Sushi Instructions

Maki-sushi, Nori-maki, and Nori Roll are some names for vinegary rice rolled up in sheets of Nori sea vegetable with various cooked or raw fillings. Sushi requires a little initial practice, but it truly is easy. Here are some basic tips to get you rolling. Be creative; variations are endless.

Sushi Tools and Cleanliness

An Eden Sushi Mat, a large flat wooden spoon or rice paddle, a large wooden bowl, a sharp knife and a cutting board are essential for sushi preparation. Keep tools impeccably clean and wipe with a clean, damp cloth before using. For the most attractive and smooth cut sushi, always moisten knife before slicing each piece of sushi.

Prepare a water/vinegar mixture of 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Dampen a cloth to wipe your tools before using (rice paddle, fingers for dampening nori, and knife for cutting sushi). Wet your fingers in it before handling the rice so it won't stick to you.

Ingredients

• Eden Nori or Sushi Nori
• 3 cups Lundberg™ Organic Short Grain Rice (brown or white)
• 1 pinch Eden Sea Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Eden Organic Brown Rice Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Eden Mirin

Filling Suggestions

• Eden Umeboshi Plums or Paste, Eden Pickled Daikon Radish, Eden Pickled Ginger, Eden Wasabi Powder
• Fresh Vegetables (Avocado, Cucumber, Scallions, Red Bell Pepper, etc.)
• Cooked Vegetables (Carrots, Spinach, Watercress, Asparagus, Eden Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms, etc.)
• Tofu, Natto, Seitan, Tempeh, cooked or smoked Seafood (not raw), etc.

Making Sushi

1. Pressure Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice:
   Wash 3 cups rice in cold water, rinse and drain. Place in cooker with 4 cups water and a pinch of Eden Sea Salt and cover. When pressure is up full, lower heat and cook 45 to 50 minutes. Turn off heat, allow pressure to come down and let sit 10 minutes. Remove cover and place rice in a wooden bowl smoothing out each spoonful with a gentle slicing motion to prevent clumping.
   
   Boiled Short Grain Brown Rice:
   Bring 5 1/2 cups water, 3 cups rinsed rice and a pinch of sea salt to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat, and let sit 10 minutes before placing in a wooden bowl.
   
   Boiled Short Grain White Sushi Rice:
   Bring 4 1/2 cups water, 3 cups rice and a pinch of sea salt to a boil. Cover, lower the flame, and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and let sit 10 minutes before placing in a wooden bowl.
   
   
2. Seasoning the Rice:
   Heat 3 Tablespoons each of Eden Organic Brown Rice Vinegar and Eden Mirin. Pour evenly over cooked rice and gently fold in with a rice paddle or wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Cool to room temperature.
   
   
3. Prepare the Fillings:
   Cut vegetables into thin strips, if needed. Quickly blanche any that need cooking until bright yet firm and rinse under cold water to set the color. Use raw vegetable slices or strips when appropriate.
   
   
4. Rolling and Slicing:
   Wet fingers slightly with cold water to keep rice from sticking and follow Steps 1 - 6 in Sushi in Six Easy Steps.
   
   
5. Prepare Wasabi and Dipping Sauce:
   Mix 2 Tablespoons Eden Wasabi with 1 Tablespoon hot water to form a thick paste. Using a small spoon, form the paste into a small pyramid. Fill small dishes with Eden Shoyu for dipping. Each diner mixes a small amount of the paste into the shoyu, and then dips the sushi into it.

The Sushi Presentation

Arrange sushi on a plate attractively garnished with a small pile of Eden Pickled Ginger, wasabi pyramid, flowers, parsley or cut vegetables. It is customary to serve sushi with tea; Eden Organic Sencha or Eden Organic Matcha powdered green tea is perfect.

The Noodle Sushi Variation

Eden Japanese Udon or Soba noodles make attractive sushi, in place of rice. Divide one package of pasta evenly into four bundles and tie one end of each with 100% cotton string. Cook per package directions. Rinse and drain. Lay pasta across the nori, with tied end exposed off the sheet. Add raw scallions, cooked spinach or other fillings and roll like rice sushi. Slice off tied end and discard. Slice roll into pieces.

More Sushi Facts

• Brown Rice Vinegar: Sushi means vinegar rice. Essential for creating authentic flavor.
• Mirin: Mildly sweet rice seasoning. It gives cooked sushi rice its glossy sheen.
• Nori: Thin sheets of mildly sweet dried sea vegetable. Available as untoasted or toasted. Eden's is superb sushi quality, Japanese clean water grown.
• Pickled Daikon Radish: Long white radish pickled in rice bran and sea salt. Its diastase enzymes aid digestion; eat at the end of meals or as a sushi filling.
• Pickled Ginger: Thin slices of ginger root pickled in rice vinegar, rice malt and ume plum vinegar with shiso leaf. Always served with sushi.
• Sesame Seed: Toasted for a sushi garnish, or use Eden Gomasio or Eden Shake sesame condiment.
• Shoyu: Traditional soy sauce always served with sushi as a dipping sauce.
• Sushi Mat: A bamboo mat for rolling sushi.
• Wasabi: A spicy hot, green condiment made with Japanese horseradish. An essential for sushi presentation.