Sushi

Nick really likes sushi so the other week we went and got some.  I was really scared to eat the ones with the raw fish since I'm a dietetics graduate and very aware of food safety.  The roll that I got was just made with vegetables but Nick got one with raw salmon on top.  I only tried one of his.  It was ok but I would rather have cooked salmon.  Mine was delicious though.  They put these sweet sauces on it and mine was fried.  We were telling our friends about it and decided to make our own together!  These sushi rolls look freakin legit, tasted awesome, and were really fun to make together! I think what makes them taste so good is the eel sauce (not made of eels) and hibachi sauce (both are sweet sauces)... and avocado!

 Fuzzy Wuzzy

Fuzzy Wuzzy, Mango, California, Shrimp

Fuzzy Wuzzy

Mango Salmon

Rice:
INGREDIENTS
2 c sushi or short grain rice
2 c water, plus extra for rinsing
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt

DIRECTIONS
Rinse rice in a bowl 2-3 times until water is clear.  Place rice in medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook 15 minutes, remove from heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes.  Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.  Pour over rice and mix thoroughly.  Allow rice to cool to room temperature before making sushi.

Hibachi Sauce:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredient together in a small bowl.  Place mixture in a plastic baggy.  Cut off the corner of the bag to make a small opening to squeeze the sauce out of.

Sushi Rolls:
INGREDIENTS
1 batch sushi rice
4 sheets nori
cream cheese
1 avocado, peels, pitted, and sliced
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut to matchstick-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled, cut to matchstick-size pieces
1 mango, peeled, thinly sliced
2 oz smoked salmon, thinly sliced
2 oz imitation crab
2 oz cooked baby shrimp
panko crumbs
sesame seeds
eel sauce
hibachi sauce
pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce, for serving

DIRECTIONS
Cover sushi mat with plastic wrap. Place nori on mat with shiny side down. Wet hands with water and cover nori evenly with 1/2 cup rice. Sprinkle rice with sesame seeds and then turn the sheet of nori over so the rice side is down.  Here is where to can get creative.  Place fillings in the center of the nori in a line.  It is recommended to only put 3 ingredients in the roll (apparently that is all the palate can handle).  Here are a few combinations we used:

Fuzzy Wuzzy: Cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, shrimp and smoked salmon on top
Mango: Mango, avocado, carrot, cucumber, and mango and carrot on top
California: avocado, cucumber, and crab
Meat Lovers: cream cheese, crab, shrimp, and salmon on top

After filling the roll with desired fillings, begin to roll by grabbing the edge of the mat closest to you and start rolling into a tight cylinder.  Keep fillings in place with your fingers.  Pull away the mat and set aside.  Cover the roll with a damp cloth and repeat until all rice has been used.  Cut each roll into 8 pieces by first cutting the log in half and then cutting the two pieces in half again and in half one last time making a total of 8 pieces.  Top the roll with fish, eel sauce, hibachi sauce, and/or panko crumbs.  Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger (to cleanse the palate between different rolls).
–Melanie

Honey-Ginger Glazed Tilapia

Our friends who moved also gave us some tilapia!  I found this recipe on ourbestbites.com.  So good!  I tweaked the dipping sauce because I didn't have all the ingredients it originally called for but it was still pretty awesome.

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
2 gloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
4-6 (4 oz) tilapia fillets

Creamy Dipping Sauce:
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
juice and zest of 1 small lime
1/2 tsp parsley
1-2 tsp minced cilantro (optional)


DIRECTIONS

Whisk together honey, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and oil.  Marinate fish in mixutre for 20-60 minutes.

While fish marinates, make creamy dipping sauce by mixing creamy sauce ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Heat pan over medium heat and spray with oil.  Cook fish for 4-6 minutes per side of until it easily flakes with a fork.  Serve immediately topped with dipping sauce and optional cilantro.

Tilpia served with Lemon Orzo & Rice with Asparagus and Tomatoes

–Melanie

Calamari

Sadly our good friends moved last week but they did gave us a bunch of food which included frozen calamari!  Hopefully we will get to enjoy more fish when we move to Seattle!  Prepare yourselves for more seafood recipes!  I know I can't wait!  For this calamari I combined a recipe from allrecipes and the food network making what Nick says is the best fried calamari he's had.  Not that Nick is a food critic but it's nice that my husband thinks I'm the best. :)

INGREDIENTS

1-2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1lb frozen calamari
1/2 c flour
1/4 c Panko crumbs
1/4 c corn starch
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika


DIRECTIONS

Defrost calamari in a cold water bath.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Mix milk and egg in a medium bowl.  Drain off excess water from calamari and place in egg mixture.  Put bowl in fridge.  In another bowl mix together flour, Panko crumbs, corn starch, salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika.  Take calamari out of bowl letting excess milk and egg drip off and place in flour mixture.  Mix around until well coated.  Gently place breaded calamari in hot oil (be careful not to burn yourself).  Cook for 2-3 min and mix/turn over.  Cook until golden brown.  Remove from oil on to a paper towel lined plate.

DIPPING SAUCE

1/3 c mayonnaise
1/3 c sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp parsley
pinch of salt

Mix all dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl and chill until calamari is ready to serve.
–Melanie

Sweet and Savory Salmon

I found a salmon recipe on melskitchencafe.com but I modified it just a bit.  It was delicious!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb salmon fillet
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil


DIRECTIONS

Season salmon fillet with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil.  Place fish in plastic bag with soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat (I just put the mixture in a pyrex dish and placed the salmon face down).  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Bake with sauce in glass dish until salmon is cooked through, about 18-20 minutes.

–Melanie