sweet potato sushi roll

It's Autumn, sweet potato season! Yummy sweet potato roll has a crunchy surprise inside.

Instead of making sweet potato tempura, I just steam the sweet potato and add some tempura flakes. You can purchase tempura flakes at any Japanese market.  They can be kept in your refrigerator for future use.

Makes 2 rolls


Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups prepared sushi rice 
1/2 lb. sweet potato, peeled and sliced (1/3 inch each)
4 Tbs. Mirin
2 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. roasted sesame seeds
1 full sheet of nori, cut in half along the line
1 Tbs. tempura flake 


Prepare the sweet potato and sweet soy sauce:
In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water, the Mirin and sugar and bring to boil.
Add the sweet potato and cook until it's softened. 
Remove the sweet potato from the saucepan and set aside. Add soy sauce to the saucepan with remaining liquid and simmer until it becomes syrupy.
How to roll:
Cover a bamboo mat with plastic wrap.
Place a sheet of nori rough-side up on the bamboo mat. Moisten your hands with water and scoop a 2/3 cup of sushi rice on nori. Spread the rice evenly and sprinkle the sesame seeds. Carefully flip over the nori so it's rice-side down on the bamboo mat.
Arrange a few slices of the sweet potato evenly equally in a middle of the nori.
Place the tempra flake right below of the sweet potato. Firmly roll up from the end nearest to you. Cut the roll into 6 pieces. 

salmon & avocado donburi

Japanese casual and comfortable meal : donburi. Quick and perfect for weekend's lunch or main dish for dinner with miso soup.

serves 2
1/2 lb. sashimi grade salmon, skin removed, cut in small pieces
1/2 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. chopped scallion
3 shiso leaf, finely chopped
1/2 nori sheet, break into small pieces
1 1/2 cups cooked short grain rice


In a medium bowl, combine the salmon, avocado, lemon juice, soy sauce, scallion and 
shiso leaf. Gently stir together, being careful not to break up the avocado.
Serve it on top of each bowl of rice. Finish with nori sheet. Drizzle some soy sauce if you like.

tuna tataki with lemon zest rice

Simple and sumptuous main dish for lunch or dinner.

Serves 4


Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless skinless tuna fillet
4 cups cooked short grain rice
2 Tbs. lemon zest
4 Tbs. chopped scallion
1 sheet Nori sheet, break into small pieces with hands
a pinch of sea salt, black pepper 


For tuna marinade
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. Japanese Sake
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed


Directions:
Whisk all the tuna marinade ingredients and transfer the marinade with the tuna in a ziploc. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Take it out from the refrigerator at leaset 5 minutes before you cook the tuna.
Take out the tuna from the ziploc and pat it with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and pepper each side of the tuna. Briefly sear both sides of the tuna in a little sesame oil.

In a nonstick saute' pan over medium-high heat, arrange the tuna in the pan and sear, turning once, about a minute per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1/8-inch strips.

Mix cooked warm rice with lemon zest with a rice paddle or flat wooden spoon. Place the rice in a bowl and arrange the tuna slices on top, sprinkle with the chopped scallion and Nori. serve with soy sauce.

sushi appetizer for Christmas

This easy and quick appetizer is perfect for entertaining at your Chritmas party!
Serve with toothpicks and you don't need to dip in soy sauce since all the ingredients are seasoned.

Serves 2 - 4


Ingredients:
2 oz. smoked salmon, cut in 1.5"x 1.5"
2 oz. Tamagoyaki (Japanese style sweet egg, see below) cut in1.5"x 1.5"
2 oz. Nozawana (picked vegetable, available at Japanese store)1.5"x 1.5"
1 1/2 cup Sushi rice ( cooked short grain rice + Sushi vinegar)
brocoli, carrot and cilantro for garnish


Directions:
Tamagoyaki
2 eggs, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon Mirin(If you don't have, no need to add Mirin) and  1 pinch of salt, mix together. In a nonstick fry pan over medium low heat, warm 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the egg and cook until the surface gets soft about 1 minutes. Fold the egg in half, turn off the heat and let it sit on the pan until it cools down.


In the plastic wrap, place 1 piece of tamagoyaki and 1 tablespoon Sushi rice on top of the Tamagoyaki.  Twist the plastic wrap around the Tamagoyaki and rice, eliminating all excess space and air. Carefully create an oval shape unwrap and place on the side.

Repeat above for each of the Tamagoyaki, salmon and Nozawana ingredients. You should create approximately 16 - 20 pieces.

Alternately place individual Sushi pieces in a circular shape on a serving plate (approximately 8 pieces should from the base). Continue in the same manner by placing additional pieces on top in layers so that you create a conical shape.

Garnish with broccoli, carrot and cilantro.