Make easy homemade sushi, without raw fish
There’s a video breaking the Internet right now in which late-night comedian Jimmy Fallon takes country singer Blake Shelton to New York’s famous Nobu 57 restaurant to try sushi for the first time.
With each course, more rice wine is drunk and more hilarity ensues (Shelton says one piece resembles a human tongue and has the texture of Play-Doh). The final course, the one that makes Shelton the happiest? A well-deserved hamburger.
Sushi is not for everyone. It is a trendy choice for a night out with friends or a romantic date night, but good sushi can also break the bank.
If you’re looking for a way to indulge your sushi cravings while sticking to your monthly budget, surimi seafood is a great alternative to raw seafood that you can prepare at home.
Surimi is a fully cooked Japanese seafood ingredient (often labeled “imitation crabmeat” and sold under labels like Louis Kemp in the seafood section of grocery stores), so it’s a great introduction for those new to sushi. Made from premium wild Alaskan pollock — a highly-sustainable whitefish — and real snow crab, surimi is a good source of protein and is more cost effective than cuts of raw seafood.
It’s also an ideal ingredient for a variety of people: expectant mothers can indulge their sushi cravings anxiety-free, and parents can introduce the nutritional benefits of seafood into their kids’ diets by hosting a family fun night crafting sushi together.
Additionally, more young adults are now choosing to cook at home but still have a penchant for customization. Surimi allows you to skip the pricey sushi restaurant and instead create your own unique sushi at home.
Perhaps Blake Shelton would even approve.
Staff writer Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this report.
Homemade California roll sushi stacks
Serves 4
This recipe, which uses Louis Kemp Crab Delights, is prepared using any large (28-ounce) can or a round food mold.
- 2 cups cooked sushi rice, divided
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 avocados, peeled and chopped, divided
- 1 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped, divided
- 2 cups Louis Kemp Crab Delights surimi seafood, chopped, divided
- 2 teaspoons lemon, finely sliced, divided
- 4 teaspoons sesame seeds, divided
- 4 individual-size seaweed sheets, torn into bite-size pieces, divided
Spicy sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1. Prepare rice according to package instructions.
2. Mix together rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and pour over cooked rice. Gently toss to coat.
3. Prepare can by removing contents, removing top and bottom with can opener then cleaning thoroughly. Round food mold will also work. Place can upright on flat plate and hold firmly in place while layering ingredients.
4. Press 1/2 cup cooked rice in bottom of can. Follow with 1/2 cup avocado, 1/4 cup chopped cucumber, 1/2 cup chopped surimi seafood and 1/2 teaspoon sliced lemon. Use back of a spoon to firmly press ingredients down to ensure sushi stack stays together.
5. Top with 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1 sheet of seaweed. Gently pull can up to remove. Repeat process to create three more sushi stacks.
6. To prepare spicy sauce, mix mayo, Sriracha and soy sauce until incorporated. Serve sushi stacks with drizzle of spicy sauce, if desired, and soy sauce.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 471 calories, 30 grams fat, 38 grams carbohydrates, 18 grams protein, 57 milligrams cholesterol, 396 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber, 55 percent of calories from fat.
Nicole Harris, Wonky Wonderful (http://wonkywonderful.com)
This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Make easy homemade sushi, without raw fish."