The Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi

Includes 500 Photographs

Making sushi at home is surprisingly easy and fun!

Written by Jeffrey Elliot & Robby Cook

My children and I are BIG sushi fans and we love to make it at home. Our sushi doesn’t always look spectacular, so I knew everyone would love a formal guide book to making sushi. The Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi by Jeffrey Elliot & Robby Cook has everything I could ever want in a sushi cookbook – and more!

My teens and I spent an entire day flipping though the 300+ pages. I heard my daughter yelling from another room

“Oh wow! They even teach you how to filet the fish!”…

She was pretty impressed.

I’m in love with almost everything I have seen in this book, they have given me the best ideas! I cannot wait to get my hands on the proper tools to make our homemade sushi better, more visually appealing, and more creative right along with the tutorials provided. Tools? Yes, you need to add a few more kitchen tools to your collection in order to prepare sushi well. In interviews with the authors they explain that it is best to use “Japanese traditional knives.” The book goes into even great detail too.

What else do the authors have to say about sushi?

wait for it…

“Using your fingers to eat sushi is OKAY!” ~ Robby Cook

Yes! Using your fingers is okay — who knew?

About The Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi:

Sushi isn’t tricky to make so long as you have the right utensils and some patience to get acquainted with the techniques. All it takes is practice and, in no time at all, you’ll be making sumptuous sushi that will wow your family and friends.

This incredible book will provide you with all the information you need to get started — from ingredients and equipment to fish butchery, making perfect rice, plating techniques and so much more. You’ll learn how vitally important knife selection is and the differences between Japanese and Western equivalents.

With full color throughout, 500 photographs, a user-friendly concealed Wire-O binding and hundreds of tips and techniques, this sushi book is sure to become the go-to guide for sushi and sashimi lovers, whether novice or experienced.

Ingredients certainly take center stage and here Robby Cook shares his extensive experience with fluke (hirame), octopus (tako), red snapper (tai) and many other types of fish and seafood.

Sushi, maki, sashimi, nigiri, oshizushi — it’s all here, from the California and dragon rolls we’re all familiar with to tantalizing clam and sea urchin recipes.

Find the Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi on Amazon!

Hand-Shaped Sushi Nigiri

Disclaimer: Recipe is courtesy of The Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi by Jeffrey Elliot & Robby Cook © 2015 www.robertrose.ca. Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold.

Image credit: Andrew Scrivani

MAKES 20 PIECES

This is the basic technique for making nigiri. But even though it’s somewhat basic, it will require a lot of practice. Until you master hand-shaping the sushi rice, it’s best to limit the types of fish you practice with, to avoid any waste. Preslice the fish using the sogizukuri technique (see page 119) before beginning the recipe.

Flip Method (Yokotegaeshi)

2 cups Sushi Rice (see recipe below), divided 500 mL

20 pieces sushi fish (about 1 lb/500 g), 20

sliced sogizukuri-style

Dab wasabi paste Dab

Pickled ginger

Wasabi paste

Soy sauce

TIPS

Any type of high-quality fish can be used to make nigiri. Tuna, salmon, yellowtail and white fish are all excellent to use if you are a beginner. Once you become more proficient, you can try flatfish and shellfish.

To make these using the roll method (kotegaeshi), in Step 9 use the fingers of your guide hand to roll over the sushi so that it is fish side up.

When making nigiri, you will need to rewet your hands repeatedly to prevent sticking. If you prefer, use nonstick gloves.

EQUIPMENT

Wet towel
Nonstick gloves, optional

For vegetarian sushi: Try using pickled vegetables found at Japanese supermarkets, such as cucumber (kyu¯ri), eggplant (nasu), burdock root (gobo), daikon radish (takuan), ginger shallot (myo¯ga) or Japanese turnip (kabu). You can also use fresh or lightly blanched daikon sprouts (kaiware). In fact, you can use any vegetable you have on hand, as long as it will stay on top of the rice (although you can use a piece of nori to help; see page 147).

Sushi Rice Shari

MAKES 4 CUPS (1 L)

Making rice for sushi is the most important thing you will learn in this book. Without good sushi rice, you can’t make sushi. Apprentice chefs in Japan may take one to two years to perfect rice before they move on to fish. Using a rice cooker will take some of the guesswork out of cooking rice, but following this recipe will help you to cook it on the stovetop.

2 cups water 500 mL

2 cups sushi rice 500 mL

1 piece (4 inches/10 cm) konbu optional 1

1⁄2 batch Sushi Vinegar 1⁄2

EQUIPMENT

Fine-mesh sieve
Large bowl
Heavy saucepan with tight-fitting lid
Hangiri, optional
Rice paddle (shamoji) or spatula
Fan, optional

TIPS

While your rice is cooking, soak your hangiri and rice paddle in cold water to prevent sticking. Drain and wipe dry before adding the rice. If you don’t have a hangiri, use a wide, shallow non-reactive bowl or a clean wooden salad bowl.

If you don’t have a Japanese rice paddle (shamoji), use a wooden or silicone spatula, lightly moistened with water.

Your finished rice should be subtly flavored, free of any clumps and firm but tender, never mushy.

TEMPERATURE MATTERS

When making nigiri, it is important to work quickly. If you go too slowly, you will transfer too much body heat to the fish and rice, which will make it too warm for serving (sushi should be served at room temperature). This is why it is best to practice making rice balls without the fish, until you develop comfort and speed.

The Complete Guide to Sushi & Sashimi is featured on Mom Does Reviews

2015 Christmas Gift Guide! Visit the gift guide to find more spectacular gift ideas!

0 Shares