Saturday, January 09, 2010

Take-home sushi

nekosushiathome

I've promised it several years now, but still haven't gotten around to it - making sushi, that is. And you know what? I don't think I will. I really doubt it's worth the trouble - it's too hard to get the good ingredients and they cost a lot, so I think I'll stick to buying my sushi when the craving hits. I'm picky though - but luckily, I rather like the sushi nearest to me, Neko Sushi. It's a chain, and they're not remarkable, but they're definitely fresh, clean and well, good enough. I really don't like nori at all, so I never order any rolls. (If I liked rolls, it would definitely be worth making them at home, but alas, I don't.) My favorite is salmon, and sometimes shrimp. I only like tuna if it's REALLY good, and the one at Neko isn't. Avocado is ok once in a while, but I have to remove the strip of nori first.

What are your sushi habits? Do you eat it often? Make it yourself? Favorite pieces? Discuss!

14 comments:

Johanna said...

Please try to make your own sushi. It is easy, tastes great and costs a lot less than if you buy from a restaurant.
Since you live in Stockholm you can go to JFK Shop http://www.japanfood.se and find everything you need. My family loves sushi and we usually make sushi at home every weekend. A huge maki roll with crispy bacon, egg sallad with home made mayo and cucumber, now I am hungry :-)

Anne said...

Johanna, any tips for making great rice? I'm sceptical as to the price though. I'd still need to buy great fish, and that's not much cheaper than buying the sushi ready made... And since I can't stand nori, rolls are a bit of a challenge to make. (Is it even possible?) I have to admit bacon and egg sushi sounds delicious though - yum!!

I do shop at China Market and.. oh, the one on Olof Palmes gata that I never remember the name of, but I'm always a bit intimidated by the experience. So. Much. That I have no idea what to do with :)

amelia s. boston said...

My little sister and mother fell in love with sushi in the late 80's. She was just a baby. But I hated it. Years later I took a liking to avocado and cucumber rolls. California rolls came next and now I really dig tempura shrimp rolls. Sashimi still makes me a little nervous but I think quality has more to do with enjoying that than anything else.

By the way, I had a sashimi chopped scallop over avocado appetizer recently that was AMAZING at http://www.craigieonmain.com/!

Tina said...

Jag är inte heller speciellt förtjust i nori, men det funkar utmärkt att äta insideout-rullar, så det beställer jag gärna. Kanske det kunde funka för dig? Jag är också rätt kräsen när det gäller sushi och min favoritsushi hittar jag i Danmark (bor i Skåne), där det finns en kedja som heter Stiks'n'sushi www.sushi.dk
Dom har fantastiskt god sushi, underbara rullar (en favorit är crispy ebi med friterad räka, avocado och en stark sås, rullat i sesamfrön) och dessutom oerhört goda små stiks (typ grillspett) där kyckling i chilisås och getost/pata negra-skinka är bland de bästa. Nu blev jag också hungrig :)

SWEDISH HOUSE said...

In LONDON we have a chain called YO! SUSHI! I always go visit there whenever I'm uptown.

We are also very fortunate to have the famous M & S Marks and Spencer food halls and Tesco's who both sell small medium and large prepacked sushi relatively cheaply. And even party size platters of Sushi, very handy. But it is a food I never tire of it is soo clean on the palate, light and refreshing and minimal calories yah!! I could eat this and nothing else. HURRAH FOR SUSHI!!! (Unfortunately Swedish Sushi doesn't compare...well the packs in ICA :(

SWEDISH HOUSE said...

BTW Forgot to say I have never made it either. Have bought all the stuff and even the bamboo mats to roll up the rice and nori...but it just sat in the back of my food cupboard. It does seem like a lot of time and effort :S

Anonymous said...

My favorite sushi comes from a place called Osaka (local restaurant), but they're pricey so I don't eat there often. My favorite is dragon roll--eel and plum sauce, delicious.

I've never made my own sushi, but I love to make onigiri! Shaping the rice is fun and my rice cooker cooks it to perfection :)

Chris said...

Anne,

Here is my solution to the nori problem. (I don't care for it either) Instead of nori I blanch and shock fresh spinach leaves, dry them thouroughly and then overlap them to make a sheet of spinach "nori". Sometimes making a double layer.

Have fun!

Chris

Rosemary said...

I agree with you I won't attempt this process.

Anonymous said...

Salmon is really the best for sushi. Easy to make at home. Just buy good salmon, buy wasabi, soya sauce, pickeled ginger and cook sushi rice. Et voilà! You don't need the nori if you don't like it. I love it, though, so I always bring it along with the other stuff mentioned above.

charlotta said...

haha, I do just the same as you -I really like the one with avocado, but don't like the nori so I have to remove it before I eat the rest of it. I'm not a big fan of sushi, though (since i don't eat fish i only eat the vegetarian bites). well, once in a while it's okay.

Wieke said...

Neko is Japanese for cat, I believe.
Would be nice to know, I figured. :)

BusyBee said...

Some sushi places can make you rolls with soybean sheets instead of nori sheets. But really, you are missing out on nori. You have to find a good one though. Good nori should taste like fresh sea, be crispy and melt in your mouth.

Swedishhouse, I don't know why you bother with supermarket sushi, the quality on most subpar sushi places are better than those in supermarkets. The reason is the rice in the Swedish supermarkets are medium grain. You can not let it chill, or it will harden. In UK where they have much better experience, they probably use more expensive short grain rice, that stays soft even when chilled. The irony is that the best sushi is made with quality medium grain, not short grain. But you can not chill that ball of rice. Eat it instantly.

Anne, a piece of nigiri cost less than 4kr to make (the ingredients). The only reason to why it cost so much in sushi places is the work they have to put in and their rent.

You are so right about tuna. Most tuna served in Swedish sushi bars are not good.

BusyBee said...

Btw, inside out rolls (california rolls) have the same amount of nori as the usual rolls, but it's in the inside instead...

Sushi hit mainstream in the US when they invented the inside out roll.