Futomaki Sushi

Recipe for three different Japanese Futomaki sushi

Sushi, the refined Japanese rice appetizers are special treats. They combine all the basic principles of Japanese cooking: harmony, aesthetics, a light and natural way of preparing food from fresh ingredients, avoiding fat and gentle cooking, so that the original flavour is preserved. And with a little practice, its not that hard to make delicious sushi creations by yourself.
Sushi is served with Japanese soy sauce (shoju, in small bowls), wasabi and marinated ginger slices (Gari-Shoga).

Ingredients (for 3 thick rolls, approx. 15 pieces)

4 Nori sheets (seaweed)
600 g sushi rice
4 tblsp Sake
6 tsp of rice vinegar
3 tblsp of sugar
1 tblsp Mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tsp salt or 1 tblsp soy sauce

First roll:
50 g of spinach
50 g carrots
50 g eel fillet (alternatively smoked trout)
100 ml sake
100 ml Mirin
sugar

Second roll
13 cm cucumber
50 g Shiitake mushrooms
10 g Kampyo (dried pumpkin strips)
100 ml of light miso broth
sake
soy sauce
Mirin
salt

Third roll:
200 g tuna (natural) from a can, drained
2 tbsp creamed horseradish
Wasabi paste
1 mango

Bamboo mat for rolling up

Preparation

Wash the rice in fresh water, drain and let soak for about 12 minutes.
Place a nori sheet covered in water in a pot for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water, 4 tblsp rice vinegar and rice. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer at mild heat until the water has soaked. Perfect sushi rice should be soft and sticky and the core still should be “al dente”. Remove lid and let evaporate. Remove the Nori sheet.
In a bowl stir together rice vinegar, Mirin, sugar and salt or soy sauce until sugar and salt have dissolved. Put the rice in a bowl, add the sauce and mix well. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool.

Wash, dry and blanch the spinach. Drain well and form a strand (12 cm). Peel carrots and cut into 10 x 1 cm thick strips. Blanch and drain. Wash the eel fillet and cook in 100 ml sake, 100 ml Mirin and some sugar for about 6 minutes. Drain and cut into 12 cm long strips. Wash the cucumber, dry, halve, remove the seeds and cut into 4 strips. Wash Shiitake mushrooms, dry and cook in 100 ml of miso-broth with a little sake, soy sauce and Mirin for 3 minutes. Rinse Kampyo and rub with some salt. Soak the strips in water with some sake. Cut into 12 cm long strips.
Core the mango and cut into strips. Mix the drained tuna with horseradish cream and a little wasabi paste.

Lay the bamboo mat on a smooth work surface. Roast a whole nori sheet in a pan briefly from both sides and place it on the mat so that the narrow side ends with the bottom edge of the mat. Spread 200 g of sushi rice. At the lower edge a margin of 3 cm should remain free. Place spinach, carrots and eel fillet side by side in the middle of the rice. Roll the mat evenly with gentle pressure (do not roll in the mat). Cut off the ends with a moistened knife. Cut the roll into 4 to 5 pieces, while wipening and moistening the knife again and again.

Do the same with the cucumber / shiitake / kampyo roll.
For the mango tuna roll, first spread some wasabi paste on the rice.  Then spread the mango and add the tuna. Then roll as described and cut into pieces.

Bildquelle: Fotolia - #92579164 © Robert Przybysz