Futomaki - Thick Sushi Roll

Futomaki are thick sushi rolls which includes various fillings. They are also known as fat rolls. My friend Sam who is a Sushi Chef told me that it is easy to make Sushi.  All i needed was some goodwill and a good guide, meaning that he will show me how.  Looking at his nimble fingers working with the rice, trying not to blink in case i missed some valuable tips, but i must have blinked, cos the roll was ready right before me,  like magic, my mouth was opened wide with astonishment.   I insisted that he would have to roll on slow motion and this time, he went extra slow, so i had more ideas of how a good sushi roll was done.  Then it was my turn,  i was so excited that i forgot all the tips and made a huge mess.  Our hungry friends could not wait for lunch, so Sam had to continue making lunch for us and i promised him that i will go home and try to remember his teaching and not make a mess.  You think that i will remember?  I did keep my promise , i made some and a mess too.

Sushi Rice:
Ingredients: 

2 cups sushi or short grain rice
2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt or 2 tsp regular table salt

Method:

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.  Pour enough water to cover rice and let it soak for 30 minutes.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into the rice cooker and cook rice until done.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds.

Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi

California Roll

Ingredients:

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
4 sheets nori
1/2 batch sushi rice, recipe as above
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces
4 crabsticks, torn into pieces

Pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce, for serving










Method:

Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap.

Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat.

Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori.

Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet.

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth.

Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces.

Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Spam Musubi

In Hawaii, Spam musubi, a tradition of Japanese onigiri,  is a very popular snack   Spam musubi is composed of a block of rice, be it jasmine or sushi rice,  with a slice of grilled spam(luncheon meat can be used, then the snack will be called Luncheon Musubi) on top and nori (seaweed) wrapping to hold it together. There are no fast rules to making this yummy snack except for the 3 main ingredients, cooked rice, Spam and Nori.  The sauce is of your own choice and if you are like me, i like mine naked - meaning 'no sauce' cos i find that the Spam is flavorful enough, in fact too salty.  A musubi mould would be good to have but until i visit Hawaii to get one, i will have to continue to make my musubi with a homemade improvised mould - an empty small can of Spam with both ends removed and a thick cardboard cut to the size of the can, covered with several layers of aluminium foil to be used as a press. A word of caution, the edges of the bottom of spam can is very sharp, so neaten sharp edges and use with caution.   I love making spam musubi for breakfast cos it is fast to make.  You know - asian household -  i always have leftover cooked rice and i will just heat it up in the microwave.  I even use the microwave to brown my slices of Spam - no washing of pans.  Yes, in a jiffy you can assemble and a sumptous breakfast/snack can be served.

Ingredients:

5 cups cooked sushi rice/jasmine rice, room temperature
5 sheets nori, cut in half lengthwise
1 (12 oz.) can Spam
Furikake(optional), to taste

Sauce:
6 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp sugar






Method:Cut Spam into 10 slices. Fry until slightly crispy. Remove and drain on plate lined with paper towels.

To make the sauce, in another pan, combine soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Add Spam slices, coating them in the mixture. When mixture has thickened, remove Spam from pan.

To assemble, lay a sheet of nori lengthwise on a clean surface. Moisten lower half of musubi mould and place on lower third of nori. Fill musubi mould with rice and press rics flat until the rice is 3/4-inch high(this height is desirable but it does not matter, if you have put in more rice, then the height will be taller -  no rocket science). Sprinkle rice with furikake if using. Top with slice of Spam. Remove musubi mould with the press still on top of Spam,  keep in a bowl of warm water to keep it clean and moist.



Starting at the end towards you, remove the press and  fold nori over Spam and rice stack, and keep rolling until completely wrapped in the nori. Slightly dampen the end of the nori to seal it.

Repeat with the other nine Spam slices, making sure to rinse off musubi maker after each use to prevent it from getting too sticky.

Tee nyah kuih

 This 'kuih' is typically 'hokkien' and it is time that i talk about my heritage as hokkien 'lang' after being branded as a 'macau sai' by my paternal grandmother cos me and my siblings do not speak our 'mother tongue' that well or rather not at all. We spoke our Mother's tongue, cantonese, but it should not be our Mother's tongue but my Grandma's - Ah Po, who is cantonese. There was once when i was asked by my Ah Ma to tell this hokkien guy who came to look for my Ah Kong - 'ie kee liao pee la lui lee eh au pit'  - hokkien guy seemed to understand what i said, while i myself took a long time to figure out what i said.  Can any of my 'hokkian lang' readers tell me what i said?. 

This kuih is a speciality and will appear on the table of hokkien families during hokkien festivals.  My one and only Ah Koh, made the best tee nyah kuih and i would like my Ah Ma and Ah Koh to be proud of me by making this kuih although mine is not as good.

Ingredients:

1 lb rice flour
2 tbsps tapioca flour
1/2 tsp borax/ pang sar (optional)
2 tbsps potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution
2000 ml/2 liters water
1 ½ tbsps cooking oil
1 tsp salt


Method:

Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, borax, potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution, salt together in a microwave-safe bowl. . Add in the water, a little at a time, to prevent lumps. Give it a good mix before adding cooking oil and stir well and make sure borax is  dissolved.

Cook in the microwave until a very thick consistency, stirring after every intervals.
Pour in a greased 9 inches round steaming tray and spoon the 2 tablespoons of tap water over surface of kuih.

Steam kuih over rapidly boiling water for one hour.  Replenish water if necessary.  To prevent condensation, wrap steamer cover with a large piece of cloth(using a bamboo steamer is the best).

Test for doneness with a wooden skewer(lidi) pierced in the centre,  It should come out clean.

Cool kuih for a couple of hours before slicing.

Serve with Hong Bak or Red Cooked Pork or Tau Yue Bak

Serves

Nasi Biryani

I have cooked nasi biryani many times and somehow, this chinese lady is not getting it right.  My nasi biryani did not have the indian or malay umph and more often than not, the rice was not totally cooked through according the method provided in most recipes, and i have to resolve by using the microwave to finish the cooking.  But, nowadays, cooking nasi biryani is no more a problem, thanks to Vivien Tan, one of my readers who have become a dear friend, send me a few packets of 'SHAN"  brand for  biryani .  I followed the instructions on the back of the packet and my biryani rice have always been cooked through and the nasi was spicy, with all the umphs.  I find the taste to be slightly too salty so i reduced the amount of salt recommended to 1 tablespoon, when i was cooking the rice.  Thank you Vivien for sending me the Shan premixed, they are available now here in our indian stores.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs chicken pieces
1 1/3 lb basmati rice - soaked for 30 minutes and drained
1 tbsp tamarind pulp - soaked in 1 cup water for 30 minutes, Then press and sieve the juice.
2 - 3 medium onion - sliced(about 1/2 lb)
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 cup cooking oil
1 packet 'Shan' Malay Chicken Biryani
Rasins
Fried shallots
Toasted cashew nuts
Cilantro for garnishing

Method:


Marinate chicken pieces with ginger, garlic and 2 tbsp of Shan Malay Chicken Biryani mix for 1 hour.

Heat oil and brown the marinated chicken pieces. Remove and set aside.

Sweat the chopped onions, then add in browned chicken pieces,  the rest of the Shan Malay Chicken Biryani mix, tamarind juice and 1 cup water.  Continue to cook and stir until sauce is thickened. Set aside.

Boil 10 cups of water with 1 tbsp salt and add in the soaked rice.  Boil until the rice is three-quarter tender.  Drain the liquid.

Assembling the Biryani:

Spread the cooked chicken pieces and the drained rice in layers into the rice cooker.

Top with raisins, then cover and press the cook function and cook until rice is cooked through.

Slightly mix the rice and chicken pieces and garnish with cashew nuts and fried shallots before serving.

Serves

Seaweed and Rice - Renee and Alexander's Lunch

After all the feasting during the Chinese New Year Celebration, Renee and Alexander were very happy just to have plain rice with seaweed.

Ingredients:

Plain Rice - warm
Seaweed
Cute Moulds

Method:

Pack warm rice into moulds and then decorate with seaweed.

Serves

Fan Tuan

i have not heard about this breakfast delight until my friend, Claire asked me about it. I looked up in the net and found what it is and it looked easy to prepare. I had all the ingredients to make them and i even made the Yau Char Kway. It is a really heavy breakfast, one of these rice rolls will fill you until dinner, you can skip lunch.

Ingredients:

2 cups glutinous rice - washed and soaked

1 cup Pork Floss

1/2 cup sichuan vegetable(char choy)

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/2 tsp sugar

8 pieces Yau Char Kway

1 tsp Salt

1 tbsp oil

Method:

Put glutinous rice and salt in a rice cooker and add in water just enough to cover the rice.

Cook rice until cooked.

Heat oil and add in chopped garlic. Saute until garlic is fragrant, then add in the sichuan vegetable. Add in sugar to taste. Remove and set aside to cool.

To assemble:

Place a huge scoop of cooked rice on a cling wrap with a sushi mat at the bottom, then to top rice with a tbsp sichuan vegetable, 2 tbsp of pork floss and a piece of yau char kway.

Roll the rice over to cover the fillings and wrap tight with the cling wrap.

The roll is ready to eat

Serves