Sushi rolls for camping

I woke up early in the morning on the 24th of December to get 16 sushi rolls ready. It was my first time cooking so much rice (1.5 kg) in my whole life. I was very thrilled as everything came together nicely. I got all prep done and  the rolls were ready within 3 hours. I had to do some calculations on how much rice I need to fill 16 rolls (ratio of uncooked versus cooked rice). Basically, 1 cup of uncooked rice  makes 3 rolls. so all I had to do was used my basic maths and do the multiplication. I kept the fillings simple- tuna mayo, carrot, cucumber and sesame seeds.

Recipe for the rice can be found from an earlier post here.

Sushi Time (with quinoa rice recipe)

Five days till Christmas. It's been quite cool since the beginning of summer, but it is getting warmer now. After a while of not making sushi, I finally decided to make my own version with quinoa. This is so fresh and crunchy. Sushi is not difficult to make and you only need few ingredients, so why not give it a try if you have got the time. I made this one using part quinoa for the rice filling. It think it was quite nice. Quinoa brings some crunchiness to the rice and obviously makes it 'super', with the super foods' trend going on.

To make the quinoa rice, I firstly cooked 1/4 cup of red quinoa, and then mix with 1 tbs of rice wine vinegar. Then, I cooked 1 cup of sushi rice. I mixed 3 tbs of rice wine vinegar with 1 tbs of sugar and 1tsp of salt which I then poured onto the cooked rice. Finally mix the quinoa and rice together until combined.

Recipe for Quinoa rice (for 3 rolls)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of red quinoa
1 cup of sushi rice
4 tbs of rice wine vinegar
1 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt

Method:
1. Cook the quinoa on stove per instructions with approximately 3/4 cup of water.
2. Once cooked mix with 1 tbs of vinegar, and let to cool.
3. Cook the sushi rice as per instructions per absorption method or rice cooker (it is normally a 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cup of water).
4. Combine 3 tbs of vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved.
5. Pour onto the cooked rice.
6. Mix the quinoa and rice together. Let cool down before using to make your sushi.

Now all you are left with is to prep your favourite filling and your sushi will be ready in no time.

I had some leftover rice, so I decided to make try some 'nigiri' as well.

Throwback Thursday (Japanese)

I just made some sushi at home and I thought of posting some few random photos of Japanese places I tried. Sushi is one of my favourite on-the-go food. They are not that cheap though, so I do not have it on a regular basis. I have seen some 'healthier' sushi options at some restaurants, using brown rice or quinoa instead of the white sushi rice. I personally think that this is a great offer as this brings more texture to the rice filling.

Sushi from Sushi sushi

Miso soup from Osaka Sushi

Spring roll and sea weed from Osaka Sushi

Some deepfry potato ball from Osaka Sushi

Chicken bento from Osaka Sushi

Teriyaki salmon bento from Osaka Sushi

Sushi Izu

Miso soup and sashimi from Taku Japanese Kitchen

Deluxe set from Taku Japanese Kitchen

Chicken katsu bento from Nagoya Sushi

Teriyaki beef bento from Nagoya sushi

Agedashi tofu from Taka

Teriyaki salmon bento from Zensaki

Teriyaki beef bento from Mayo Mayo Japanese Sushi

Teriyaki Beef Crunchy Roll from Woolies

There is a new 'pop-up' sushi stand at some Woolworths stores. It goes by the name Sushi Izu. So far I have seen them in Perth City stores, Carousel, Riverton, and Livingston Shopping Centres. I have tried their sushi twice and they are pretty nice.

Last week I saw they have a new range, providing more 'fancy' sushi rolls. I decided to try their teriyaki beef roll. The filling was a teriyaki beef (obviously), thinly sliced cucumber and avocado. The roll was coated with spicy mayo and crispy fried onions. I was pleased with the combination. I was quite apprehensive on the spicy mayo because I cannot eat spicy food, but it contrasted well with the sweetness from the teriyaki sauce. The teriyaki sauce was very sweet indeed. It is quite pricey ($11), but all Japanese food seems to. Anyway, I would personally not buy this combination again, but I am willing to try other rolls next time.

 

 

 

Light meals

Here are a few of ideas of a quick and light lunch/ meal (and no need to add healthy and delicious). Now it is no surprise I'm an avocado lover, so you are warned that most (if not all) of these meals include it. I truly think that it changes the taste of what you eat, makes it way so much better, tastier, plus avocado is rich in omega-3 and good for the skin (alright I will spare you the list, only because there's no need to explain something that is healthy and nutritious right). Here you go:

Wrap with tuna, avocado and tomato

Avocado and egg on toast, with salad

Mac and cheese, mix with chopped avocado

Sushi, alright this is a cheat, but they are so yummy ;)

Sushi

Alright, I know  I will be repeating myself here, but I like to take pictures of dishes I cook and make all the time (making full use of that phone camera Yes!). I really feel proud when I put something on a plate, really. It does show that effort, patience and love make a great deal difference and pays off.
So here I am again with my sushi. This time I took pictures of every step.

Sushi rice, cooked and put aside to be cooled

All my sushi filling ready to go in the sushi

Nori leave ready as well (place the shiny side on top)

Put rice on nori sheet, leaving a little space at the bottom empty

Put your filling at the bottom

Rolled up

I made 5 rolls

Cut and ready to be eaten

So this is it.