巻き寿司

Rolled Sushi

Japanese cuisine is arguable most famous for its sushi, which you can now find all over the world. Rolled Sushi (makizushi) is a cylindrical piece of sushi normally formed with the help of a bamboo mat.

MAKES 4 THICK ROLLS OR 24 THICK PIECES

1 tablespoon Japanese rice vinegar

4 toasted nori sheets

1 quantity prepared sushi rice (here)

wasabi paste, for spreading

FILLING

60 g (2¼ oz) prepared kanpyo (gourd strip)

100 g (3½ oz) firm tofu, cut into long strips about 1 cm (½ in) thick and wide

85 g (3 oz) simmered shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced (here)

100 g (3½ oz) takuan (pickled daikon), cut into 1 cm (½ in) thick strips

CONDIMENTS

Japanese soy sauce

wasabi paste, optional

pickled ginger, optional

Fill a bowl with warm water and mix in the rice vinegar. Lay a sheet of nori, shiny-side down, ona bamboo mat with the short end of the mat towards you. Dampen your hands with the vinegared water to prevent the rice sticking to your hands. Starting at the edge nearest to you and stopping about 5 cm (2 in) from the edge furthest from you, spread about 250 g (9 oz/1½ cups) prepared sushi rice over the nori, pressing down with your fingers—it should be about 1 cm (½ in) thick. Wet your hands as needed.

About 8 cm (3 in) in from the end closest to you, use your finger to smear a little wasabi paste along the width of the roll. Take one type of filling at a time and lay it along the wasabi paste from end to end so that you have a long strip across the rice. Repeat with the other ingredients, each one snugly on top of and next to the other, then trim the edges.

Holding the filling in place with the tips of your fingers, lift the closest end of the bamboo mat with your thumbs and, holding everything taut, roll the sushi away from you, making sure you do not tuck the edge of the mat under the roll. When the roll is finished, press the mat down over the top to form a neat, firm roll. Unroll the mat and put the sushi roll, seam-side down, on a cutting board. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make four rolls.

Using a very sharp, large knife, trim the ends of each roll. Dipping the knife into water as you slice to prevent the rice from sticking to it, cut each roll into six to eight even pieces. Arrange cut-side up on a platter.

Serve with a small bowl of soy sauce for dipping into, and, if desired, extra wasabi to mix into the sauce and some pickled ginger as a palate refresher.