A Good Sushi Beginner Guide? Update: First Good Batch

RelentlessRolento

RelentlessRolento

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Update!

After my third try and alot more research (largely thanks to advice from people here, huge thanks!) I finally made my first batch of successful sushi:

sushi.jpg


I've been using imitation lobster meat, but I just got some smoked salmon that I'll be using probably for dinner tomorrow night :)


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I've made sushi before, have all the materials I need, and I've had varying degrees of success and failure. I was wondering if anyone has a good online guide to making sushi. I've used many online recipes and guides to help, but I want to see what else is out there or if people have recommendations.
 
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[quote name='Koggit']Describe failure... I didn't realize sushi could fail. It's like failing at making a sandwich.[/quote]

:rofl:

i'm sure there's more to it then just cutting up raw fish, but yeah i don't see how you can really fail at sushi
 
Yeah, sushi rolling can be pretty hard if you're not really taught in person. At least for me, I don't think I'd be able to follow something online and reproduce the same results than if I got a professional (or at the very least, a Japanese mother ;)) to teach me. I'd say it's mostly practice (doing it the right way, at least; you could always continue to practice making turds).
 
[quote name='tehweezner']:rofl:

i'm sure there's more to it then just cutting up raw fish, but yeah i don't see how you can really fail at sushi[/QUOTE]

Rolling it is the hardest part actually. If it's not rolled correctly, it's pretty crappy.
 
I've made some california rolls before (yeah I know they're not legit sushi), and they came out pretty well. However it seems to me that it's more cost effective to just go to a sushi bar.
 
[quote name='Danil ACE']I've made some california rolls before (yeah I know they're not legit sushi), and they came out pretty well. However it seems to me that it's more cost effective to just go to a sushi bar.[/quote]

Where I live there's this restaurant that has half price on select sushi during weekdays. In this case, 30$ worth of Sushi goes a LONG way. More filling than if I were to order a steak at applebees.
 
[quote name='c0rnpwn'] I'd say it's mostly practice (doing it the right way, at least; you could always continue to practice making turds).[/quote]


I lol'd at this but you are definitely right. I got some salmon raw to go with whatever I make. I will admit I am a wasabi nut. I hope I do better tomorrow >_
 
my tips:
- make sure your sushi rice is the right consistency and flavor (add rice vinegar, salt, and sugar for the best taste)
- on each nori sheet, you should have a little over 1/2 of it even spaced with sushi rice
- keep a glass of water next to you as you spread the rice, it will stick to your hands. make sure your hands are always wet while spreading rice.
- when your toppings are in, the rest of the nori is wet and ready to be rolled be firm with the bamboo rolling apparatus.
- once it's rolled, to prevent it from unrolling or ripping moisten the seam (so to speak)

that's about as good as instructions i can give w/o pics. next time i make sushi i'll throw up some pictures.
 
[quote name='carpwrist']my tips:
- make sure your sushi rice is the right consistency and flavor (add rice vinegar, salt, and sugar for the best taste)
- on each nori sheet, you should have a little over 1/2 of it even spaced with sushi rice
- keep a glass of water next to you as you spread the rice, it will stick to your hands. make sure your hands are always wet while spreading rice.
- when your toppings are in, the rest of the nori is wet and ready to be rolled be firm with the bamboo rolling apparatus.
- once it's rolled, to prevent it from unrolling or ripping moisten the seam (so to speak)

that's about as good as instructions i can give w/o pics. next time i make sushi i'll throw up some pictures.[/quote]


I follow most of those, but there's a few details there I forget at times. I normally make my own rice vinegar for the mix but I like tat part the least so I bought a bottle of it instead today. I've never done the sealing the nori thing when done... that's something I have to do from now on.
 
theres some simpler kinds that dont require raw fish. one you can use tuna and mayo with rice and seaweed wrappers( they have a proper term) others use pickle vegetables and aother uses this weird sweet thing looks kind of like an omlet. dont forget theres diiff kinds of devices to use to wrap them up ( ones a bamboo wrapper) and use the right kind of rice.
 
[quote name='TheShepherdSauce']Where I live there's this restaurant that has half price on select sushi during weekdays. In this case, 30$ worth of Sushi goes a LONG way. More filling than if I were to order a steak at applebees.[/QUOTE]

Same here, local place has a happy hour every day during the week y. At 2 something a roll it isn't worth me making it myself, got 56 pieces of sushi for under 30, Chef sure was hatin me that day.
 
[quote name='Koggit']Describe failure... I didn't realize sushi could fail. It's like failing at making a sandwich.[/QUOTE]

You have obviously never made sushi rice before... You have to cook the rice, put it in a perfect vinegar mixture to get the stickyness, and fan it for 5 minutes straight. You also have to be very skilled at cutting the fish correctly to get the right portion.
 
[quote name='JMEPO']You have obviously never made sushi rice before... You have to cook the rice, put it in a perfect vinegar mixture to get the stickyness, and fan it for 5 minutes straight. You also have to be very skilled at cutting the fish correctly to get the right portion.[/quote]


I just toss it all in my rice cooker (I'm Japanese and from Hawaii, what did you expect?).

It turns out comparable to what I have eaten at, say, Genki Sushi.
 
Using food prep gloves (with a tiny bit of mayo spread over them) works really well to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands.
 
Yeah, Sushi is one of those things I love but I'll only eat out. Just don't have the interest (or patience) to make it for myself.
 
[quote name='docvinh']Well, let's see you make some then.[/QUOTE]

I never said it was easy or that I'm an expert, I just meant that it seems pretty much impossible to fail. There's nothing to burn or under cook... worst case scenario: it's messy. Like a sandwich.
 
Worst case scenario is food poisoning, tough to get that from a sandwich.

And in a sandwich you don't have to make the bread. With sushi you have to make the rice to roll it in and it's easy to fuck that up and have it taste funky, be the wrong consistency etc.
 
[quote name='Koggit']I never said it was easy or that I'm an expert, I just meant that it seems pretty much impossible to fail. There's nothing to burn or under cook... worst case scenario: it's messy. Like a sandwich.[/quote]


really? go make it... the rice sticks everywhere, the rolls don't roll on like you'd think, and the patience you have to have is above normal. I don't remember a sandwich as hard as that.
 
If you are trying to make nigiri, those football shaped rice balls to put toppings on. Make sure to save some of the rice vinegar mixture and apply small amounts on your finger tips and the palm of your hand to keep it from sticking. Scoop up the right amount and put it in your palm (keep it curved). Keep your index and ring finger straight to help form the sides. Press with your curved middle finger to give it the right form factor. You can grip it tighter now that you have the right shape.
nigiri2.jpg


-Before cutting rolls, run the blade of your knife thru a slice of lemon so it won't stick to the blade.

-If you use nori, you should toast it over a open flame. Just be careful not to burn it. The nori should be slightly crisp instead of chewy.

[quote name='Koggit']I just meant that it seems pretty much impossible to fail.[/QUOTE]

I have eaten some epic failure. The trend is that some Japanese restaurants aren't even run/owned by Japanese people anymore. Most people can't discern Japanese from other Asians anyways. It's sad that I have to look at the business licenses posted in restaurants to see if the proprietor is actually Japanese. I've had "sushi" served with plain rice, another time they used regular vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I felt like assaulting the chef. I know how insulted Italian-Americans must feel when they eat at Olive Garden.
 
proper cooking in general is hard, but I think it goes much easier if you shut the fuck up and act like you know nothing so you can learn, cuz you will learn whether you like it or not (having flash backs to work).

Making sushi just sounds ridiculous crazy, but I thought making egg rolls by hand would be difficult too, but I prevailed at that, you to have hope OP and good luck with the making!
 
Yeah, I made some nigiri last night in order to start simple but still had problems as expected...

- the rice was too watery (my rice to water ratio was off)
- possibly not enough rice vinegar on the rice
- I need to follow that football shape guide... my sushi looked like lumps
- the salmon tasted way too fishy and not like the salmon I have regularly... do I need to prepare them in some way? at least I thoroughly washed it before cutting.
 
[quote name='jennie25']proper cooking in general is hard, but I think it goes much easier if you shut the fuck up and act like you know nothing so you can learn, cuz you will learn whether you like it or not (having flash backs to work)[/quote]

Marry me. Or at the very least, put it in your mouth a little.
 
[quote name='PocariSweat']I have eaten some epic failure. The trend is that some Japanese restaurants aren't even run/owned by Japanese people anymore. Most people can't discern Japanese from other Asians anyways. It's sad that I have to look at the business licenses posted in restaurants to see if the proprietor is actually Japanese. I've had "sushi" served with plain rice, another time they used regular vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I felt like assaulting the chef. I know how insulted Italian-Americans must feel when they eat at Olive Garden.[/QUOTE]
Around here there are tons of Japanese restaurants and I'd estimate at least 70% of them are Korean owned. In general a lot of places don't have owners you'd expect. Theres a hugely popular soul food place in SF ran by a Vietnamese couple. The other day I went into a Hawaiian BBQ place and was greeted with an "Aloha" then the dude turned around and started speaking Spanish to the cook. It really doesn't need to be authentic to taste good though.

One of my favorite sushi places is actually Brazilian/Japanese. Some of these California-style sushi creations that use avocados, mangos, and pineapple are crazy delicious.
 
Are you sure it's not because plantains suck anyway?

Damn, now I'm in the mood for sushi, but the sushi bar is well out of the way now.
 
this thread is useless without PICS!!!

what kinda fish u using?? at the japanese market they sell the sashimi style fish u can use for nigiri style sushis.

they also sell short grain rice that japanese ppl eat... all I eat at home is jasmine rice and that aint how u gonna make sushi with...

[quote name='Koggit']cooking - the act of preparing something (as food) by the application of heat

Sushi is like making a sandwich[/QUOTE]


man formal definitions can eat a fatty...

SKILLZ yo... SKILLZ transcend definitions!!

sheeyit... I use SKILLZ to cook a salad
 
[quote name='JEKKI']this thread is useless without PICS!!!

what kinda fish u using?? at the japanese market they sell the sashimi style fish u can use for nigiri style sushis.

they also sell short grain rice that japanese ppl eat... all I eat at home is jasmine rice and that aint how u gonna make sushi with...




man formal definitions can eat a fatty...

SKILLZ yo... SKILLZ transcend definitions!!

sheeyit... I use SKILLZ to cook a salad[/quote]


see, I need to find a japanese market that sells the cuts of meat I need.. I think that's a large reason why my salmon tasted too fishy to be honest...

also, thx for posting those videos... going to watch em now.
 
[quote name='PocariSweat']

I have eaten some epic failure. The trend is that some Japanese restaurants aren't even run/owned by Japanese people anymore. Most people can't discern Japanese from other Asians anyways. It's sad that I have to look at the business licenses posted in restaurants to see if the proprietor is actually Japanese. I've had "sushi" served with plain rice, another time they used regular vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I felt like assaulting the chef. I know how insulted Italian-Americans must feel when they eat at Olive Garden.[/quote]

Tell me about it, as an Italian-American I refuse to go to pizzeria's owned by Greeks. I just know it'd taste bad. Be wary of any pizzerias you go to that serve 1 or more types of Greek salads!

It's nice being in the NY area though, plenty of Italians to make pizza (even if they have Rican grunt cooks), and plenty of Japanese to make sushi (yeah they look Japanese, I haven't grilled them on it but they certainly don't look Chinese or Korean).
 
Update!

After my third try and alot more research (largely thanks to advice from people here, huge thanks!) I finally made my first batch of successful sushi:

sushi.jpg


I've been using imitation lobster meat, but I just got some smoked salmon that I'll be using probably for dinner tomorrow night :)
 
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