advice on making sushi?

[NuclearStandoff]

I am making sushi for NYE canapés.

Never made it before and getting a bit nervous. Any advice gratefully received.

No raw fish involved, just veggie.

Thanks.

Oh watching thread :)

I plan on making these recipes

www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/food/recipes/main-meals/vegetable-sushi.aspx

The kids wanted to make sushi over Christmas but too many other things got in the way.

The most important thing is to cook the rice properly and this is the skilled part. Has to be firm but sticky enough to hold together and takes some practise to perfect. I found some helpful YouTube clips to get me started.

Second, invest in the right ingredients such as the Dashi seasoning for the rice, Mirin, Nori and other bits and pieces as this gives an authentic flavour

Third, wrap your bamboo mat in clingfilm before making california rolls so that it's easier to clean afterwards. Finally... like gunpowder, keep your Nori dry!!! Any stray water and it's a monkey.

Don't put too much rice on your nori, and do the clingfilm and then wrap the roll up in the clingfilm tightly and chill like that before cutting.

Do you cut through the cling film? Or remove before you cut?

Did my own sushi recently. It is time consuming so start early. Took me 3 hrs to do a lovely platter.

Watch lots of online clips and read lots of online advice.

Keep your hands wet when handling rice as it is so sticky it's either waste when scrubbing it off or spend ages flicking it off. Keep a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar in it.

I bought the ready mixed seasoning.

A line of wasabi (use sparingly) inside the roll can make it sing. I'd also put some cooked prawns or smoked salmon in for non veggies. Just as easy.

Do a mix of normal nori wrapped rolls and outside in ones. Toast sesame seeds to put on the outside in rolls. You could also do a few nigiri sushi with pepper (red/yellow) on the outside for colour and variety. Smoosh rice into a piece of pepper with a flick of wasabi underneath. Shape into a passable cubey shape with damp hands, could use a nori 'Band' to keep it in place.

Sharpen your knife to cut the rolls and keep knife clean.

I cut through cling film for the outside in rolls, or if you were using an avocado topping.

For nori on the outside I unwrapped and reused same bit of cling film. I didn't chill the rolls before cutting as used a really sharp knife.

good example here

Oh god . 3 hours - I have only just rinsed the rice!

getting very nervous now!!

I wrap the entire bamboo mat in clingfilm, not the rolls. Idea is to keep the mat clean not encase the sushi....

A wet knife goes through the sticky rice better than a dry one. Dip in a bowl of water before cutting.

3 hours? You mean this is your first attempt at cooking sushi rice? No dry-runs?

Do you season the rice while it is still warm, or wait until it is cold?

There is some pate on standby if this does not work!!

Season the rice with dashi whilst it's cooking. Season with sugared mirin after it's cooked, folding it in gradually as you fan the rice cool. You're aiming for plump distinct grains that aren't mushy but have a sticky gloss that keeps them together. Cover the rice bowl with a tea-towel once prepared & cooled so that it stays moist as you work it.

Thanks Cogito

Well the rice has come out perfectly from following cooking directions on packet.

Rolling seemed to go OK - it was a great tip to have bowl of water handy, as it is very sticky stuff. I put too much rice on the first one, but got the hang of it by about number 3.

Think the clingfilm also helped, but had to be careful not to get it inside the roll!!

Now my rolls are chilling in the fridge, will leave cutting until last minute.

Thanks for the advice everyone.