blanc as an appropriate match. “Sushi is lighter fare; sauvignon blanc is lighter, too. You don’t want a heavy wine with a light food, or the reverse,” he says.
The complex combination of flavors in sushi also makes sauvignon blanc a good companion. “Sushi is challenging because you have the saltiness and spiciness of wasabi,” a pungent root vegetable that’s shredded and served as a condiment, “and the fattiness of the fish. Sauvignon blanc works well with all three components,” Mr. Schroeter says.
Once you have the wine suggestion in hand, plan your recipe. You’ll need sheets of nori, which is a sea vegetable, and sushi rice, which is short-grain Japanese rice. Japanese grocery stores, plus most natural-food supermarkets and many conventional ones, sell these ingredients.
The technique is easy. Cook the rice and flavor it with sweetened vinegar. As the rice cools, it becomes very sticky. Dampen your hands so the rice doesn’t stick and gently spread a thin rice layer over the nori.
When you think about a filling, keep color and texture in mind. Choose ingredients with eye appeal. The ingredients should be tender so you’re not struggling with the sushi when you bite into it. The proportion should be an appealing balance between rice and filling. As you become more adept at rolling up the rice-filled nori sheets, you may prefer to reduce the amount of rice you use and add more smoked salmon.
Smoked salmon rolls
½ cup sushi rice
Water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 sheet nori, 7 by 8 inches
2 ounces smoked salmon, cut in strips
5 or 6 steamed sugar snap peas
Dipping sauce (follows)
Place rice in fine sieve. Place under running cold water and rinse well.
Combine rice and 3/4 cup water in a small pot. Bring to a boil. Stir once. Cover with tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, combine rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a very small pot. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar dissolves, about 30 seconds. Don’t let vinegar evaporate. You also can combine the ingredients in a microwave-safe cup.
Microwave on high for 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Stir vinegar mixture into rice, scraping up any rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot. Set aside to cool.
Place the nori on a clean board. The 7-inch side should be vertical in front of you. Dampen your hands and spread rice on nori, thinly covering the sheet and leaving ½-inch clear on all sides. Place smoked salmon along the bottom, making a line along the 8-inch width of the nori.
Cut each sugar snap pea lengthwise in half to make thin strips. Place the strips over the salmon. Gently but firmly roll up the nori from bottom to top. Gently pat the roll to evenly fill the nori. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 6 slices. Turn the slices rice-filling side up on a serving platter. Serve with dipping sauce. Makes 2 servings.
DIPPING SAUCE:
2 tablespoons sodium-reduced soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Combine ingredients in a bowl. Stir well to dissolve sugar.
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