What is WASABI & how to make it.

What is wasabi?
Wasabi, also known as "Japanese horseradish", is a hot Japanese spice root and an important member on any sushi table. Some like to mix it with soy sauce bowl for future dipping, and some rather place it directly on the sushi just before they eat. For more information about the origin of wasabi check out wikipedia on wasabi.

Wasabi products for sushi can be obtained in Asian food stores in the form of dried powder or ready to use paste, and used in very small doses (pea size or less). In order to fully enjoy your Wasabi - you should use the dried wasabi powder to produce your own fresh wasabi paste - the following guide will walk you through this simple process.

Let's make some Wasabi!

step 1 - Since the wasabi powder needs to stay dry when kept in order to stay fresh - try carefully not to dent the can top when opening so, this way your wasabi can last for a long sushi making period.
Use a dry tea spon (or pour gently right from the can as shown in the animation). 3-4 tea spoons should be enough for a sushi session depending on your personal wasabi consuming habits.

step 2 - Add a small amount of cold water, about 1:1 ratio with the amount of wasabi powder you used and stir until a solid mixture is obtained. Now you need to gently balance the mixture with a bit more powder if you like your wasbi thick, or water if you want it to be thinner.

step 3 -Now that the wasabi paste is ready - you can form it into shapes - try to be original and surprise your sushi guests!
Bon apetite!

How to make a simple Sushi Roll.

INGREDIENTS

SUSHI RICE

• 2 cups raw rice (short grain rice)

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water

• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon salt

MAKING THE SUSHI

• Sushi mats

• Nori

• Avocado

• Ginger

• Dikon (Large Japanese radish)

• Crab meat, Japanese Mountain Roots

• Japanese squash (Kampyo)

• Asparagus

• Bean curd

DIRECTIONS

SUSHI RICE

Prepare the tezu, or sushi vinegar. Mix together 1 cup of water, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt. Set aside. Wash the rice several times till the water is clear. Move to a colander and drain for one hour. Transfer the rice to a heavy pot or electric rice cooker and add the measured water.

Make sure there is a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat allowing the rice to steam for 15 minutes more with the cover on at all times. Mow remove from the heat, remove the lid momentarily to stretch a clean tea towel over the pot and replace the cover. Let it remain covered and without heat to finish steaming for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small saucepan. While stirring, heat the mixture till the sugar dissolves. Set aside the mixture to cool to room temperature. After the rice has steamed properly, take a wooden spatula or spoon and cut and fold the rice. Do not use beating or stirring motions as you want to avoid smashing the grains.

Dampen a cloth using the per-prepared tezu and rub the insides of a bowl. The traditional bowl to use is the flat bottomed wooden sushi oke or hangiri. The wood absorbs excess moisture and the large surface allows the rice to cool more quickly and evenly. Put the hot rice into the bowl and quickly add the tezu. Mix with the same cutting and folding motion. After mixing, fan the hot rice mixture in order to remove moisture as well as to cool it. This should take about 10 minutes. The rice grains will have a nice sheen. The result will be ideal sushi rice with a slightly chewy consistency and just a touch of stickiness.
The rice is not to be refrigerated and should be used with an hour after the preparation. Keep the rice covered with a clean cloth and at room temperature till you are ready to make your rolls.

MAKING THE SUSHI

Lay a sheet of nori on the mat. Wet your hands. Take a 1/4 cup prepared sushi rice. Place in center of nori and spread evenly

Take 1/8 of a teaspoon of prepared wasabi. Dab horizontally in center of rice. Lay down 2 oz of finely julliened cucumbers in the center. Place 2 oz of crab on top. Using mat, begin to roll up.

JAPANESE CUISINE

In Japanese cuisine, sushi is vinegared rice, usually topped with other ingredients, including fish dishes. In Japan, sliced raw fish alone is called sashimi and is distinct from sushi, as sashimi is the raw fish component, not the rice component. The word sushi itself comes from an archaic grammatical form of a word that is no longer used in other contexts; literally, "sushi" means "it's sour".

There are various types of sushi: sushi served rolled inside nori called makizushi or rolls; sushi made with toppings laid with hand-formed clumps of rice called nigirizushi; toppings stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu called inarizushi; and toppings served scattered over a bowl of sushi rice called chirashi-zushi