Basic Homemade Sushi

It's been a long time since I've managed to post anything, which doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking. I've just been too busy to write up the recipes and more recently, not had a camera to hand to get a photo. However, now that summer is nearly on us and there is more daylight, I'll hopefully get more done.

This weekend I had a second attempt at making sushi. My first attempt worked quite well, but I only made simple Maki the first time around and I wanted to get a little more adventurous and make inside-out rolls (California Rolls or Sakamaki). I didn't go too far out of my way to source quality fish, partly because it was only my second attempt and I didn't want to make a mess with a nice piece of raw tuna or salmon. So, I just went for some cheap smoked salmon and crab sticks along with avocado and cucumber (which tasted fine, but not as nice as raw tuna). Next time, I'm going to go a travel a bit further for some nice fish, and probably do some Nigiri and some of the other more advanced rolls.

I'm not going to go into detail about how to make these as I learnt most about how to make sushi at home from imakesushi.com, which provides easy to follow instructions, with photos of each step in the process. There are other websites too, but I spent more time going back to this one while making mine. The only thing I would say is that it's probably best not putting the wasabi into the rolls as I know a number of people who simply don't like it, so having it on the side as an option is a safer bet.

Making sushi wasn't as time-consuming as I first thought it would be, however, preparing the rice definitely takes longer than for any other rice-based dish I have made. All the instructions I read said to fan the rice after applying the seasoning, so it was just as well I had an electric fan to hand so that I could get on with other preparation while I waited for the rice to cool down. Once the rice is ready, the rest of the preparation doesn't take too long, and the end result is definitely very satisfying.

Sesame Fish Balls

As I already had all that groundnut oil from deep-frying the Potato and Pea Pasties I decided to try out this tasty looking fish ball recipe. It was very cheap to make as I just used odd shaped Pollock fillets as it's all getting blended anyway. Really quick to make too.

My sister reckoned they would taste even better with some sweet chilli sauce, but we didn't have any, and by then I was busy with the Thai Red Curry and so didn't get around to making any. Definitely a tasty snack, hot or cold, but should be eaten the same night as otherwise they're likely to go soft, although they taste fine the next day, they're nothing like as nice.

Recipe for the Sesame Fish Balls

• 250g White Fish Fillets
• 2 cups Breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons Plain Yoghurt
  
• 1 clove of Garlic, crushed
• 1 small Red Onion
  
• 2 tablespoons of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
• Half to 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• Half to 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 Large Eggs, white and yolk separated
• Quarter cup Sesame Seeds

Cook the fish, either by steaming or microwaving. Then throw into a blender and blend until finely chopped, but not a paste. Then in a bowl, mix the fish, 1 and a half cups of the Breadcrumbs, and all the other ingredients except the Egg Whites and Sesame Seeds. Once thoroughly mixed, with wet hands, form into small balls. You should get about 20-24 from this size batch.

Lightly whisky the Egg Whites in one bowl, mix together the rest of the Breadcrumbs and Sesame Seeds in another bowl, the coat each Fish Ball in first the egg white, then the Breadcrumb and Sesame Seed mix so that they are well coated. You should then deep fry them in hot oil for about a minute or two, until they're golden brown.

Waiter, there's something in my ... Spicy Potato and Pea Pasties

There's something about the "who's eaten all the pies" expression which somehow puts me off making and eating pies. Plus the total lack of space or equipment to properly make a pie. However, for a few days this week, I'm looking after my nephew at my sister's place, and she's got a much bigger kitchen, gas hobs and more pots and pans. Plus she likes having food on the table when she returns from work. Still, she's not a big pie eater either, so I figured I'd have to do some mini pasties or something along those lines, so that the quantity of pasty didn't seem so great. These deep-fried, potato and pea pasties seemed to fit the bill, and made a good starter, but would also make excellent finger food.

There is also the added bonus that my sister has two cameras that are better than mine, and is a professional photographer, so I could utilise not just her kitchen, but her photographic skills, even if she's more accustomed to portraits than food photography. Even without using her tripod, she takes a much better photo than I do, so well worth getting her to completely take over the photo duties (hence the number of pictures as I'm lucky to get a couple which I like when I'm doing the photos).

Sandra, the original source of my Lamb Meatball Curry, has lent me a book of easy curry recipes, and one which caught my attention was one for Potato and Pea Pasties (well, they call them Potato and Pea Pastries, but they look like pasties to me, even if they are deep-fried). The recipe looked simple enough, although, once again, wasn't made totally to the letter.

Recipe for the Pastry

• 1.5 cups Plain Flour
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• A quarter cup Water

Sift the flour into a bowl, then make a well in the middle and add the oil and water, mixing, then kneading to make a firm but slightly elastic and smooth dough. You may need a little extra oil or water, but add early in the process, and only very small quantities. Cover the dough and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour.


Recipe for the Filling

• 1-1.5 Baking Potatoes, peeled and finely diced
• 1 cup Peas or Petis Pois
• 2 tablespoons Currants
• 2 tablespoons Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• Half teaspoon Hot Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper
• Half teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• Juice of half a Lemon
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce (omit if cooking for vegetarians)
• Groundnut Oil for deep frying

Boil the cubed Potato until softening, then drain, put in a bowl and mix with the Peas, Currants, Cumin, Chili Powder, Cinnamon and Fresh Coriander. Then add the Lemon Juice and Light Soy Sauce and stir in so as not to bread any ingredients up, but ensure that all the spices have evenly covered the other ingredients.

It's probably best to divide the dough into two before rolling it out on a well floured surface. The dough should be quite elastic without breaking so that you can get it just over a millimetre thick. Then use a circular pastry cutter, or other round implement (a bowl with the assistance of a knife in my case) to cut circular pieces of about 10cm in diameter. Spoon about a heaped tablespoon of the filling in the centre of each round, and fold in half, using a fork to seal the edges. You should be able to make about 20 or so from the above ingredients.


Next, they need to be deep-fried in batches in the hot oil, turning occasionally, until they turn golden brown. Then transfer to some kitchen towel to drain off the excess oil.

They tasted good hot and cold. Slightly spicy, but with the slight tang of the citrus from the lemon juice. My nephew loved them and probably ate more than he did of the rest of the dinner. My sister will be taking the leftovers in her packed lunch tomorrow.