A Naked Urban Farm: Adventures in Sushi

Spring Chinook Salmon Sushi Roll

This beautiful Salmon was caught and cleaned on Friday morning! A buddy and I went halvesies on a Seafood CSA in our local area, and we get a fresh fish cooler every Friday afternoon. This week's haul was Spring Chinook Salmon and Fresh Smelt. We did not use the Smelt in our sushi (we fried it up and it was delicious!) we did however have the good fortune to cut into a couple of the Smelt and find some beautiful roe! After some online research, we decided to use the roe in our sushi roll. Turns out that a large amount of people prefer Smelt Roe to Salmon Roe, after tasting it I can see why. It is EXTREMELY mild in flavor but VERY creamy in it's texture. It really wasn't as difficult to make a simple sushi roll as I thought it would be. Granted this roll is not perfect, and I'm sure sushi chefs would be somewhat appalled by it. However, it tasted delicious and it was REALLY fun to make. I tried to take pictures as we went along, so it was easier to understand then just giving the recipe this time. I'm trying to get better about that, it's just so difficult to stop and take pictures when you are cooking by yourself and in the groove!

This will make two rolls.

EQUIPMENT
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Medium Saucepan
Large Bowl
Wooden Spoon
Bamboo Sushi Mat
Plastic Wrap

RICE INGREDIENTS
1C Sushi or Short Grain Rice
1C Water, more for rinsing
1T Rice Vinegar
1T Sugar
2t Kosher Salt

Place rice in a mixing bowl and cover with cool water, swirl around, drain and repeat 2-3 times or until water is clear.
Put the water and rice in a pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil reduce heat to the lowest setting possible, cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt together in in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. Transfer rice to a bowl and fold in vinegar mixture with a wooden spoon until combined. Let rest at room temperature before using for sushi.

SUSHI ROLL INGREDIENTS
2 Nori Wrappers
6-7 Slices Fresh Salmon
1 Cucumber- Peeled, seeded and sliced into matchsticks
2 Carrots - Peeled, trimmed and sliced into matchsticks
1 Avocado - Pitted, peeled and Sliced into strips

Place bamboo mat on a flat surface, cover with plastic wrap then lay down your nori sheet.

Spread your sushi rice over the nori, leaving about an 1" of nori exposed on the side furthest away from you. Lay salmon down in the middle of your rice.

Now lay down your carrot matchsticks on one side of the salmon, and the cucumbers on the other.

Next, place your avocado slices on top of the salmon. This is also the step where we added the Smelt roe.

You are now ready for the rolling. Place your hands on either side of the bamboo mat, thumbs under the mat and index finger on the top for guidance. Use your remaining finger to hold everything in as you begin to roll.

Once you have rolled it all the way up, remove the mat and give it an extra squeeze in the plastic wrap. Roll it all the way up in the plastic wrap...this will hold it together while you cut it.