From: Simon Cozens <simon@brecon.co.uk>
Subject: Simple Sushi
Date: 18 Jan 1999 22:19:55 -0000


Sushi is not difficult.

Boil your rice. Boil it again. Boil it some more. Get paranoid. Put it in
the microwave for about a minute. That'll dry it off properly.
Now, add the powdered sushi mix[1].
Take your bamboo rolling mat. Well, a towel, then. OK.
Put the nori (that's the flat seaweed stuff) onto the towel, and place the
rice on it, like this:

    ----------------
    |              |
    |              |
    |xxxxxxxxxxxxxx|
    |xxxxxxxxxxxxxx|
    |xxxxxxxxxxxxxx|
    |xxxxxxxxxxxxxx|
    ----------------

(where x is rice)

Don't make it too thick. Remember that you're going to want to roll this into
a cylinder about an inch across. Always underestimate, if you're as neurotic
a cook as I am.
Now, place your fillings (I recommend mixed peppers and enoki mushrooms.)
flat across the last-but-one row of x's.

The fun now starts.

Roll the towel slowly up from the bottom of the nori (nearest to you) and
pull it upwards. Don't fold the towel inside the sushi, because it makes 
it really chewy. If you're really lucky, you'll get to the end of the rice
with something approximating a cylinder in front of you.
Now, lick the seaweed part away from you and stick it all together, like 
you're making a huge spliff^Wroll-up. 

Squeeze it *REALLY* tight. Now, take a very, very sharp knife. Wet the
knife slightly - I cannot emphasise how much this helps. Cut up the
sushi into slices about 1cm wide each. 

Serve to an adulating crowd.

[1] Which you bought from Settonaikai in Shrewsbury. Oh, OK. Rice vinegar
and salt will do, in that case. You haven't got any rice vinegar? Why
are you trying to make sushi?