Sushi Saturday

Vegetable sushi is one of my favorite things to eat. For years I would purchase it as a special treat. However, like with most things I decided to try it at home because it can get really expensive to feed a husband and two growing, always eating boys. So, for about the last 4 years I've been making sushi and improving upon the technique as I go. I'm no expert, but I do a pretty good job if I do say so myself.

As you may have guessed, we had sushi for dinner on Saturday (Sunday too). Usually I just make rolls (maki sushi), but this time I tried something a little different. Nigiri-sushi is the oval shaped sushi that usually has a nice raw piece of fish sitting on top. Needless to say there was no raw fish served here, although if you don't look too hard it may look a little like salmon.

The orange is thinly sliced carrots that I simmered in a vegetable broth and soy sauce mixture. The maki has cucumber and avocadoes. Yum! All food has some history to it, and as we have continued learning about Japan, it seemed fitting to explore the origins of its most well-known food. Sushi was not a planned menu item. It came about as a result of resourcefulness and adaptation. Fish and rice are both a major part of the Japanese diet, and both are very plentiful. Years ago, in order to preserve fish it was heavily salted and storage was inside mounds of cooked rice. It was kept this way for a year, so you can imagine that the rice became...you guessed it, the rice became sour and was thrown out. Over the years storage time was cut and the rice was not discarded, but eaten along with the fish. Eventually they reached the point of using fresh fish and adding vinegar to make sour rice. The boys thought that was an interesting bit of information.

Before you ask I will just tell you that yes, the boys like sushi. In fact they really love it as much as J and I do. Can't you tell?

If you've never tried sushi before, then decide to be a little adventurous. Many supermarkets have sushi bars right inside the store. Watch them make it, pick up a pack to take home and let me know how much you enjoyed it.

I will not try to give a recipe for making sushi, however there are some really good ones online. There are even videos on youtube that show the process. I also came across a really good cookbook titled Vegetarian Sushi that is worth checking out.