Best Sushi

                                                   What do you do with left-overs?

                                                   A. reheat in the microwave for dinner

                                                   B. throw away

                                                   C. turn into sushi

My answer is C. I know it's weird, right! When you think of sushi, you think of prime fresh ingredients. But, living in the west suburb of Chicago, this hungry Asian boy doesn't always have the luxury of finding sushi grade fish nor the time and budget to eat out when the craving comes. I don't know what it is about a fresh  tuna or salmon sashimi (raw slice) dipped in wasabi soy sauce, a nice spicy tuna maki (roll) or a salty sweet eel nigiri (grilled or raw fish topped on rice) that is so addicting.

Here is how I make my sushi roll. I use any short-grained rice from my neighborhood Jewel, soy sauce and it has to be Kikkoman brand, pickled ginger, what's left of the fruit I had for breakfast (pear in this case), a vegetable (cucumber from last night's salad), wasabi powder (never from a tube --- that thing is nasty!), nori or seaweed, sushi mat and left-over fish. I have cured a piece of salmon in salt, pepper, sugar, vodka and fennel fronds for a lunch date a couple of days ago. 

I've never been in an Asian home with no rice cooker and my apartment is certainly not any different. That's how I cook my rice. Traditionally, sushi rice is mixed with rice wine vinegar then fanned to make it shiny but I'm not a fan of sour sushi. No pun intended.Then I cut my fish, fruit and vegetable in batonette or french-fries style. As a rule of thumb, I only use three fillings in my roll excluding the wasabi paste: a protein, a vegetable and a fruit. I'm a purist. I hate mayo, cream cheese or any weird western sauce in my sushi.  

I lay the nori dull side up on the sushi mat. Wet my hands with water so the rice won't stick. Spread the rice thinly on top of the nori. Put a small amount of wasabi paste across with the tip of my index finger.

Lay the fillings on top, be careful not to put too much --- it's not a spring roll! 

Use the mat to fold and press with fingers to make a tight roll , preferably with two hands but I was using the other hand to hold my camera.

Cut into equal portions for presentation dipping the knife in water so it won't stick.

Top with fennel fronds and arrange on plate with wasabi cube for more kick, Kikkoman soy sauce for dipping and pickled ginger to cleanse your pallete. Sushi generally doesn't have to be eaten using chopsticks.It's finger food! But feel free to use it for drama. 

Sushi rolls are fun to make and doesn't have to be strictly traditional. I've had Spam sushi in the Philippines, soft-shelled crab roll from Ichiro in Orland Park, vegetable roll from MOMA in New York,  crispy salmon skin cone from Bellagio in Las Vegas and sea urchin from Sushi Taiyo in Chicago. But I must say, the best sushi I've ever had is the one that I make.