Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cucumber and Avocado Sushi Roll




 It was a midsummer dream: thanks to two Japanese arts, origami and sushi making, a whole afternoon taking care of four boys went fast paced and relatively peaceful. Maybe the secret was to keep their hands busy...

First they were all folding magazine pages to make paper boats. And after testing them on the water table, they were rolling roasted seaweed to make avocado and cucumber sushi.
The original idea was to prepare California rolls, but they were not enthusiastic about real crab. The result was simple and elegant: just rolls filled with cucumber and avocado, or just avocado.

After folding paper to make boats, it sounded as easy as it could be. Tiny hands are delicate enough to use the wood rolling mat and the wood paddle. To make the whole process fast and relaxing  I asked them to spread the rice on the roasted seaweed, as if they were painting a canvas. Then they chose what ingredients they would like to put inside the roll, and after I sealed the ends of the seaweed they helped me to roll. I put a parchment paper layer in between the mat and seaweed to make sure we wouldn't get sticky rice all over the place. It worked.























Simple Maki (Cucumber and Avocado Sushi Roll)

You could use one of Darienne's egg thin omelette inside, or just have a few ingredients available so to play with them as the children (or grownups) want. I used the Yamamotoyama brand of the roasted seaweed, easily found in grocery stores.

6 cups cal rose rice, cooked as directed or with this recipe for sushi rice
cucumber sticks
Haas avocado, sliced
soy sauce
wasabi (optional)

Most packages of roasted seaweed have instructions on how to roll a sushi roll. Stretch the cooked rice over the seaweed paper, draw a line with the fillings, moisten the seams with water using your fingertips, and roll it and slice. Once you do it right, you will do it right forever. Like folding paper or riding a bike. Enjoy!





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