(long entry ahead)

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves who usually enjoy sushi on special occasions.

During the Edo period, "sushi" refered to pickled fish conserved in vinegar. Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar. There are many different types of sushi. Some popular ones are:

Nigiri
Small rice balls with fish, etc. on top. There are countless varieties of nigirizushi, some of the most common ones being tuna, shrimp, eel, squid, octopus and fried egg.

Gunkan
Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc. There are countless varieties of gunkanzushi, some of the most common ones being sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs.

Norimaki
Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are countless varieties of sushi rolls differing in ingredients and thickness. Sushi rolls prepared "inside out" are very popular outside of Japan, but rarely found in Japan.

Temaki
Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.

Inari
Inarizushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi, in which sushi rice is filled into aburaage (deep fried tofu) bags.

from japan-guide.com

So, i made Norimaki type and for the fillings, there're tamago(egg), crabstick mayo, tuna, avocado, sausages, carrots and cucumber.

Making Tamago
this time around, the sifu's here to make, i'm the amateur.. haha.. so i just snapped the pics of the tamago..
Recipe : (this can make about 2 big pieces of tamago)
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 tbps sugar
1 tbsp salt

whisk everything together. Heat a flat pan. if u have a square pan, it's wonderful, if not, u'll have to make do with the cacatness of the pan. anyway, pour in some oil, then pour in the egg mixture (like as if u're making... crepe)

fry it thin, n make sure it's .. cooked

fold it over (like pohpiah / springroll) 3-4 times.. using 2 metal spatulas would be easier i guess. u see, if u use a square pan, the side of the eggs would not be wasted. when it's round and folded, the side is thinner than in the middle.. em. get what i mean ?

this is the 1st layer..

ok i didnt take the following pics.. u'rs suppose to pour in egg mixture in the pan (like the first step), but keep the folded eggs.. then when u fold like in pic 2.. u fold with the folded egg earlier.. after that, u just repeat it again and again until u have a thick folded egg... that looks like.. this

this one's abit wet.. no.. oily.. hehe

tamago, tuna and mashed crabstick with mayo

cucumber and carrots and sausages.. all in strips

special ingredient : avocado. it's not frequent.. actually we dont really eat avocado at home.. so.. this is the additional stuffs that we added in...

How to roll Norimaki

u need sushi rice, seaweed, sesame seeds, mayo and other stuffs that u wanna put in.. and also the sushi mat..u can't possibly roll it without the sushi mat

ok.. cook the rice according to the instruction behind the sushi rice pack.. or, u can use normal rice and cook it the normal way. then add in japanese vinegar. u can get them in most supermarkets.. the one in jusco has a starter pack that includes : vinegar, sushi mat, 10 seaweeds, and japanese soy cause and wasabi. u cant get those if u've got nothing at home..i mean as in, if this is your first time making sushi.

make sure u cool your rice before making sushi, or else it would stick on your hands and it will make the seaweed soggy..

ok spread some rice on the seaweed.. leave about 1 - 1/2 inch at the top. Tip : spread some mayo on your fingers before spreading the rice, this will prevent the sushi rice from sticking on your hands..

after the sushi rice is spreaded, add in some toasted sesame seeds on the rice.. as much as u want, as little as u want.

now u're free to add whatever u want..

add more lah...

ok, but dont be so greedy and add so much k, it'd be hard to roll later.. then move the seaweed up to the tip of the sushi mat.. and leave about 5mm of it outside of the mat..

ok.. then roll it like u're rolling poh piah..use your finger tips and push the seaweed (that's left outside earlier) in... i know, typing it seems to be easier than making it.. hehe

then roll it... em... well i dont know how to say this. but.. it should turn out like this..(below)

yeah.. it must look like this.. hahaha..

then.. cut into half, then half of the half.. and half of the half of the half... HAHAHA.. ok.. u should get about 8 pieces..

yup... 8 pieces... oh yeah, make sure your knife is sharp, or else it's hard to cut it ...

assorted norimaki sushi.. haha..

well i think making sushi is fun to try (oh this is my.. 5th time making it.. hahah i think).. and.. u can put whatever u like in it.. this time we just made it simple, if my mum's at home, she would fry some chicken meat and put in.. oh yeah! we did have some left over luncheon meat from lunch, so we added in as well...

it's really up to your imagination and creativity

have fun!

oh n Happy New Year to you and your family and friends! enjoy lots..

	boo_licious January 1, 2006   11:03 AM PST   Wow! Such lovely maki. Happy New Year to all 3 of you and your families.

	swee December 31, 2005   01:09 AM PST   hehe.. thanks.. happy new year to u too

	abeautifulmind December 30, 2005   04:54 PM PST   Hi, this is my 1st time visit here... wow the sushi are cool! I'm so hungry already... :p Keep up the good work! Happy new year~~