sushi

I haven't gone shopping yet. I think most of my posts start out like this, don't they? Well...

I was looking in the pantry. I guess "staring blankly" is a more accurate descriptor. All the sudden I realized "SUSHI!" I had all the makings of sushi. In the end we found out that we were out of pickled ginger and were very sad, but it didn't dampen our spirits too bad.

In our house, sushi dinners are usually three-fold.

1. Tamago Nigiri (sweet omelet sushi)
2. California Rolls (at the bare minimum we at least have the krab. like tonight)
3. Miso Soup

The tamago is a must. It is pretty easy to make and almost everyone's favorite. But to make the tamago you need dashi. Dashi is the broth that you use to make miso soup. And since I need dashi for the tamago, might as well make the miso soup while I'm at it. And since you need sushi rice to make the tamago into tamago nigiri...well, you can see how this all works out.

Tonight our roll options were krab, sesame seeds, salmon furikake, wasabi, and shrimp furikake. It was a little sparse, but with three different courses, it was still good. Hubsters was happy. I was happy. Kids were happy. (Well, except the sick one. But she was happier once she ate a slice of tamago!)

The tamago recipe is here. You really should go to an Asian Market and get yourself a tamago pan if you want to make tamago. I don't know how'd you do it otherwise. Don't buy it online if you can help it since they are more expensive. They are really cheap at a market.

I use this sushi rice recipe with good results. Tonight I had to use long-grain rice and it was okay. If you use actual sushi rice it is sublime.

I always make shiitake dashi for two reasons. Dried shiitakes last forever in the pantry. They're always ready for me. Also, my husband is not a big lover of fish and traditional dashi is made with fish flakes. I use this recipe and after I take out the amount I need for the tamago I use the rest to make miso soup. I just add two green onions, a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of miso. Sometimes I add wakame (seaweed) and sometimes tofu. Not tonight.

I'm always so happy when I can scratch out one. more. meal. Especially if it tastes so gosh darn good.