Sous(hi) Chef
July 10, 2006
As it turns out, perhaps I should rename this site Chez Chirky, because I've been cooking lately and: Baby? I'm good*.
* This is also the reason that Roger and I are consistently gaining weight. But lo! I bought new workout clothes at SuperTarget this weekend, which will certainly motivate me to exercise, don't you think?
Often when I grocery shop, I find and buy things that I "want to make someday," which is why for the past few months, I've had the makings of a great Japanese-themed party taking shelter in my pantry: rice and seaweed.
Last week I decided it was The Time to focus on these ingredients. I read the back of all the packages and set to work.
I've noticed that the chefs at sushi bars always accessorize with bandanas and large knives, which naturally set my first course of action. I found a bandana in our camping closet (yes! an entire closet messily filled with backpacking gear!), rolled it and tied it around my head. It wasn't white like the sushi chefs wear, but drat! I didn't have a white chef jacket, either. At least I matched my blues.
Also, please note I wasn't actually licking the knife.
I made the rice and measured in the rice vinegar. It smelled a little fishy, but I thought that was okay because it was sushi, afterall. Then I took a picture of the rice, so that you Americano people understand that minute rice will not work for sushi. Minute rice compared to real rice is like the equivalent of Golden Corral compared to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It'll do in a pinch - and by "a pinch" I mean that it's the last restaurant standing after showers of meteorites plunder the earth, leaving all avenues of food otherwise inedible - but it doesn't hold a candle to the real thing.
I think the seaweed is a curious ingredient. It is both pliable and flaky, and comes in a very thin sheet. But: how does the sheet become so thin? Is it hammered, like gold? Are several pieces of seaweed congealed together, or is one sheet made of just one section of seaweed? And how do you know what type of seaweed is best? And how do you harvest the seaweed? Is it grown in a lab, thereby making it artificial seaweed?
I chopped and diced and sliced vegetables, and then placed them in separate bowls (because that is what chefs on TV do). Plus, it looks pretty. Using a bamboo spoon, I spread the rice across the seaweed and then placed my cucumbers, carrots and avocados in a pretty line on top of the rice. (And then, giddy with excitement at my accomplishment, I documented the pretty lines for the Internet.)
Rolling the sushi for the first time was a bit tricky, particularly because I had placed the seaweed in the wrong direction on my bamboo mat and didn't understand why it wouldn't roll. I nearly broke the bamboo sticks in half before I realized my mistake. (See picture above as photographic evidence of my blunder.)
Thankfully, I finally figured it out. Is it okay to label myself as a Dallas foodie? Or, Dallas' hottest new chef? Perhaps I should remove my bandana first.
Comments
i'm requesting sushi next time we have a game night at your place . . . . california rolls for everyone
Sensei Jes
Posted by: Katie | July 10, 2006 11:35 AM
First of all - as I was reading this entry? I got a gmail notification that you had commented at my site. Is thre like a blog-vortex we created?
Second of all? My Super-Target not only has the best sports bra EVER in the workout clothing section, it als has a sushi-guy who makes the rolls for me so I don't have to make them myself which is good b/c I wouldnt look that cute in a bandana licking a knife.
Finally? I am so impressed. Seriously. Everything I cook requires a can-opener as the only tool.
Posted by: Zoot | July 10, 2006 11:57 AM
Look at you! Making sushi! Like a real Iron Chef in training.
I love the reference to Golden Corral. There's one in my hometown and it is considered by some to be a "nice" restaurant. Like someplace worth going to. I pity these people. Here's a tip: if you have to STAND IN LINE to get a STEAK, it is NOT a nice restaurant.
Posted by: Lawyerish | July 10, 2006 12:16 PM
Looks fantastic!
You will probably never catch me making sushi. I am a decent cook, but not nearly patient enough for the likes of some ancient Japanese art form.
Posted by: Daily Tragedies | July 10, 2006 01:03 PM
I am sad you did not make sushi this weekend.
: (
Sad day for me! But your pictures are beautiful...I love how beautiful sushi looks!
And as for licking (or not licking) the knife...at least if you were licking it- you would have licked the right side so you wouldn't have sliced your tongue off!
: )
Yea for you!
Posted by: b | July 10, 2006 01:19 PM
It's obvious I'm dieting when I salivate over seaweed. ;)
Posted by: lena | July 10, 2006 02:35 PM
I shudder to think of the dishes to be washed. But TV chefs don't have to worry about that.
Posted by: Lia | July 10, 2006 04:09 PM
I WANT SUSHI!!!
Posted by: steve | July 10, 2006 05:14 PM
This post requires several comments:
--"I've had the makings of a great Japanese-themed party taking shelter in my pantry" LOVE that sentence. I do stuff like that. I had a jar of crystallized ginger in my pantry for years before I did anything with it!!
--The pic is beyond sweet. And I did notice you were not licking the blade. Thank you for not doing that.
--"and by "a pinch" I mean that... leaving all avenues of food otherwise inedible"
Seriously, do you MEAN to be this funny? Because I just don't know how everything that comes off the tips of your fingers (THE WORDS) can be that hilarious. But it is!!!
--I am so jealous of the pic of the ingredients in the separate bowls and the pretty lines of veggies on the white rice on the seaweed on the bamboo mat. Ohhhh. I want to try it. But the washing of bowls is prohibitive, so no, I won't. ;-)
Posted by: Jayleigh | July 10, 2006 08:30 PM
Ugh! now I am hungry for Sushi!
Now tell me... HOW DID IT TASTE?!?!?! It looks delish. Did you dip it in soy and WAAAAASSSAABBBIIIII? No? Why not? It is so tasty when it is dipped and then popped into your mouth.
Posted by: eddo | July 10, 2006 09:32 PM
See, this is the thing:
DISHWASHER (not Roger - I actually have the real thing installed in my kitchen).
Also, please note the use of WHITE bowls instead of red. This is a tale-tale sign of me using the dishwasher instead of hand-washing my dishes. I love the white dishes for this reason alone. I mean, for many more reasons, too, but this reason is the maybe the most important.
Also, wasabi! yes. And, soy sauce! yes.
I will also tell you that the sushi? DELICIOUS. I've made it twice now.
Posted by: jes | July 10, 2006 09:45 PM
You're brave for making sushi. For some reason, that's one thing it would never occur to me to make. Then again, it doesn't really occur to me to make much more than chocolate chip cookies (from scratch, at least), microwave pizza rolls and popcorn.
Posted by: my life is brilliant | July 10, 2006 11:09 PM
I, a brand new sushi lover, am blown away by your chefliness in the whole sushi-making arena. Alas, though, I am intimidated by any food that doesn't come ready to bake in a tinfoil pouch.
I guess I will have to continue paying the guy in the white bandana to make sushi for me.
Sigh.
Posted by: Katrina | July 10, 2006 11:33 PM
I also put my ingredients in seperate bowls, my mom laughed at me. It seems to make cooking more fun though.
Posted by: Sara | July 11, 2006 09:02 AM
It's just that you're so...CUTE in that bandana. That is the best picture ever, no lie. EVER. It's fucking hysterical.
And I swear I said this yesterday but where did it go? NO ONE KNOWS.
Posted by: jonniker | July 11, 2006 09:50 AM
Damn it!!! And I brought PASTA for lunch today. Pasta!!! How am I supposed to eat pasta when I have this huge hankering for sushi now. Thanks a lot, Jes.
Sheesh.
Posted by: Courtney | July 11, 2006 12:16 PM
I really don't understand the fascination with sushi - honestly, raw vegetables rolled up in rice and seaweed - how tasty can it be?! I respect your decision to eat sushi, and I have tried it, but I just don't get it!
Posted by: Heidi | July 11, 2006 08:25 PM
See, I think I would like sushi if you made it. And if you went heavy on the avocado.
Posted by: Nothing But Bonfires | July 20, 2006 10:27 PM