Ever since my new found love for sushi, Scott and I have been enjoying it more and more. In fact it’s sort of now become a staple in our house and we have deemed Friday nights, Sushi Friday Night. I can’t even tell you how much I look forward to it! It’s almost as exciting as Pizza Thursdays and that’s saying a lot.
We are lucky that Columbus actually has a large number of sushi establishments and so far we have tried four. Our favorite right now being Akai Hana for several reasons.
- The rolls are large.
- You are not charged extra for brown rice.
- They are not over priced.
- You get eight pieces per roll.
- According to Scott, they have the best tuna.
While the price of sushi isn’t overly expensive, eating a meal out every week can get pricey. Plus I’m not someone who likes to dine out a lot because I would rather spend that time cooking. Scott and I decided to try our hand at making our own sushi. I was excited because not only would I be learning something new but this gave me a reason to finally visit the Asian Supermarket.
Just so I wouldn’t feel too out of place, I took Scott with me for backup and extra street cred.
Um, the Asian Supermarket is like the greatest place ever. I have no idea why it took me so long to get there! They have tons of stuff and I got a gigantic jar of chili garlic sauce for like two bucks. Killer!
We wander the aisles for a long time and collected everything we needed:
- Sushi rice (brown and white)
- Nori
- Rolling mats
- Rice vinegar
We’ve made sushi several times now and each time we get better and better. The island in the kitchen makes a great prep station where I can lay out all the ingredients and then we can slice the rolls on the cutting board.
We have not done raw fish yet. Our fillings consist of veggies and some shrimp that I quickly roast in the oven.
I thought it would be tricky learning how to roll sushi and to my surprise it’s not that bad. Now I’m not skilled enough or have enough experience under my belt to use a half sheet of nori per roll. I have to use a full sheet and I’m okay with that. Maybe at some point I’ll have better skillz!
The thing I love most about making sushi at home is that it is something Scott and I can do together. Normally when we’re in the kitchen, I’m cooking and Scott is hanging out being Scott. I do all of the cooking here at the HQ but sushi night means we can both get our roll on.
I like sharing time and space with Scott making dinner. We’re not in each other’s way as we each have our own little spots at the sushi station. We can chat and we each have our specific things to make. I make the veggie rolls while Scott makes the shrimp rolls.
With practice we are getting much better at making rolls and understanding how to layer in the ingredients. Scott has even channeled his Asian-Fu enough to master the inside-out roll!
We end up making a good bit of sushi as each of us can put it away like we’ve got a wooden leg.
We’ve explored different combos and some have worked while others sounded better on paper. I’m not a huge soy sauce fan for dipping so I’m looking for alternative dipping sauces. Hopefully I’ll find a good one that I can make at home soon!
Sushi Friday Night is a great ritual! It makes for a nice light meal and it’s fun to be able to hang in the kitchen with my loves. Sure sometimes we order out for one reason or another but most times we stick with making our own.
I’m totally looking forward to tonight’s feast!
Have you ever made sushi at home? Do you like sushi and if so, what is your favorite kind to get?
I LOVE your tradition of Sushi Fridays!!! Now if I could only get The Husband on board with sushi
I tried making my own one time and it was a total flop. But, your post really makes me want to try again – it looks SO DELICIOUS..youc an totally consider yourself a pro now I think because I’d eat it ;)
Happy Friday & sushi making!
Wow that looks awesome!
I love sushi but have yet to have the tuna ones. But soooo want to try it. ;)
now I want sushi.
Do you have to buy special rice? Cuz all the sushi I’ve had the rice looks different than normal rice.
I think you should tell us which ones worked and which ones didn’t.
I LOVE sushi, but am afraid to try and make it on my on… there’s a sushi place nearby called Sushi Palace, and it rocks. It’s $19.99 for all you can eat, and they have cool order pads where you custom order what type of sushi or shashimi, etc. you want, and what quantity. They make everything to order. It’s fun to try different types, but I always leave feeling a little too stuffed… can you say “oink”???
LOVE sushi, but like you, wanted to eat it more frequently for more money. Here’s our blog recap of it :)http://www.thesweetslife.com/2009/10/homemade-sushi-maki.html
Looks yummy, Andrea!
My sister and I love making homemade sushi, but the rest of my family hates it. Everytime we get together, though, we make some, and it is a fun sister thing to do.
I am not brave enough to try raw fish at home, and probably never will be. My favorite is octopus.
Sushi friday sounds awesome! I have only made sushi a couple of times but you are right – it gets better and better with practice. This reminds me that I want to try this at home sometime in the near future. My favorite is anything with tempura shrimp and eel! YUMMMMY! I hope you guys enjoy sushi night!!
I’ve never thought about making sushi at home. Thought it would be too complicated. But I love sushi! I normally stick with california rolls, but I’ve had tuna also and like it.
You’ve made it look like so much fun to make!
I LOVE THIS!
The husband and I took a sushi class at Sur La Table which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have since tried my hand at homemade sushi exactly one time and it was a disaster.
I was literally eating my supermarket take-out sushi while reading your post. I am now inspired to give it another go at home. Maybe I will brave the Asian Supermarket as well.
I second Akai Hana for all the same reasons: large rolls, not overpriced and the best fresh tuna. They also have great lunch specials.
Thanks for the post!
You’ve inspired me to make tofushi this week! I’ll try to make a yummy dipping sauce that you can try too (maybe chili garlic sauce?). Happy weekend!
Your sushi looks great!!! I really need to give this a try. I love sushi, but never even though about making it at home. Thanks!
Kudos to you for making your own sushi! I have always wanted to try this but I chicken out every time.
When we first moved here there were no sushi restaurants at all so we used to make our own all the time. Mind you that was also a bit of a chore cause I had to drive hours each way to find sushi grade fish!
What a spread! That looks great! I never had sushi until we moved to Brazil. There was a strong Japanese influence where we lived and sushi was fantastic. I miss it so much. And I mean I miss the food as much as the price. :) It was so affordable there. Now I often get it at some supermarkets here that have sushi counters, but I stick with veggies there. In Brazil we got into all kinds of things – sashimi, sushi, even the salmon roe.
I want to try it at home but haven’t yet. They had all the tools there to make it and now I’m wishing I had bought everything before we moved back!
Looks fabulous! I love that you can have together-time while doing it, too.
I once went to a sushi-making party and I don’t think we ended up eating until after 9PM. One of the guys couldn’t leave the rice alone while it was cooking so he kept STIRRING IT! Yeah, we ended up with rice pudding and had to re-do it.
Holy shit. Not gonna lie, that’s a lot of sushi girl! I’m totally impressed – both by your sushi-making skills and by your ability to pack it away! You may have just inspired me to make my own sushi :)
Looks yummy!! I love me some sushi! My dad used to make his own and got really good at rolling it so keep practicing – you would make him proud :)
LOVE THIS! I really enjoy veggie sushi and sushi with shrimp but can’t do the raw fish stuff yet. I’m willing to learn eventually. I’d love to try making my own. How fun!
Sushi with asparagus, shrimp and avocado is my favorite.