Edible Wednesday: Sue's Vegetable Sushi

The first time I ever had homemade sushi was at my twin sister Sue's house...so I am naming this for her!

I bought a Sushi Kit at me grocery store and let it sit on my counter for about 3 months. The box made it sound so easy. The images - made it look so easy...but I knew it was going to be so hard! Boy was I ever wrong!!!! Folks - Vegetable Sushi is one of the easiest things to make! So let's get started!
Unless you buy a kit with all the works, you need ingredients:

INGREDIENTS: (Look in the Ethnic section of your grocery store, or near where they may make sushi.)
Sushi Nori - Comes in a pack of 5.
Sushi Rice
Sushi Rice Vinegar (Can be "Seasoned" or not)
Your choice of veggies (I use 2 med carrots, 1 cucumber, and 1 avocado) (makes 4 rolls)
Sesame Seeds
and a Bamboo mat (get some plastic wrap or a plastic bag)

Step 1:
Make the rice according to the directions on the bag or box (for a kit). The best thing to do - is make the rice really earlier than you need it because it needs to be totally cooled off (I prefer doing it the day before). Please stay close to the rice and stir frequently so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. I would very much recommend using a non-stick pan. (Sue says to rinse the rice til the water runs clear. I've never done that - but she's on my speaker phone right now and told me to add that info!)
Step 2:
Once the rice is cooled, measure out your sushi rice vinegar and using a spoon, equally distribute the SR vinegar over all the rice. Fold the vinegar in - so as not to mash the rice grains. (it won't look as pretty!). I don't use as much rice vinegar as they recommend on the bottle - but this is a personal preference.
Step 3:
Set up your veggies. I use a peeler to cut up the carrots, julienne the cucumbers and slice the avocados (I know it's tempting but no snitching!)
Step 4:
The really awesome guy at my grocery store showed me a trick with the bamboo mat. He wraps his up in plastic wrap so he doesn't have to clean it or throw it away over time. I found that plastic wrap annoys me and so I just put mine into a plastic zipper bag. It works just as well!
Step 5:
Split your rice within the bowl so you have equal amounts of rice for each roll. Grab one sushi nori and lay it on the mat. Get a little bowl of water (this is Sue's secret trick!), dip your fingers, grab some rice and spread it out on the sushi nori. Continue to dip your fingers in the water so the rice doesn't stick as much. Again be gentle so you don't mash up the rice grains! Once it's covered, sprinkle some seasame seads on top and then flip it over.
Step 6:
So now your rice will be on the bottom and the other side of the Sushi Nori will be facing up. On one end lay some carrots, cucumbers and avocado. Nori is not squared. Lay the narrow end closets to you and the veggies on that end. As you roll it up, that should be the longer length.
Step 7:
Grab the bamboo and the veggie end, and slowly roll once so the rice from the front, touches the nori. This seals in the veggies. Scoot the bamboo in and squeeze. Roll again and do the same thing. Scoot and squeeze. Continue to do that until it's totally rolled. Once it is, squeeze and roll one last time.
Step 8:
Do not cut it up on the bamboo mat so you don't cut holes in the bag. Lay the roll on a plate and cut the roll in half. Be sure to move the knife back and forth to cut it, not squishing it down to cut, and make sure the seam is on the bottom. Cut each half in half again, and then each of those halves in half!
Repeat steps 5 - 8 to make as many rolls as you can.

Serve your Sushi with Ginger Miso dressing or a Soy Sauce of choice and by all means enjoy!!!

If I forgot something here, leave me a comment...If you try this out, leave me a comment, if you read this, leave me a comment...In other words, fell free to leave me a comment! : )

Thanks! Kerry