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How to make great sushi at home
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April 18th, 2007 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
It's possible to make sushi at home, even in Prague. Using plastic wrap, roll a spoon of sticky rice in your palm.
VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Next, wrap the star ingredient, fish or other items, around the rice and compress again, using the plastic wrap.
VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
And that's it — not traditional sushi, but still very good.
Have you ever had sushi in Prague? You were probably shocked at how much you paid for tiny portions. I can tell you how to make sushi at home that will cost about 200 Kč ($10) for four servings. And I guarantee it will taste better and fresher than much of what you find in local restaurants.
EASY TEMARI SUSHI

Serves four
Ingredients:
2 cups (4.7 deciliters) sushi rice
Juice of 3 lemons
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 slices smoked salmon
4 slices Prosciutto ham
1/4 ripe avocado
For the garnish:
Sesame seeds
Italian parsley
Lumpfish caviar
For the dipping sauce:
Japanese soy sauce
Wasabi
Preparation:
Rinse rice until the water becomes clear. Soak in 400 ml of cold water for 15 minutes, then cook in a covered pan.
When water is completely absorbed, remove pan from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
While the rice is cooling, prepare fresh lemon juice by combining the juice, sugar and salt. If the lemon is cold, not much juice will come out. In that case, put the lemon in a microwave and heat for 15 seconds.
Put the rice in a bowl and mix with lemon juice. Cool the rice to room temperature as you're mixing it, preferably by having someone else fan the mixture as you stir it (a copy of The Prague Post will do nicely as a fan).
Place a sheet of plastic wrap on your palm. Put a large spoonful of rice on it and use the plastic wrap to shape the rice into a ball. Unwrap the ball, put a slice of smoked salmon on it, and compress again. Transfer the ball to a plate and garnish with sesame seeds.
Repeat the procedure with the Prosciutto ham and avocado.
Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

Whether you’re making norimaki (rolled in seaweed) or temari or nigiri (ball-shaped) sushi, it’s important to use the right type of rice. The grains must stick together otherwise the sushi will fall apart when you pick it up, especially if you’re using chopsticks.
To make it hold together you need sticky, short-grained rice, which is difficult though not impossible to find in Prague supermarkets. It’s often labeled “sushi rice” on the package. However, you’ll find a better selection of rice at Japanese grocery stories. There is a good one called JAPA in Prague 6 (Puškinovo nám. 10, Prague 6–Bubeneč, tel. 233 320 629). Not all the rice sold there is from Japan, but it’s all suitable for sushi.
If it’s easier to get risotto rice (Arborio) or Spanish rice, you can use those, too. The former is from Italy, with grains that are shorter but thicker, and the latter is for paella. If you use either of these, soak the rice in cold water for 30 minutes before you cook it.
I know that some health-conscious people prefer brown rice, but it’s not very good for making sushi. Since brown rice is not husked, the shell traps the starch and prevents it from holding the grains together. If you really need to use brown rice, mix 1/3 cup (1.6 deciliters) of Thai sticky rice (available at Vietnamese grocery stores) with 1 2/3 cup brown rice. And remember that brown rice takes longer to cook. I usually soak it in water for at least six hours first.
This is not the classic Japanese recipe for sushi, which uses rice vinegar instead of lemon juice. But rice vinegar is difficult to find here — and many Westerners don’t like the smell. Lemon juice adds a fresh citrus flavor.
Itadakimasu! (Bon appetit!)
Tokyo native Futaba Tanaka is a food enthusiast who frequently entertains at home.


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