Make Your Own Sushi Rolls

We went to a friend's house for Labor Day. We had a BBQ that was half hot dogs and hamburgers and half roll your own sushi!

Koichi, the host, picked up all the ingredients that morning:


Rice for sushi is mixed with a special type of vinegar to give it flavor and help it stick together. That's the bottle in the back on the left.


Here we have tuna, imitation crab, and some other fish.


This is mint leaves and (since we're in California) avocado.


This is a special fermented soy bean mix. Knowing Koichi, it's probably something amazing that you can't buy because he just whipped it up.


And don't forget, Wasabi. Koichi told us once that this style of powered wasabi (mixed with water), is pretty much horseradish. And the actual wasabi in Japan has a different flavor because it's made from a different plant.


Notice that we've completely wrapped the bamboo roll in plastic wrap because we're about to make a California roll, which has the rice on the outside (not the seaweed). This keeps the rice from sticking to the bamboo

And Now, Koichi shows us how to make a california roll! (note, no sound on this one.)

Things to note:

• see how Koichi pretty much folds the bamboo roll in half and makes the two ends of the bamboo roll touch, then he shapes the sushi inside the bamboo. That is a key element to rolling the sushi correctly.

• It's not in the video, but to get that thin strip of seaweed, you *don't* tear it off the bigger sheet. Instead, you just fold the seaweed and it snaps cleanly.

And now, an easy mistake to make when rolling (and how to recover) (note: this one *does* have sound).

Now go back and watch Koichi again and you'll see how he folded it in half and pulled on the top to roll the sushi inside the bamboo (rather than just wrapping the bamboo around the sushi).

Next, Koichi shows us how to make Hand Rolled Sushi. (again, this has sound)

Note how he rolls it in a cone shape so the filling doesn't fall out of the bottom.

Later, we asked Koichi: "So does every Japanese kid learn how to roll sushi?" Koichi says, "No, not the kind with the bamboo. They know the Hand Rolled kind, because Mom's not going to roll it for everyone. You have to fend for yourself."

Here's a final look at the damage after our East meets West Labor Day BBQ!