![]() It’s known for the unique way it serves hand rolls, called teori (ori means weave) because the variety of ingredients weaves so many flavors together. One of the most inspiring hand roll restaurants in the world is Awomb in Kyoto. ![]() (Fights at the sushi case prove it.)Īn ode to the secretly best California roll, perfected over two decades at Yama Seafood in the San Gabriel Valley. (Traditionally, a shamoji is used with a light slicing or chopping motion at about a 45-degree angle through the rice.)įood The ultimate California roll lives on at this SGV fish market. With a wooden spatula or flat wooden spoon, mix by gently tossing, so as not to mash the grains of rice.A large, wide bowl works well for mixing the vinegar mixture with the cooked rice while it’s still warm, so that the seasoning is absorbed evenly. ![]() Some might describe it as “chewier” or “al dente.” It shouldn’t be soft - sushi rice should be firmer than cooked Japanese rice is normally. Many varieties are available at Japanese markets, but avoid new-crop rice (it’s recently harvested and contains more moisture). As with any recipe, just follow recommended guidelines. But even if you aren’t sourcing your rice directly from a farmer in Yamagata prefecture, creating your own rice blend, using Hokkaido bottled spring water or aging red vinegar for a year, you can still make great shari. Shari preparation is the individual expression of each sushi chef. Sushi rice is probably considered the hand roll party centerpiece, and yes, there are nuances when it comes to preparing it I try not to get too hung up on them. Then just fold it like a taco, either edge to edge for a rectangle or corner to corner for a triangle. Top the nori with a small amount of seasoned rice and whatever fillings you want. Snap or cut the nori in half once, then in half again for a nearly square quarter-sheet. Like many home cooks, I use a quarter-sheet for hand rolls. Most temaki at sushi bars is made with a half-sheet of nori (to form a cone). Nori comes in a standard size, about 8 by 7 inches. Japanese markets offer increasingly more varieties, and I’ve seen a favorite brand, Mikuniya (from Ariake), at stores such as Nijiya Market. It should be so crisp that you can fold the seaweed paper and it will snap cleanly in half. Which is all to say: You should buy the best nori you can afford. When you bite into the best nori, it explodes with crackle, flavor and aroma, and then it practically dissolves. The seaweed is blended, pressed and dried in a process developed by Tokyo paper makers in the 1600s, then graded according to the time of year it was harvested and dozens of other criteria such as color, flavor, hagire (crispiness) and kuchidoke (the texture that makes it melt in your mouth). The highest-quality Japanese seaweed for nori comes from the Ariake Sea, a huge bay on the southern island of Kyushu. For hand rolls, nori - shatteringly crisp sheets of it - is as important as sushi rice.
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