Rolls at home

Japanese and Chinese restaurants offer a wide variety of sushi and rolls. However, with a bit of practice, you can make rolls at home. This exotic snack consists of rice, dried pressed Nori seaweed, cream cheese, and fresh cucumber or avocado. You also need to stock up on a special mat for rolling the rolls and, most importantly, patience.

Yield: 5 rolls (40 sushi).

Cooking time: 40 minutes.

Caloric content: 165 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Cuisine: Japanese.

Ingredients

• sushi rice – 300 g;
• purified water at room temperature – 360 ml;
• Nori seaweed – 5 sheets;
• fillet of lightly salted salmon – 300 g;
• large cucumber – 1 pc;
• cream cheese – 280 g;
• apple or rice vinegar – 35 ml;
• white sugar – 30 g;
• fine sea salt Extra – 3 g.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients for making rolls at home. If it's difficult to find special sushi rice, you can replace it with regular round-grained rice, but it must be of good quality. Instead of lightly salted salmon, trout is often used.

2. The rice should be rinsed several times until the draining water becomes clear.

3. For boiling, 120 milliliters of water is required for every 100 grams of rice. Therefore, transfer the rinsed rice to a saucepan with a thick bottom and add 360 milliliters of cool water. Cook it covered over low heat for exactly 15 minutes from the moment it boils.

4. After the specified time, all the water will either evaporate or be absorbed by the grains.

5. Remove the lid, cover the saucepan with a cotton cloth (to absorb the condensing steam), and press down with the lid. Leave the setup in this manner for another 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing. To do this, combine vinegar, salt, and sugar in a bowl.

7. Mix everything thoroughly until the liquid becomes clear and no granules remain in it.

8. After the specified time, pour the dressing into the rice and mix.

9. To cool it down faster, transfer the contents of the saucepan to a plate.

10. Cut the long cucumber crosswise and then trim the sides, stopping before reaching the middle with the seeds – this part is not needed in the rolls.

11. Cut the trimmings into thin strips.

12. For convenience, transfer the cream cheese into a pastry bag with the tip cut off.

13. Cut the fish into long pieces with a square cross-section.

14. Wrap the mat in plastic wrap and secure with tape. Place a sheet of Nori glossy side down and rough side up.

15. For each sheet of dried seaweed, approximately 100 grams of prepared rice is needed. Spread this portion over the Nori, going slightly over the middle of the rectangle and evenly stretching the rice to the edges.

16. In the center of the rice layer, place 2 strips of cream cheese.

17. On one side of these strips, place the lightly salted salmon, and on the other side – several pieces of cucumber.

18. Now comes the important moment – you need to roll the roll so that the edges of the rice meet and stick to each other.

19. Moisten the free end of the roll slightly with water and continue rolling.

20. Firmly press the finished roll with the mat and roll back and forth to ensure that all components become one, and the outer surface takes on a smooth round shape.

21. Do this with all the preparations (a total of 5 pieces).

22. Cut the resulting rolls in half. The knife must be very sharp, and the blade should be wiped with a napkin after each cut.

23. Then divide each roll in half again – you will get 8 sushi pieces from each roll. Do this with all the preparations.

Arrange the prepared rolls at home on a dish. Next to it, place soy sauce diluted half with water – each piece should be dipped in it before eating. You can also buy special sauces for sushi and rolls. By taste, this homemade dish is no different from store-bought. Try it!