Homemade Sushi

Well, I have figured out why I pay good money to have other people make me sushi, it is time consuming to make, and if you do not have all the right tools, it is messy too. I will say that Inari is fun and easy to make but when you get into everything else that goes into making rolls it is so much easier to just have someone else do it for you. Anyways,if you are in the mood to make some sushi here is my recipe for spicy crab and avocado Inari. Please note that a trip to a local Asian grocery store may be needed.

1 package of Inari Wrappers
1 package of crab sticks
sushi rice (recipe follows)
1 avocado, sliced
1 lemon, sliced into 8 segments with peel on
Sriracha hot sauce to taste
Wasabi and soy sauce (optional)

In a small bowl open crab sticks and mix meat with sriracha until you have reached the desired level of spiciness. Drain Inari packets. Open each packet after it has been drained, if you desire place a dollop of wasabi in the bottom of the packet and then fill with sushi rice. Leave a small amount of room at the top. Place about a tablespoon or two of spicy crab mixture on one side of the Inari, then drape an avocado slice over the top of the entire packet. Repeat until you use all of your packets. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and lemon slices.

Sushi Rice
Cook rice as you normally would, while rice is cook mix 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar with 2 tablespoons of sugar. When rice is done cooking blend with vinegar mixture, let rice cool to room temperature.

It is getting HOT in here

I buy most of my peppers at an Asian Market near my house. This is the only place I can get serranos, but they sell them by the pound. I have no clue what to do with a pound of peppers when all I need is one, so I tend to give them to neighbors or throw them away. Well this time I tried something new, serrano slices, this was an daring experiment on my part since I have never pickled anything before. Once again the wonderful people on the web helped me find a way to do this. I spent about an hour looking at the various recipes for pickling hot peppers and wound up making my own. If you are stuck buying your hot peppers in bulk or you find that store bought jalapeno slices are just too mild for you, this is the recipe for you....

Pickled Serranos

2 1/2 cups of vinegar (I used white distilled)

2 1/2 cup of water

2 Tablespoons of Kosher salt

4 cloves of garlic

1 pound of serranos, cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons of black peppercorns

In a medium sauce pan add water, vinegar, salt, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil. While brine is coming to a boil add serranos to a sterilized canning jar. When brine has reached a boil, pour over serranos making sure to cover all with liquid. When jar cools place in fridge and DO NOT OPEN for 1 week. Serve and enjoy, slices can be kept refrigerated for up to 6 months.