Ingredients:

• 4 Medium cooked shrimp cut in half
• 1tsp Mayonnaise
• 1/4tsp Wasabi
• 1 Scallion
• 4 Cube cut avocado slices
• 8 Slices raw tuna (slice thin and rectangle approx 3/4″x2″)
• 1 Sheet nori
• 3/4c Sushi rice

First prepare your nori with rice face down on the bamboo mat with plastic wrap in between.  Now mix shrimp, mayo, and wasabi in a small bowl and spread mixture across the center of your nori sheet. Lay the avocado and scallion across the top of the spread to complete the fillings inside. (see image below) Now roll, carefully pulling back the plastic.  It is easiest to now cut and place the roll on your serving tray, then lay the tuna slices over top of each section of the roll.  Top with any garnish you desire and enjoy! Makes one roll.

Ingredients:

• 1/4c Cooked diced lobster
• 1 Scallion
• 1/4c cube sliced avocado

Lay lobster, scallion, and avocado across the basic maki roll, then roll, slice, and serve.  The ingredients in this roll help to preserve and emphasize the light flavor of the lobster.  To save time and effort the cooked unshelled lobster used in this roll can be purchased from a local fish market or as always you can order through the HSC website.

The Red Dragon roll is an inside out maki roll.  The technique to make this roll is a little more advanced then the basic maki roll.  See more instruction in the Making Sushi section.

Ingredients:

• 2Tsp Mayonnaise
• 1/4Tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1/4Tsp Wasabi
• 1/3c Diced tuna
• 1 Sheet nori
• 3/4c Sushi rice
• 4 Slices tuna and 4 slices avocado (approx 3/4″x2″)

Spread sushi rice on nori sheet fully covering the sheet.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap on over the rice and flip it over on the bamboo mat so the nori side is up. (see image below)  Mix the mayo, cayenne pepper, wasabi, and diced tuna in a small bowl and spread it across the center of the nori sheet. Roll the nori as if you were making a basic maki roll but be careful to pull back the plastic wrap as you roll.  At this point it is easiest if possible to place the roll on your serving tray and cut.  Top the roll off with alternating slices of the tuna and avocado.  For color and a little extra spice the slices are garnished with wasabi and red chili sauce dots.  This roll can also be garnished with tempura crunch flakes sprinkled across the top.  If you have trouble finding fresh tuna in your area order it here from Catalina Offshore Products.

Ingredients:

• 1c Sushi Rice

• 2Tbs Rice Vinegar

Place rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under cold water. This is until the water runs clear through the rice.  Pour rinsed rice into a heavy medium sauce pan and add 1 3/4c cold water.  Heat on high until boiling and then reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until all the water is absorbed.  Stir twice during the simmering.  If the water is fully absorbed before the 20 min is up then add water as needed.  The rice will take the full time to cook and crunchy under cooked rice is the easiest way to ruin your sushi meal.  Once cooked allow to stand 5 minutes and then sprinkle the rice vinegar on top and gently fold it in to the rice.  Your simple sushi rice is now complete and will have the sticky consistency needed to make a maki roll or nigiri.  As always find the materials needed to make this recipe in the HSC Store.

Ingredients:

• 1Tsp Fresh diced fingerling pepper (medium hot pepper)
• 1/3c Diced tuna
• 1/4c Diced pineapple
• 2Tsp mayonnaise
• 1 Sheet nori
• 3/4c Sushi rice

Start by laying out nori and rice on a bamboo mat in the basic maki roll form.  Mix tuna, pepper, pineapple, and mayo in a small bowl.  Spread the mixture on the rice as shown, roll, cut, and enjoy!

You love sushi, but you keep reading all these articles about how you should be careful about which fish you eat, not just because of mercury and other health issues, but because you are killing the ocean, causing species extinction, eco-system destruction, and other forecoming disasters by simply enjoying fish.  Depressing? Yes, but should we all swear off eating sushi or even tuna fish salad? Definately not!

How do you figure out what is ok to eat? Reading the headlines it can be confusing, some fish are better farmed, others wild, some might be ok from an ecological standpoint but you shouldnt eat them for health reasons. How does a simple sushi lover with an desire to be healthy and eco-consicious make the right choices?

First stop in your search for sushi that is good for you and the environment should be the Environmental Defense Fund. This group is dedicated to tackling multiple environmental issues and has made it easy for you to do right by your belly and the ocean by developing a Pocket Seafood Guide and a Pocket Sushi Guide.  There are great articles here on selection of fish, mecury and PCB concerns, recipes, and more. You can even access this great information on the go with their mobile phone version!
Another great resource that can be found online and downloaded to your iphone is Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. Dowload a pocket guide specifically designed for your region of the US or a moble app to help you decifer the ins and outs of sustainable seafood choices anywhere. Montery Bay’s site also lists restaurants and businesses that are partnered with them to actively improve the sustainability of seafood in the US as well links for what you can do to help the oceans.

Some of the best choices according to the EDF are Alaskan Wild Salmon and Albacore Tuna from the US, these are heart healthy and full of Omega 3’s and safe eco-wise! In the Northeast, Monterey Bay Aquarium recommends (in addition to the Salmon and Tuna suggested above) Lobster, Scallops, and Dungeness Stone Crab as some of the best choices.The worst choices? Farmed or Atlantic Salmon, Bluefin Tuna (often called Toro on menus), and imported longline Albacore Tuna, which all can contain high levels of Mercury or PCB’s in addition to being raised or harvested inappropriately for the environment.  So the best choices for your health can also be the best for the earth! Download your copy of the Pocket Sushi Guide or check out the mobile version the next time you are at the fish market or out at a sushi restaurant and start making happy choices!

Making a philiadelphia maki sushi roll

Philadelphia rolls are not really traditional japanese cuisine, but they are delicious so try one anyways! Here is a simple Philadelphia maki roll recipe that everyone will love!

Makes 4 Rolls

• 4 cups sushi rice cooked
• 4 sheets nori (dried seaweed)
• 6oz Smoked Salmon
• 1 Avacado
• 8oz Cream cheese

Make your sushi rice and prepare fillings by slicing smoked salmon filet into long thin pices, slicing avacado, and softening cream cheese. Place one sheet nori on a bamboo mat shiny side down. Moisten fingers slighly and spread 1 cup sushi rice on top of nori sheet leaving a small margin around edges. Place approximately 1/4 cup of your selected fillings on top of the rice lengthwise. Roll bamboo mat up over filling and press lightly to form a compact roll. Remove roll from bamboo mat and place on cutting board seam side down. Cut roll into 6 pieces. Repeat with remaining nori, rice, and filling.

Have you made a philadelphia roll? Did you do anything different?

Shrimp and Salmon are two low mercury sushi options

So are your dreams of eating mountains of your home made sushi shattered? Definitely not! First off these are freshwater fish being tested, which is not used in sushi due to higher risk of bacteria and parasites versus saltwater fish. Commentary on the report notes that it is highly unlikely that any type of fish you consume would be mercury free. A closer look at the report shows that of the fish in the study only about ¼ had mercury levels greater than the EPA recommended maximums for average consumption. On the Environmental Protection Association website you can find the advisories regarding fish consumption and more info on the types and amounts of fish you should consume . You can find the most recent US Geological Society report abstract, press release and other information on the
USGS website.

If you don’t feel like wading through all this scientific journalism, I’ll try to sum it up for you. The good news is that some of our favorite seafood used in sushi recipes, such as shrimp, crab, scallop, and salmon are low in mercury, less than 0.1 ppm.
In comparison, fish ranked as containing high levels of mercury, such as swordfish and shark contain around 0.9 ppm. Most tuna is in the range of ~0.3-0.4 ppm. Fish at the lower mercury levels are ok to consume regularly (ie 12 ounces per week). If you are going to eat a fish with a higher mercury content, such as yellowfin tuna (~0.3 ppm) the EPA suggests limiting this to only 6 oz of your weekly consumption. Note that the EPA suggests children, pregnant and nursing women, and women who may become pregnant are at a higher risk and should avoid eating high mercury containing fish. If you have concerns, ask your doctor how much you should be eating.

It takes a little more awareness but you can still enjoy making sushi at home that is low in mercury. What are your favorite low mercury sushi recipies? Let us know!