Making Maki

For those of you unfamiliar with the sushi world... maki is the japanese word for "roll" and these "sushi rolls" are the most common form of sushi you'll see in the US. Even grocery stores sell them nowadays.

I'm a sushi-roll lover, but I hate the kinds from the grocery store. They're not fresh, they use low quality ingredients, and do you really trust your grocery store that much? We used to have a Panda Express near us, but that shut down months ago. I cried. We have a Japanese restaurant across the street, Yokohama, but you have to shell out ~6 bucks a piece for a roll. Making them yourself is so much cheaper.

I'm not going to go through how to make maki. There are a million and one websites that you can google for that, and I don't want to waste your time. Let's just say I made my first two rolls tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. You really only need sushi nori (seaweed) (~$4/10pack), short grain rice and your chosen ingredients..which can be anything in long strip form...cucumbers, avocado, carrots, fish, shrimp, sauce, you name it.

My first roll came out riding the short bus, mostly because I didn't tighten it enough, so I gobbled it down to dispose of the evidence (it all tastes the same!). My second roll, however, came out MUCH better. I just need a MUCH sharper knife. Seaweed is a pain to cut if your knife isn't wicked sharp.

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I encourage all you sushi lovers to try this on a rainy day. You'll need a bamboo mat and the ingredients I listed above, but it's rather simple. If you can roll a sleeping bag and you don't have bad arthritis, you too can make maki.

Now excuse me, I have some avocado rolls to eat....*nom nom nom*