Salmon & Avocado Unwrapped Sushi Recipe

Salmon & Avocado Unwrapped Sushi Recipe

....with wasabi mayonnaise and spring onions

I love sushi, and I think it's the addictive flavouring of the sushi rice that keeps me coming back for more. Sushi rice is easy to make at home using a few simple ingredients that can be found in most supermarkets or asian superstores. This recipe uses smoked salmon and avocados but you could use any combination of sushi filling that you like!

If you don't have a rice cooker it will take slightly more effort but still taste the same- if you are using a normal pan, I recommend tying a clean and dry tea towel around the lid to stop steam escaping while you cook your rice.

Unlike my other recipes I will be using a cup measurement for making up the rice only as this is how I measure my rice at home and it is the easiest way of doing it.

Unwrapped Sushi

Serves 2 hungry people or 4 nibblers

Ingredients

For the rice:

1 cup of Sushi rice or short grain white rice

1 1/2 cup of water

1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup of mirin (Japanese rice wine)

3 teaspoons of sugar

3 teaspoons of salt

To serve:

1 ripe avocado (if the avocado has some give when you press into it, it's ripe)

60g smoked salmon (I used trimmings or off cuts and they are cheaper)

3 or 4 spring onions or salad onions

Soy sauce

For the wasabi mayonnaise:

5 tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise

1-2 teaspoons of wasabi paste, depending on how hot you want it

Method:

*Tip: Before you start cover your chopping board in cling film to stop the smell of salmon sticking to it.

1. Measure out your rice into a small bowl and cover with cold water, stir briefly with a chopstick and then immediately drain using a sieve or a colander with small holes. Repeat until the water runs almost clear. 
2. Place the rice in the rice cooker (or pan) and add water, you made need to adjust the amount of water for a pan. Start the cooker.
3. Prepare the sushi seasoning (also known as sushi vinegar) by mixing the rice wine vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt together. Some people like to do this in a small saucepan, but I prefer to fill a shallow bowl with boiling water and then sit a small glass in the hot water in which I mix the seasoning until the salt and sugar has dissolved. I find this gives me more control and does not over heat the seasoning. It also saves on washing up! If you are making the seasoning after the rice is cooked, you can set your glass in the rice for the same effect.
4. Mix together your mayonnaise and wasabi paste, add a little at a time tasting it until the flavour is as strong as you would like. It should have a pale green colour. Set aside for later. 
5. Let the seasoning cool, and prepare your 'filling'. If your smoked salmon is not already sliced, chop it up with a pair of scissors and set aside. To prepare the avocado run a sharp knife long way around it right down to the stone, then hold each side and firmly twist until they are separated. Scoop out the stone with a tablespoon, never use a knife. Then either scoop out the flesh or peel away the skin and chop your avocado into slices. Chop your spring onion.
6. By now your rice should be cooked, so remove it and place in a large shallow bowl if you have one. If the bowl is wooden- even better! Take a wooden spatula and stir the rice allowing it to cool and the steam to rice, you can fan the rice or stir it beneath your kitchen extractor fan to speed this up. When the rice begins to get very sticky and has cooled, stir in your seasoning a little at a time. *Note if you want to serve your rice warm, simply stir the seasoning into the warm rice- the previous step is only necessary if you want an authentic sushi rice texture, the taste will ultimately be the same.
7. Add your smoked salmon and avocado to the rice and lightly mix. Sprinkle your chopped spring onions over the top and serve the wasabi mayonaise drizzled over or on the side. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy.

Edit*: Since writing this recipe I have bought a bottle of ready made Mitsukan sushi seasoning from the Japan Centre (Japanese supermarket), rather than restock my mirin and rice wine vinegar which I feel are overpriced in British supermarkets. You can pick up a 355ml bottle of sushi seasoning for around £3.