Simple Sushi

Seeing as my blog is fairly new, I obviously have a few exciting and delicious meals that I can write about saved up so I'm going to gradually get them on here. To start with I thought I would go with the one I have the best photographs of seeing as the visuals are half the fun of a food blog. I have a slightly sad habit of taking photographs of nice meals I make or when I order something that looks amazing in restaurants. I'm beginning to think that this unusual habit will come in handy, what with me starting a food blog and all.
So the other day I found I had a spare afternoon and a complete kit to make sushi and thought I would give it a go. I have made sushi in the past but found I never got the rice quite right which is the basis of good sushi. This time I followed a simple recipe of equal parts rice and water which is as follows.

Sushi Rice:
(serves 4 as a starter)

300g Sushi Rice
300ml Water
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
2 tbsp Mirin (rice wine)
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt

Firstly you must thoroughly rinse the rice under a running tap to remove excess starch, you should do this until the water runs clear or you'll have a sticky mess on your hands, which is never good of course. Then add the washed rice and water to a heavy bottomed pan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat so that it comes to a simmer and leave it for 10 more minutes. After this take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 more minutes. Don't take the lid off at any point of the cooking process as you will lose the steam! While you leave the rice to steam, heat the rest of the ingredients in a pan or, if you're lazy like me, the microwave. Once the rice is finished, add the heated dressing and gently fold in. Now you should have light but slightly sticky rice ready for sushi fun!


I took the rice and spread it on nori (dried seaweed) to make some maki. I added cucumber and avocado to one sheet and cooked salmon and avocado to another and then rolled them up using a bamboo mat. I would normally use raw fish but I couldn't find any fresh fillets in the shops in my immediate area. The last of the rice was used with some more salmon to make rather sad looking but tasty nigiri. I served the sushi with a little soy sauce mixed with wasabi which is not the Japanese way though I prefer it. You are meant to add the wasabi to the sushi as you make it but I find you get a better ratio of sushi to wasabi when it is added to the soy. All I needed was some miso soup and it would have been a perfect meal. If you're inspired at all to make sushi after reading this then you should! Its very easy, quite fun as you get to be a little messy and most shops stock the basic ingredients needed. You can also have some fun with it and put your favourite things inside, even chicken or pork if you have a fishaphobe to cater for. So don't be shy and try something new!

Hello blog world....

So I have been thinking for a while that I should put my obsession with food and cooking on record and start to share what I have discovered and what I hope to continue to discover with the world.

I will start with something simple to ease myself into this somewhat foreign idea of writing down my thoughts and actions. Today I have finally made my first batch of mayonnaise. To some this may be no great challenge but it has been a culinary adventure I have steered clear of, for fear of splitting and what not! It turns out it is actually quite easy, either that or I had beginners luck. You start with an egg yolk, whisk it with some mustard and then slowly whisk in a disgusting amount of oil. In the recipe I used it was recommended for beginners to use part olive oil part vegetable oil to avoid the dreaded splitting, which I followed. You then add lemon and salt and pepper for seasoning. I found I needed a lot of salt to get the mayonnaise tasting 'normal' but I would think that would be down to preference.
Once finished I took a small amount (the recipe makes quite a lot of mayonnaise) and added some minced garlic. I then served this delicious creamy garlic mayonnaise with some pan fried smoked salmon fillets, new potatoes, salad and corn on the cob. It was an easy addition that made a boring dinner a little more exciting.

Mayonnaise Recipe:

1 organic or free range egg yolk
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 pint Olive oil (or for beginners 1/2 olive 1/2 veg/sunflower oil)
1 Fresh lemon
Salt and Pepper

In a bowl, whisk (either by hand or with an electric whisk) the yolk and mustard together. Once combined begin to add the oil a tiny drop at a time. Only whisk in more oil once the previous drop is fully combined. After adding about 3 tablespoons of oil you can begin to drizzle the oil in as you whisk but remember to take it slow or your mayo will split. Apparently if it does split you can sometimes save it by adding a small amount of warm water but it is recommended to start again. This is why the part olive part vegetable oil trick is suggested so you don't waste lots of expensive olive oil as a beginner. Once you have your extra thick mayonnaise, add lemon juice and seasoning to taste. This will loosen the mix up a bit and make it really nice and creamy. After that you can add any herbs or spices to make it go with loads of different types of food, or of course enjoy as it is!

So this is my first post! Hope its not boring and is slightly helpful in some way. Feedback would be lovely though please be nice to this new blogger.