My attempts at a variation of the California Roll

I finally got around to trying to make sushi a couple of times. Hopefully, I'll get better and better at it as I practice more.

The first time, I couldn't get anything to roll right and stick together. That, and I discovered that you can't cut the sushi roll, especially a squishy, loosely-rolled one, with a dull or serrated knife. The seaweed at that point is no longer crispy, but a bit elastic and must have become almost like chain-mail in texture and toughness to the knife. So, basically, the first rolls were half cut and I ate the entire roll on a plate with a fork and spoon. Rather than dipping it in soy sauce, I dribbled soy sauce over the entire thing. The taste was good, so I was given hope for the next time.

A day or two later, I used the leftover sushi rice which I had already added the sushi rice vinegar and sugar to and tried making another sushi roll. This was a bit better, but still was too loose to be served to anyone other than myself. I dropped the whole thing, again, partly cut, into a ziploc bag and had it for lunch at work.

My most recent foray as sushi chef came last week on the last night before by oldest flew back to school. I was once again attempting to make a slight variation of a California Roll. I made the sushi rice, and used a cucumber and faux-carb as the filling. I forgot the proportions of rice to vinegar and sugar, so I overdid that. So, I just added more rice to the mix and we had alot to work with. This time, my rolling was a bit less fumbling and I was able to roll it a bit tighter. I remembered the knife restrictions and actually wet the sharp knife between cuttings.

My son really liked the sushi; so much so that I made it all that night. I think having the extra sugar really appealed to him. I am by no means able to make a professional presentation of my sushi yet, but it was acceptable to my family (though no one but Winston or I ate any). Maybe when my next son returns home from his mission to Thailand, he'll want to try some of dear-old-Dad's sloppily homemade sushi.

I wholeheartedly recommend anyone who wants to give it a try to just go ahead and forge on! You might be pleasantly surprised!