If you're anything like the team at Dish Cult, you'll be missing Eight's interactive kitchens a whole lot right now. Between the New York Grill, Fresh Sushi and Sashimi, Pasta Kitchen, and Dessert Bar we're not sure where we'd even start, given the chance. While we patiently wait for our next chance to head to Eight, Chef Volker has kindly shared some of his most classic and iconic recipes to temporarily curb our cravings – though we're not too sure how our kitchen skills stack up.
Their infamous sushi and sashimi bar is one of our favourite features, consisting of an extensive spread of fresh sashimi and an array of vegetarian, meat, and seafood sushi. Luckily, Chef Volker has shared his fool-proof recipes for perfect sushi rice and California Roll. It's time to test your sushi-rolling skills.
Make Your Own Sushi
To make sushi at home, you'll need a few essential tools:
Bamboo rolling mat (makisu)
Plastic wrap
Sharp knife
Ingredients For The Sushi Rice:
3 cups uncooked glutinous white rice (sushi rice)
3 cups water
½ cup sake (this can be substituted with water)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Getting Started:
- Rinse the rice in a strainer or colander until the water runs clear. Combine with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Rice should be tender and water should be absorbed. Cool until cool enough to handle.
- In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool, then add to the cooked rice. When you pour this in to the rice it will seem very wet. Keep stirring and the rice will dry as it cools.
Ingredients For Sushi:
Nori sheet
Cucumber
Avocado
Fresh salmon (the best from the fish market), if not you can use smoked salmon
Crab meat
Chicken
Japanese mayonnaise
Soy sauce
Wasabi
Anything you else like!
How To Make California Roll Sushi:
- Place the bamboo rolling mat on a cutting board so the bamboo strips are running horizontally to you. Spread a strip of plastic wrap over the bamboo mat. Then place a sheet of nori on the plastic wrap.
- Spread a thin layer of sushi rice over the nori (Chef’s tip: wet your fingers as you spread the sticky sushi rice over the nori).
- Add your ingredients toward the center of the rice-covered nori. Don't overpack it.
- Gently lift the bottom of the mat up and over the sushi. Press and shape the ingredients into a tube and roll with pressure so you get a firm roll (careful not to squeeze the roll too hard as this can get the ingredients smashed or to ooze from the sides).
- Roll until just an inch of nori shows at the top. Seal the edge of the nori with a little cold water.
- Slice the sushi roll in half with a sharp knife on a cutting board. Then cut each half into thirds.
- Line the slices of sushi up on a platter or sushi plates and enjoy with soy sauce and wasabi paste.
