Navigating the usual sushi menu is getting tougher and tougher due the number of overfished and poorly raised fish available on them.  So, until they fix up their menus and swap out salmon for arctic char and find another fish for a spicy crunch roll, I’ve exiled myself to the sushi I make myself.  

At first, this sounds like a ridiculous endeavor, especially for a week night, but it’s really not. I would advise to try out on a weekend and keep the variety of rolls to a minimum (I usually stick to one type of fish), but once you’ve got the basics down, it’s down right simple. Additionally, if rolling them up seems like too much effort, you can always just top a bowl of rice with some raw fish and spicy sauce and call it a day.

There a few things you’ll need in order to make sushi; fortunately, all these things keep really well and will serve you for many sushi dinners:

Bamboo mats (available at well stocked cooking stores and seafood markets)

Pickled ginger

Wasabi powder

Panko flakes

Nori

Sushi Rice

Sushi/rice vinegar

Spicy Sauce (if you can find it, or siracha/hot chili oil and Japanese mayonnaise or regular/homemade mayonnaise with a splash of rice vinegar).

 The only other thing you need is fish (other good choices can be found on the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Guide website) and whatever vegetable you like in your rolls (avocado and cucumber are pretty standard). For the sake of this explanation we’ll go with arctic char. Buy about a pound. That should make enough sushi for two to three people. Ask the fish guy to remove the skin for you, or prepare to do it yourself, but it’s a bit annoying because the fish is so delicate. 

Once you’re home, deal with the rice immediately as it is the most time consuming part. You can make the rice a day ahead and just reheat it over the stove or in the microwave with a bit of water added.

 Now that the rice is on, deal with the fish.  Since the make up of sushi rolls is fairly obvious, you can simply replicate your favorite ones. I’m going to stick with straight up arctic char and avocado and spicy arctic char crunch. Take the fillet and cut it in half. Slice ¼ inch slices with the grain and set aside. Then take an avocado or cucumber and slice into equally sized slices. Take the other half and chop it up. Mix the chopped char with panko and spicy sauce for a spicy crunch roll.

Grab your bamboo mat and cover it with a piece of seran wrap. This will keep the rice from sticking to the mat. Lay down a piece of nori (you may want to trim off a third of it as a full nori sheet makes enormous rolls) and cover all but the top inch with a layer of rice. On the end closest to you place the slices of char and avocado/cucumber and dab some wasabi on the rice right above it (if desired.) Wet the uncovered inch of nori by dipping your finger in a small bowl of water and running it along the nori. Roll the nori over the fish using the mat and kind of push the roll forward and over itself. The motion is like you’re rolling dough into a cylinder. Once the whole thing is in a roll push down lightly on the mat to ensure the roll is sealed. If there is rice on the top inch of the nori, it won’t seal as well.  Do the same thing for the spicy crunch roll, just spoon out the spicy char crunch mix where you previously placed the slices of char and roll it up.

Serve with wasabi, pickled ginger and soy sauce.