Makizushi

This is a very special recipe handed down from my grandma to my Auntie Chere who has lovingly been making it for our family for over forty-seven years.

Shopping list:

Japanese or asian specialty store

• Rice – Kokoho Rose about 15 lbs.
• Dashi-no-moto – About 4 bags of the soup stock
• Kanpyo – Dried white gourd, about 3 ounces
• Shiitake Mushrooms – Dried and hopefully large, about 3 ounces
• Unagi or Sanma Kabayaki broiled Sauries by Wel-Pac. 3 cans.
• Nori – Needs to be Sushi style or it will be too thin. Look for Sushinori. 2 packages of 10 sheets each
• Ajinomoto – monosodium glutamate, a seasoning
• Sake – Rice wine for Sushi Su
• Mirin – sweet rice wine for Sushi Su
• Ginger – Preferably whole red ginger root but red shredded ginger in a jar is a substitute
• Shoyu – Soy sauce, a seasoning, use about 1 1/2 cups
• Special Equipment – Bamboo mat for rolling sushi, Electric Rice cooker, wooden bowl for cooling rice, paper fan or dedicated hair dryer for cooling rice

Other ingredients available at a conventional market

• Eggs – Use 10 large eggs
• Spinach – 2 bunches of fresh leaves, remove stems
• Carrots – 5 large size full size carrots
• Sugar – white cane sugar
• Heinz white vinegar – Brand is important for flavor
• Salt – white table salt
• Wax paper – Use to wrap the rolls until they are ready to be cut for serving

Makizushi preparation instructions:

First thing to do is make the Sushi Su. Make four (4) times this recipe to make the rolls plus having some extra for the finger bowls used in the assembly process. It is, also, great to use this Su on cucumbers for a Sunimono.

Sushi Su

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup Heinz White Vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ajinomoto
• 1 jigger Sake

Combine in a steel (non reactive) sauce pan. Heat only until the sugar and salt have dissolve. DO NOT let it boil. Store in jars and refrigerate for longer storage.

Sushi Rice

You need to wash (a quick rinse) and drained the rice about 2 hours before cooking. It is important to allow the rice to sit with this bit of moisture. Cook rice in equal parts of water to the rice since the Sushi Su will add the extra moisture.

To 5 cups of rinsed rice put in the electric rice cooker and add 5 cups of water. Cook per your rice cooker instructions. Turn rice out into a container. Preferably the wooden Japanese Handai/Hangiri tub. Soak in water before using and rub with Sushi Su along with any wooden rice paddles to keep rice from sticking. Do not use soap on this wooden tub.

You will slowly cut in 1 3/4 cups of Sushi Su into the rice. Use a dedicated hair dryer on cool setting to cool the rice. You will cut the Su into the rice while blowing it with cool air. You want the rice to be shiny and at room temperature. Depending on your container and rice paddle you may want to rub with a little Sushi Su to prevent the rice from sticking.

Preparing the ingredients for the center of the rolls:

You need to cook and cut several ingredients that go into the rolls. Traditionally, there are seven (7) different items inside each roll.

Dashi – Fish stock

Prepare the Dashi, usually 5 cups of water to a bag of Dashi-no-Moto. See package directions. You will use it as a cooking liquid base.

Kanpyo – White gourd

Soak Kanpyo in lukewarm water for an hour. Drain and rub with a little salt. Cook the Kanpyo in Dashi for 10 to 15 minutes. Add the following and cook a little longer. You don’t want the Kanpyo to get too mushy.

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Add a little ajinomoto before removing from the heat. Cool to room temperature. This is the first layer to put on the rice that has been spread on a sheet of nori on the sushi mat.

Shiitake Mushrooms

Rinse and soak shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 2 hours. Cook in a cup or more of Dashi. When it starts to bubble add:

• 1 Tablespoon Mirin
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
• 1 teaspoon ajinomoto

Cook until shiny. Stay close by as they can burn easily/. Cool and cut into strips about 1/8 inch wide. Depends on your preference. Do not use the stem part.

Eggs

Combine the following:

• 5 large eggs
• 1/4 cup Dashi
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ajinomoto

Start in a crepe style skillet over medium heat. Pour in about 1/2 of the mixture into the skillet. When the bottom of the eggs start to cloud, move the skillet to the oven with the broiler setting on to finish the top. Watch carefully as you don’t want any brown spots. Turn eggs out onto a wax paper lined plate. Cut into 3/8 inch strips while on the plate.

Spinach

Wash the spinach and drain. Remove the stems. Cook in a little Dashi just to wilt the spinach leaves, like steamed. Turn out onto a plate. Separate the leaves a little to make them easier to pick up.

Carrots

Peel the whole carrots and cook in Dashi until al-dente. Cool and cut into strips that will lay across the nori sheets and rice.

Ginger

Cut into strips if using whole red ginger root. If you cannot find the whole red ginger, use the shredded pieces sold in jars.

Eel

Unagi or Sauries in cans. Cut into strips and lift onto a plate with a spatula. They are very soft and fragile sometimes.

Makizushi Assembly

Start by laying out your prepared ingredients. Use a flat cookie sheet with a stabilizer under it to prevent it from slipping on the counter. Lay down your sushi bamboo roller mat, then a sheet of Sushi Nori wrong side up (the dull side up). Use a rice bowl to measure the rice. Spread the rice with Sushi Su moistened fingers to spread the rice evenly on the nori sheet leaving an inch empty at the top of the nori sheet. You want a nice even layer of rice.

Have finger bowls of Sushi Su and water to use on your hands. Lay down your ingredients per your preference. Kanpyo, spinach, mushrooms, unagi, ginger, egg, and carrot. Add a second strip of Kanpyo to the top of the fillings to make it easier to hold the filling together when you roll. Moisten the very top edge of the nori sheet that is without any rice with a little Sushi Su. Place your thumbs on the back of the mat and begin rolling away from you. Be sure to support the fillings with the rest of your fingers. Roll until the edge of the nori is under the sushi. Wrap the roll in waxed paper and put into a ziplock bag until ready to cut into 8 pieces per roll.

I want to thank my Auntie Chere for hosting, Karen Chesney and I in the making of this traditional rolled sushi. I, also, would like to thank Karen for taking many of the photos posted. These ladies are so much fun to be around. It was such an enjoyable day!