What I like most, apart from fishing of course, is cooking. As for today, I'll show you what 'no stress' cooking is about. There's not much fire or gas to be involved here. In fact, you don't even need a stove or oven. Just some fresh ingredients, the right equipment and some cutting skills. On the menu today is none other than tuna sashimi and pickled daikon sushi roll. It's simple. Just follow the steps below and you'll see how easy it is. Don't be afraid to experiment.
So, lets start making...
(Please be reminded that what I'm about to show may not be the right way. I learned the skills of cutting sashimi and sushi from watching videos on YouTube and I am still in the learning process.)Act 1. (Yellowfin tuna sashimi with daikon strips)
I usually start by preparing the daikon strips. You can buy daikon in the markets or the supermarkets these days. Choose one that's firm.
You need a very sharp knife, peeler and cutting board.Peel the skin with the peeler, then cut the daikon into manageable oblong cubes. Slice it to thin pieces of 1mm thick. Stack the slices and then cut them into fine strips, again to about 1mm thick (not shown here). As soon as you're done, soak them in iced cold water for a few minutes.
Soak the daikon strips in iced cold water for a few minutes.Drain the water and place the strips on a paper towel lined plate to dry. Once dried, they're done. Put them on a sashimi serving plate and set it aside. See, it's quite easy.
Drain the water.Place them on a paper towel lined plate to dry.Arrange on a sashimi serving plate and set it aside for now.Next stage, cutting the tuna. Tuna belly is very expensive regardless of the type of tuna you buy. So, I usually go for the lean meat which contains less fat. It's usually darker in red. The tuna slices shown here are yellowfin tuna steaks, the only form of fresh tuna available at the supermarkets here. Again, you need to sharpen your knife before making any cuts.
Fresh yellowfin tuna steaks from the supermarket.Sashimi chefs recommend making the cuts at a 90 degree angle to the direction of the muscle fibres. Cutting this way produces better texture (not shown here). You need to cut with one stroke and do not 'saw' the meat. I've seen some people going overboard cutting sashimi down to paper thin slices. Personally, I prefer 10mm thick slices. I've seen sashimi chefs (on
YouTube) cutting sashimi to about this sort of thickness. So, I guess they can't be wrong. Once done, place them on the daikon strips as previously prepared. Shape a small knob of wasabi and that's it, done.
Done! Yellowfin tuna sashimi with daikon strips.Act 2. (Pickled daikon sushi roll)
Before you start, you need some nori seaweed, a bamboo sushi rolling mat, sharp knife and picked daikon. Prepare the pickled daikon. Cut to long squared sticks.
Cook some sushi rice. I usually use an automatic rice cooker because it's easy that way. My choice of sushi rice is Nishiki. It's not the cheapest nor the most expensive and it's been my choice of sushi making rice for all these years. Once the rice is cooked, season with sushi rice vinegar, a bit of salt and mirin (for sweetness). Fan it to cool. Make it onto a ball and set it aside to set for about an hour or so.
Sushi rice cooked, seasoned and cooled.Next, cut the nori down to the right size. I usually cut about 1/3 away to make small rolls. Wet your hands before handling the rice to prevent it from sticking onto your palms. Spread the rice across the nori and sprinkle some bonito seasoning. Please the pickled daikon strips at the middle of the rice and then roll.
Spread some sushi rice over the nori, place the daikon in the middle, sprinkle some bonito seasoning and then roll.I'm more proficient in making square rolls. I was never good in making round rolls for some strange reason. Once rolled, cut them to size. I usually cut them to 6 pieces per roll. If the rice sticks to your knife, wet your knife and wipe it clean before you proceed to cut.
The finished article... pickled daikon sushi roll. Six cuts per roll.And that's it. Pour some kikkoman, sit back and enjoy. This is 'no stress' cooking. Thanks for reading.