Sushi platter - the raw taste of elements

Japanese cuisine is in vogue nowadays. With the West's growing frenzy over salmon rolls and nori recipes, demand is high for authentic Japanese dishes. Lately, these dishes have made inroads into India and restaurants offering authentic Japanese dishes have started to sprout in the metros. Kerala was yet to join the league as connoisseurs held several apprehensions towards consuming raw seafood. However, thanks to pop culture, the skepticism is dying down and gourmets have found interest in the exotic dish.

In this platter, we have three types of sushis- California maki, Nigiri and Sashimi. California maki, also known as California roll, is an inside-out sushi made using crab mayo. Although sushi is a Japanese dish, California maki variety was developed in North America. Nigiri is a slice of raw fish served over the Japanese sticky rice and Sashimi is mostly a carefully cut raw fish strip.

The platter should be served with with wasabi and Japanese young ginger (gari).

Ingredients
For sushi rice500 gm boiled Japanese sticky rice
650 ml water
Sushi vinegar
90 ml Japanese rice vinegar
45 ml sugar22 ml salt
California maki
80 gm sushi rice
1 nori sheet (seaweed)
20 gm Tobbiko (flying fish egg)
¼ of a cucumber cut lengthwise
1/2 avocado cut lengthwise
2 tbsp crab meat
1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
Nigiri and Sashimi
1 large slice of fresh Akami tuna
1 large slice of fresh Norwegian Salmon

1 large slice of fresh redsnapper

Preparation
Japanese sticky rice

Wash the rice two times
Strain and add 1400 ml water and keep it for 10 minutes
Switch on the fire and keep high flame, when the rice and water will comes to the same level reduce the fire and keep very slow flame
Cover the pot with proper lid or silver foil and keep it for 7 minutes
After 7 minutes, switch off the fire and keep it for another 14 minutesRemove the lid, take out the rice and keep it in the warmer
Sushi vinegarMix all ingredients together in a pot and place it on a stove
Once the vinegar starts to boil, switch off the fire
Keep it aside
Sushi rice
Take 500gm boiled Japanese rice rice mix it with 60ml sushi vinegar
Preparation
In a bowl mix some crab meat with mayonnaise and keep asideTake the nori sheet, apply the rice on top and spread the tobbiko on top the rice.
Then other side of the nori sheet put the avocado, cucumber and crab meat
Roll it and make the maki tight with help of bamboo mat
Cut the roll by 6 or 8 pieces
Nigiri
Take 30 gm rice on the palm and press to make it a ball
Slice 40 gm of any fish and cut it into a thin strip
Place it on top of the rice ball carefully
Repeat the process with the remaining fish types
Sashimi
Slice 30 gm of each fish into a thin strip carefully and place it on the platter