Steve and I have been having some fun with experimenting with homemade sushi and sashimi;  we’ve been reluctant in the past to do so, having had access to some pretty amazing sushi restaurants in Santa Barbara that would be difficult to replicate.  Well, we found out that ‘sushi masters’ we are not, but our fish was fabulously fresh and tasty and our presentation….we’ll skip that part.  As with all dishes, your end results are only going to be as good as your ingredients.  So a little plug for our fish source, Catalina Offshore Products in San Diego, is worth some serious recognition.  We don’t know anyone there or have stock in the company, but we give them 2 big thumbs up.  They have a nice variety of things from the sea, their products are guaranteed, packed very well and they have great customer service.  Thanks Greg (brother in-law) for giving us the heads up on these guys.  Catalina Offshore also have little sushi 101 starter kits, which for most people may not be necessary as the items are often found in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

What’s equally critical – making properly seasoned sushi rice.  A rice that has worked well for us is Nishiki brand – we just follow the package directions.  After the rice is cooked it’s placed in a large wide bowl and fanned until your hand says ‘enough’!  Once the rice has cooled to room temperature, you add a sushi su seasoning that has been dissolved on the stove.  The seasoning is basically 3T sugar, 1T salt, and 1C rice vinegar. For each batch of rice add about 1-2 ounces of the seasoning  and stir well to combine.  Wet your fingers and have a go at making a sushi roll or tekka maki.  Kanpai!!