SUSHI in Slovenia Megumi Yoshida
What is sushi ? In Japanese cuisine, sushi is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients, including raw fish, cooked and uncooked seafood, and vegetables. Outside of Japan, sushi is sometimes misunderstood to mean the raw fish itself, or even any fresh raw seafood dishes. In Japan, sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi and is distinct from sushi, as sashimi is the raw fish component, not the rice component. There are various types of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori (dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga) called makizushi or rolls; sushi made with toppings laid with hand formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi; toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashizushi. In this book, it is written mainly about makizus.
Makizushi
p2
Nigirizushi
Chirashizushi
Makizushi
p3
Ingredients (for 5 people) Sant’ Andrea rice ... 500g
Soy Sauce
Rice vinegar
It need to be short grain rice because it need stick together.
I recomend “Kikkoman” and “Yamasa”. This brand is famous in Japan.
Rice vinegar should be used. Apple and wine vinegar are not fit in sushi.
Wasabi
Raw salmon or tuna ... about 400g
raw salmon
It can be paste or powder wasabi.
Nori ... 7 sheets
raw tuna
You can buy it on the open market. Fresh fish has clear edge, but older fish has broken shape or very wet surface. Buy it with ice, so you can bring it in cold.
Drobnjak or Green onion
Cucumber ... 1
Sesame ... some
Salt / Sugar / Oil
It is dried and pressed layer sheets of seaweed or alga.
Eggs ... 2
p4
Japanese ingredients .... You can buy it in Zrno do zrna, Kalcek and Maximarket.
How do i know which is good fish? When you buy. Good fish : It has clear shape clear edge, not getting the parts. Bad fish : The layer of fish is getting a part. Tired shape. Wet surface. Not good smell. Advice : You can get good fish on the open market in Ljubljana. Ask some ice also when you buy it, so you can bring it home in cold.
When you prepare the fish. Good fish : It is difficult to take out the bones and skin, because it sticks with fish strongly. Bad fish : It will be too easy to take out the bones and skin. You better cook it for using in sushi. When you eat fish itself. (You can recognize with taste too.) Good fish : It has good taste. Bad fish : It has strange taste and smell. You should not swallow. Advice : Good fish can stay for 1- 2 days in the fridge.
Trying the fish taste
What will happen when you eat bad fish? If you eat old fish, you might feel sick. With very old fish which has bad bacteria grown, you will have strong stomach pain and feel vomit. Try wasabi or Japanese tea immediately. You should careful about following advice too. 1. Keep the fish always in cold. 2. Wash your hands, dishes and tools carefully which touched raw fish.
p5
Equipment
Pot for cooking the rice
Pincette
Soup spoon (tablespoon)
The pot need 2/3 empty space when you start cooking the rice, because the rice become 3 times bigger.
It is for taking bones out from the fish. If you don’t have it, use your hands.
We use soup spoon which you use for eating soup. We measure vinegar, sugar and salt with this.
Big mixing plate
Bamboo mat
Roasting plate is useful. It is for mixing the rice with sauce.
You can buy it as table mat in the kitchen shop.
Knife
Flat mixing spoon
It mast be sharp for cutting the fish smooth.
p6
Fan
Anything flat is okay. It is for cooling the rice down.
Preparing the rice ( before cooking the rice)
Wash 500g of rice.
Leave the rice in cold water at least half hour. (It is necessarily for making softer rice)
Cooking the rice
rice 550ml water
Put the rice without water in a pot. Add 550ml of water.
Cover the pot and cook with biggest fire till it start boiling hard. It takes about 7 minutes.
Bigest fire
When the rice starts to boil, make fire smallest and continue cookeing till the rice soaks all the water. It takes about 6 more minutes. (Do not open the pot too often and never mix inside.) Smallest fire
p7
When there is no more water, turn off the fire and wait for 15 minutes “ without opening the pot�. Wait for 15 minutes
Making a sauce for the rice
rice vinegar sugar salt
During the cooking rice , make sauce for the rice. Mix those ingredients in a pot... 6 soup spoon of rice vinegar 4,5 soup spoon of sugar 1 soup spoon of salt. Warm it till sugar melts completely. (Do not boil it because vinegar evaporates.)
Soup spoon = The tablespoon which you use for eating soup. 1 spoon means not fully on the spoon but flat surface on top.
Mixing the rice and sauce Tools you need.
Big mixing plate
p8
Flat spoon (make wet)
Fan for making wind
Towel (make wet and wring)
Open the pot and put the rice out on the big plate. (The rice should be still warm in this process)
sauce
Sprinkle the sauce on the rice.
Mix the rice with sauce. (Do not mix too much because the rice become too sticky.)
Make wind on the rice for second for unnecessary vinegar steam to go away.
Cover the rice with wet towel for not dry and wait till it cool down to body temperature.
p9
Chopping the chives (or long green onions)
Chop the chives (or long green onions) very thin.
Cutting cucumber
Peel out the skin.
Cut into 1cm sticks.
Baking the eggs
Put those in a bowl... 2 eggs 1,5 soup spoon of sugar 1/16 soup spoon of salt then mix it.
Fry with oiled pan both side.
Cut into 1cm wide sticks.
p10
Soup spoon = The tablespoon which you use for eating soup. 1 spoon means not fully on the spoon but flat surface on top.
Burning the sesame
Burn the sesame till it slightly burned.
Cutting the fish (salmon) Tools you need.
Sharp knife
Cutting board
pincette
dishes
Take out the bones with pincetter or fingers.
like shaving
Peel the skin away.
p11
Clean with water or wet kitchen towel.
Cut into half against the pattern.
Cut into thin slice.
Keep it in the fridge with coverd.
‘ Cutting the fish (tuna)
Cut the tuna into thin slice against the pattern.
Keep it in the fridge (if you don’t use it immediately).
p12
Rolling the sushi Settle on the table : Nori, bamboo mat, water (It’s for wet the hands), and everything which you prepared in - . If the rice is womre than body temperature, you sould cool down. Because it is not good to roll with row fish. You can cool down with cold water.
Raw salmon or tuna
Cucumber
bamboo mat
Prepare the Nori on bamboo mat. Longer side of nori will fits with front edge of bamboo mat. Fit the nori and bamboo mat.
2cm
Make the hands wet with water. Place the rice very thin on Nori. Leave the space in last edge. (This last edge is for sticking Nori together later.)
Side view p13
Lay the fillings in a horizontal : fish, egg, cucumber, chives and sesame. (You can find your favorite combination as well.) fillings
fish
egg
cucumber
chive (green onion)
sesame
Hold the front edge with first 2 fingers. Then place middle fingers on fillings and roll till the end of the rice.
Hold and press firmly until you form the rolling shape.
Leave last space of Nori
Put water at last edge of Nori.
Roll till the end.
p14
Cut Sushi with wet knife. Clean the knife with wet towel each time when it gets sticky.
Place on the dish.
Ready
Soy sauce and Wasabi
Memo: If you don’t eat immediately, keep it in the fridge with covered. It can stay till next day.
p15
Questions and Answers
p16
Where the sushi come from?
China Japan
Southeast Asia
In 4th century BC in Southeast Asia, people were preserving the fish with salt and fermented rice. At the end of fermentation proces (couple of month) only the fish was consumed while the rice was discarded.
This technique of preserving the fish first spread to China, then later, around the 8th century AD it came to Japan. In Japan fish was eaten together with rice and sushi became more of a cuisine than just a way to preserve food.
Rice
Fish
Nigirizushi
Makizushi
Later in 17th century the rice vinegar was introduced as a way to preserve fish and add taste to the rice. Also at that time vagetables and other dried preserved foods were added to the mix.
In 19th century nigirizushi (hand formed sushi) was invented by chief in Edo city (Tokyo was called Edo at that time). The nigirizushi quickly became famous fast food. Makizushi (rolled sushi) was invented in Osaka around that same time.
After the big earthquake in 1923 many skilled chiefs from Edo lost their restaurants and in searching for job spred the sushi all over japan.
p17
What else can i put in rolled sushi? You can use almost any vegetables, fish, seafood and meat.
Avocado
Cut into sticks and sprinkle lomon juice.
salt
Carot, Red radish
Cut into sticks.
Boil with salted water till it become softer.
Water ... 200ml Sugar ... 2.5 soup spoon Soy sauce ... 2 soup spoon
Any mushroom
Slice into 1cm fat.
Boil it with those ingredients till it is cooked.
Water ... 200ml Sugar ... 2 soup spoon Soy sauce ... 2.3 soup spoon Ginger ... some slice
Fish, Seafood, Meat
p18
Mix those ingredients in a pot, warm till sugar melt completely.
Fry seafood with oiled pan, add some sauce to make better taste.
Which Soy Sauce is good? I recommend Japanese soy sauce “Kikkoman” and “Yamasa” because of better taste. It sells in Mercator and Zrno Do Zrna. You can try and fined your favorite as well.
“Kikkoman”
“Yamasa”
Which part of Tuna do you use for sushi? You can use any part of tuna. Most of time, i see red part of tuna in Slovenian fish market. It is famous that fatty portion of tuna belly is most valuable for making sushi in Japan. It calls Otoro in sushi restaurant and many times most expensive in recipe. It taken from around the stomach of tuna, only about 15% of hall tuna body. It has right pink color and has white stripe. Next valuable portion is under the skin. It called Tyutoro (medium fat). It has dark pink color. Last part of tuna is center of the tuna. It called Akami (low fat). It has dark red or red color.
O-toro (high-fat)
Chu-toro (medium fat)
Akami (Low fat)
p19
Which fish can i use for sushi? In Japan, we use almost any kind of raw fish and sea food because it’s easy to get it in good quality. But in Slovenia, it is not the same. You can easily use fillet from sea fish which is like : Tuna, Salmon, Common dentex (Zobatec), Norway redfish (Rdeci okun), Greater amberjack (Gof) and Marbled rockfish (Bodika ali Skarpena). But make sure that it is good quality (not old one). The fish which has head and bones are difficult to cut off. You need the technique to use it. The seafood which is better to cook are Octopus, Squid, Shrimp and Lobster, because it is faster to get older and i don’t see good quality in Slovenia. If you fined in good quality, you can use it raw without problem. You also better to cook river fish, because it can has parasites (parazitov) in higher percentage. Following fish are from Slovenian fish market.
It is easy to use
Rumenoplavuti tun Tuna
Mecarica Swordfish
Losos file Salmon fillet
Zobatec file Common dentex
Gof Greater amberjack
Kovac file John dory
Rdeci okun file Norway redfish
Skarpena file Marbled rockfish
You need technique for cutting off
Zobatec Common dentex
p20
Orada Gilthead sea bream
List Sole/Flatfish
List jadranski Adriatic sole
Bodika ali Skarpena Marbled rockfish
Kovac John dory
Ovcica White steenbras
You better cook
Brancin European seabass
Skusa Atlantic mackerel
Morska spaka Angler
Ugor ali Gruj European conger
Oslic Hake
Sardela Anchovy
Bradac Goatfish Striped mullet
Hobotnica Octopus
Sipe Cuttlefish
Ligenj Squid
Kozice Shrimp
Grebenasta pokrovaca Pecten maximus
River fish (You need cook)
Potocna postrv Brown trout
Nilski ostriz file Nile perch
Scuka Esox
Sarenka postrv Rainbow trout
p21
What kind of sushi can we eat in the restaurant? Raw
MAGURO Red portion of tuna
TORO Fatty portion of tuna belly
TAI Red snapper
IKA Squid
MIRUGAI Giant clam
AWABI Abalone
HAMACHI Yellowtail
HIRAME Flatfish
AMAEBI Sweet shrimp
SABA Mackerel
UNI Sea urchin
IKURA Salmon roe
Cooked
EBI Shrimp
UNAGI Eel
KANI Crab
ANAGO Sea eel
SAKE Smoked salmon
TAKO Octopus
TAMAGO Egg
Rolled
MAKIZUSHI rolled sushi
p22
URAMAKIZUSHI inside-out rolled sushi (California roll)
HOSOMAKIZUSHI Thin rolled sushi
TEMAKIZUSHI Cone shaped roll
How to make nigirizushi (hand formed sushi)? You need those ingredients.
Sushi rice
Wasabi
Sliced fish
Wasabi
Water
Make rice ball with wet hands. Put a little bit of wasabi on sliced fish. Fish
Rice
Place fish on the rice ball. Wasabi comes between fish and rice.
Hold gently the rice and fish together. (It is for fitting the rice and fish together.)
Ready. Memo : Sushi chef from restaurant use more difficult technique for making nigirizushi. On this book, i introduce easy way.
p23
Longer side
How to make inside-out roll?
Cut a nori sheet half.
Turn to the other side plastic wrap and nori together. (so the top is nori, doun is wrap.)
Place it on bamboo mat.
Place some fillings on nori horizontally.
Place rice fully on nori. (You don’t need make space)
Hold bamboo mat and nori together, and roll. Sprinkle sesame on the rice.
Cover a plastic wrap on the rice.
p24
Hold and press firmly until you form the rolling shape.
Make round shape with rolling motion.
Take out from bamboo mat and unwrap the plastic wrap.
Cut with wet sharp knife.
Ready.
p25
How to make cone shaped sushi (Temakizushi)?
Longer side
Temakizushi is usually served as ingredients and rice separately so you can roll by yourself with your favorite toppings. You roll Temakizushi with your hands and eat it immediately. We see this stile often at the party.
Cut a nori sheet into half.
Take some rice (not to much) and shape it as triangle on the left side of nori.
Place the fillings on the rice.
Roll left side of nori first.
Then finish rolling right side. Eat immediately with soy sauce.
p26
How do you make pickled ginger “Gari� ? Ginger ............2 pieces (For sauce) rice vinegar ...50ml sugar ...............4 soup spoon salt ..................1/6 soup spoon Remove the skin of ginger. Slice the ginger with peeler. Boil it with salted boiled water for 10 minutes. Shake the water out from ginger. Mix rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pot and worm it till sugar melt completely. (do not boil it) Put ginger and sauce together in a bottle. When the bottle cool down, keep in the fridge for 2-5 days to pickled. It can stay about 3 months. *If the peeler is old, it is difficult to peel a lot of ginger, try with new one.
How to make miso soup. (Simple way) For 2 people Water ...................... 300ml Miso ......................... 1 full soup spoon Soy sauce ............... half soup spoon Dried mushroom ..... some Nori .......................... 1/4 sheet Rice noodle (option) ... some
rice noodle water
dried mushroom Nori
soy sauce
miso
Boil the water with miso, soy sauce, dried mushroom, nori and rice noodle. When the rice noodle get softer, turn off the fire. Pour the soup in the dish.
Memo : You can use many different ingredients for miso soup like: tofu, chopped vegetables and fish. We use dried little fishes for making miso soup in Japan. But I don't fined it easily in Slovenia so I use nori and mushroom instead of dried fishes. Miso : It is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus, the most typical miso being made with soy. p27
Can pregnant woman eat sushi? Pregnant women can eat sushi with vegetables or cooked fish but it’s better not to eat raw fish. In Japan people take a lot of care for keeping the fish fresh, but outside Japan raw fish can contain to much bacteria and it’s not apropriate for pregnant woman.
How long it takes for making sushi? It takes about 2.5-3 hour except time for soaking the rice. It is good idea to start cooking the rice before preparing another ingredients because rice takes time to cool down.
Ingredients for another amount of people. If you want to cook the rice more than 1500g, you should make in 2 turns. Because the rice will be uncooked upper part.
p28
2 people (28sushi)
5 people (56sushi)
8 people (84sushi)
Rice Water
250g 275ml
500g 550ml
750g 825ml
p7
Vinegar Sugar Salt
3 soup spoon (30ml) 2.2 soup spoon (20g) 1/2 soup spoon (8g)
6 soup spoon (60ml) 4.5 soup spoon (40g) 1 soup spoon (17g)
9 soup spoon (90ml) 6.7 soup spoon (60g) 1,5 soup spoon (25g)
p8
Chive Cucumber
some half
some 1
some 1
Egg Sugar Salt
2 1,5 soup spoon (12g) 1/16 soup spoon (1g)
2 1,5 soup spoon (12g) 1/16 soup spoon (1g)
p10 3 2,2 soup spoon (18g) 1/10 soup spoon (1.5g)
Sesame Fish
25g 200g
50g 400g
75g 600g
p11
Nori
4
7
11
p13
Soy sauce Wasabi
some some
some some
some some
p15
p10
Where can i get Japanese ingredients in Ljubljana? Zrno Do Zrna n: Trubarjeva Cesta 8 t: 01-430-55-55
Kalcek n: Trubarjeva 28 n: Smartinska 152, BTC, Hala 9 t: 01-523-35-82 w: www.kalcek.com
Maximarket n: Trg republike 1 t: 01-476-68-00 w: www.maxi.si
Where can i get good fish? Ribja Trznica (fish open market in center)
E. Leclerc n: Jurckova cesta 225 t: 01-42 04-100 w: www.e-leclerc.si
11 people (112sushi)
14 people (140sushi)
17 people (168sushi)
Rice Water
1000g 1100ml
1250g 1375ml
1500g 1650ml
Vinegar Sugar Salt
12 soup spoon (120ml) 15 soup spoon (150ml) 9 soup spoon (80g) 11.2 soup spoon (100g) 2 soup spoon (34g) 2.5 soup spoon (42g)
18 soup spoon (180ml) p8 13.5 soup spoon (120g) 3 soup spoon (51g)
Chive Cucumber
some 1
some 1.5
p10
Egg Sugar Salt
3 3 2,2 soup spoon (18g) 2.2 soup spoon (18g) 1/10 soup spoon (1.5g) 1/10 soup spoon (1.5g)
4 3 soup spoon (24g) 1/8 soup spoon (2g)
p10
Sesame Fish
100g 800g
125g 1000g
150g 1200g
p11
Nori
14
18
21
p13
Soy sauce Wasabi
some some
some some
some some
p15
some 1.5
p7
p29
Megumi Yoshida Sushi lesson, Sushi party Phone number : 031-597-713 E-mail : megulandia@gmail.com Blog : www.megulandia.blogspot.com
Version 25 25 / Sep / 2010