Thanks for the tip PPT. The Kokuho Rose has worked well for me but I'm very tempted to try the Kagayaki next time I run out. None of those cities are nearby (I'm in "The Valley") but I'd order online in preference to driving that far, particularly in our traffic.
Timothy, I'm curious if you could elaborate on what the "Sushi Magic" is, not that it sounds like anything I'd want but just to satisfy my curiosity.
I discovered that using the
makisu (bamboo mat) was very easy, particularly when you understand how to position the rice on the
nori (seaweed sheet), where to position the
nori on the mat, where to position the filling on the rice, and how much to get the right size roll. Also curious if you see any advantage to toasting the
nori. (I think I tried it both ways but forgot my results.)
There's something that has always bothered me about traditional rolls as served in restaurants. I've always felt that the slices were too big, and that I'd prefer a smaller bite size because I always feel the commercial rolls are too large, yet it makes a mess if you try to eat a slice in two bites. Has anybody else encountered this? I prefer to make my rolls smaller diameter than restaurant or sushi bar size, then slice them a bit thinner too so as to make more pieces and each of them smaller.
I found it interesting to have a few sushi presses in various sizes, for making square rolls, particularly if you're doing inside-out stuff, although I've preferred traditional rolls with
nori outside.
I've never had good results making
nigiri, appearance wise although they tasted good. I had a bit of a problem with them falling apart and this is a good reason that I should try the Kagayaki rice. One thing for sure, if you have the wrong rice it won't work at all.
By the way, I'm pleased that I had another original thought that turned out others had thought of too independently. One time I was making rolls and tempura at the same time, and I tempura fried a few roll slices! As it turned out it wasn't a bad idea at all! In fact was kind of interesting and I had thought, unique, but alas I've seen that my local sushi place in my new location has that on the menu, tempura fried some sort of roll.
I bet you've had that somewhere too.
When I did it I had thought it was very unconventional and non-traditional. I have no way of knowing if they ever do this in Japan but they do it in L.A. for sure.