In June 2002 the long-awaited and planned trip to Vienna with our secondary class finally came to happen.
We had been looking forward to it for a while.
Four odd teenage years and hundreds of agonizing watchful school days later and we were off to experience a different scenery for a whole week.
The city was calling my name and I could only see a glimpse of hope, a certain smell of freedom was lingering in the air.
I was never the popular kid.
No I was the geeky french and I did try my best to avoid troubles and politics, however, I was aware of the insults and idiotic words are thrown at me.
Yet, I was prepared and my plan was to show those kids that they were wrong about me all those years.
Seriously, my show was perfect, and yes I did get the respect that I had been striving for.
Contact lenses, a dress and my experience for traveling were my weapons.
That day was the day when I finally found my self-esteem and trust in myself self and from that day onwards I had been bolder and I was ready to explore the world in peace.
After visiting Schönbrunn & Belvedere palaces, the St.Stephan’s Cathedral and so on we got the chance to visit the Naschmarkt, an old and popular market area in Vienna.
For a few hours, we were free to roam about and do our little shopping.
I and 2 friends took some time to roam about and then I saw it, a real Sushi Restaurant!!
I had never eaten Sushi before, of course, I had heard about it and seen it occasionally on TV, but that was about it.
So with all my elan, I dragged my two friends into the place and somehow convinced them to have some with me.
The Sushi was super expensive but I didn’t care, I needed to give it a try.
I was in a craze all of a sudden and I could believe that I controlled everything.
The Sushi came, I had a bite and I was smitten, my friends on the other hand didn’t find it that cool.
I don’t know why, but I never forgot this day and the Sushi became a sign for a new beginning in my life.
Ten Years later my love for Sushi has only grown in size.
The sole issue for a while now was the fact that certain ingredients were not available here in Goa.
Fortunately, my Bavarian friend and I had been planning to make homemade sushi for over a year, so she brought some ingredients from Germany back to Goa.
Further, I arranged for some fresh ingredients such as veggies and prawns for the filling.
Making Sushi rolls at home is fun if you have a friend joining the making.
Even if you are planning to make it by yourself, you will realize how easy it can be.
For sure the Japanese have their special rolling and cutting techniques and of course, they own some great knowledge all-around their national food, oh and let’s not forget how detailed they are and how well they decorate food.
Just look at Nami’s amazing creations, she posts from her Japanese kitchen at Just One Cookbook.
However we were not striving to make the prettiest Sushi or the most unusual, we were set on having a blast and in the same time we decided to fill the Sushis to our liking.
Sushi is something special and fresh that comes from the anime and video gaming lands, it is so unique and exotic to us that it holds a special place at least in my food experience.
I don’t indulge it that often, I wish I did though, but then most probably it wouldn’t be anything special anymore.
Therefore, I believe it is a dish that you can try to make to treat your senses on one fine day when you feel bored at home.
A cloudy, cold, rainy day might turn sunny with a colorful scrumptious sushi roll.
Or how about calling your neighbor, who you hadn’t had the time to spend within a while, and plan together on making sushi rolls at home?
I can tell you one thing that it is a relaxing therapy to succeed a neat sushi roll and a certain feeling of pride comes to light as well.
I am not an expert, just a lover, and a crass sushi fan, BUT I decided a making Sushi rolls post was needed because apparently the whole world still thinks that sushi is just raw fish.
That isn’t the case, in fact, the small amounts of prawns and calamari I used were precooked for a short while.
We decided to do that, although our fish was fresh from the Goan harbor because we wanted to go sure since the temperatures were soaring that day.
Here we filled our sushi rolls with Cucumbers, Paprika, Carrots, Prawns and Calamari pieces.
Some had all the ingredients some had only cucumbers or prawns, I call it freestyle Sushi making.
A few rolls were smaller since we cut the Nori Seeweads into two, but most of them were bigger rolls.
I thought today I would just introduce you to the making of Sushi and let you choose a filling of your choice.
Have fun!
Dear Reader, did you try the Recipe?
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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Ingredients
- Sushi Rice cooked
- Veggies of your choice. We used Cucumber Yellow Bell Pepper and Carrots.
- Fresh Seafood of your choice. We used Prawns and Calamari. You can also work with Salmon or Tuna cuts.
- Nori Seaweed sheets
- Bamboo Mat for rolling covered with cling foil
Instructions
- Place a Seaweed sheet on top of the Bamboo mat and add the cooked rice on top of that. Spread the rice well with your hands so that you have a good layer of that. The rice will be sticky so try to keep your hands always a bit wet with water. Add your favorite filling on top. We used in length cut Cucumber, Paprika and Carrot (for some crunch) pieces.
- Time to roll it up! Take the bamboo mat ending as shown and roll it carefully and keep on pressing on the vegetable while rolling the seaweed.
- Press the roll firmly, the wrap needs to be tight so that nothing falls out. Continue to roll it until it is properly sealed. At this point you can use your finger to shape it into a square if you want.
- To cut the rolls into sushi bits, I would suggest to use a big sharp knife. I kept on wetting my knife too a bit so that the cutting would work easier and smoother. We made a lots so I kept some rolls in the fridge in between. We realized that when the rolls are cold it is easier to cut them into pieces.
- You can also make some easier sushi type by forming little amounts of sushi rice in your hands (see picture). We cooked the prawns for 3 minutes in boiling water by first poking a toothpick through the prawns, so that they remain straight while cooking. After they are cooked we cut them open on the belly side, flattened them and placed them on top of the formed sushi rice.
- Serve and indulge the Sushi with a Wasabi paste/dark liquid Soy Sauce mixture.
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A_Boleyn says
I always try to comment on sushi-making at home posts to encourage the continuation of a great practice. I don’t have the very fresh fish available that you do since I’m in the middle of Canada however I CAN get raw salmon and sushi grade tuna, even if I have to pay a LOT for a small piece. But then, a small piece is all you really need. However, I often make Philadelphia rolls with smoked salmon and cream cheese, as well as tempura shrimp (I buy the frozen premade ones and just bake them off) and cooked ones instead.
No need to deny yourself sushi at home because you can’t get the variety of raw fish as in a restaurant.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/193763.html
Minnie@thelady8home says
Helene, the sushi has turned out to be beautiful! They look professionally turned out. Fabulous!!!!!
Helene Dsouza says
thank you Minnie!! =))
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
Hi Helene! Thank you so much for your kind mention here. I need more practice rolling sushi too because I don’t make it often and next time I make I need a couple of practice rolls until I make good pieces. Your sushi turned out beautiful! I just shared your link on my fan page – hope that was okay. 🙂
Helene Dsouza says
Ah, if you are saying that mine turned out pretty great then it means something Nami! =D
Of course that’s ok and thank you btw. 😉
mjskit says
What gorgeous sushi! I use to want to make sushi at home. In fact, my SIL even gave me a sushi making kit for Christmas a few years ago, but it’s still in the box. It’s just so hard to get good fish here and so easy to drive down the street and order whatever sushi, sashimi that we want. 🙂 If I ever break open the box, I know where I can come for instructions.
kitchenriffs says
Your sushi rolls look wonderful! I’ve never tried making this at home – I really should, because I can make exactly what I want. It look like the rolling part is fun! Good post – thanks.
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Not really a fan of sushi…but homemade is a different story.. these look beautifully done.
Vicki Bensinger says
Helene your sushi looks perfect. This is one of my most popular classes. I’d say 7 out of 10 times people request it.
Great rolls!
Charles says
Hi Helene, there’s a chain here which does home delivery of sushi and it’s actually really good. They make ones stuffed with fresh herbs, shrimp and spicy sauce, or others with crispy chicken, anchovy dressing and lettuce (like a caesar salad roll)… they have some really inspirational stuff (even a tabbouleh maki).
It’s just as well they deliver because I’m rubbish at rolling sushi, although I do have fun while doing it, and that’s the important thing, right? 😀
You did a great job – you managed to get the fillings very centralised, which I always find really hard!
Kankana says
I tried making sushi once and it was a complete disaster. You on the other hand did a FANTASTIC job with the filling and the rolling!