I tried sushi once when I was in elementary school, and I didn't really care for it. But now that I'm an adult, I'm trying to give foods I didn't like when I was a kid another shot.
I tried some homemade yam, almond and avocado rolls last fall, and I've been addicted ever since. I frequently order sushi when I'm at an Asian restaurant, and I am trying to overcome my aversion to cooking rice to make it more at home.
In addition to all the ingredients, one product is crucial to helping you form tightly bound rolls: a bamboo sushi mat. After not being able to find them at a couple of stores, a friend suggested the Hugo's on 32nd Avenue in Grand Forks, and my trip was a success.
Using the mat is very easy. Place it - rolled out - on a kitchen counter and top it with plastic cling wrap. Then place your seaweed sheet, rice and whatever fillings you're using for your sushi. Be careful not to go overboard with the rice or the other fillings, as you don't want your sushi to be too stuffed and fall apart when you roll it up.
Roll up the seaweed tightly, and squeeze the mat around the outside to compress it as much as you can.
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Remove the roll from the mat and wrap, and slice the roll - voila, you have sushi good enough to eat right off the cutting board. (One roll usually makes six to eight pieces.)
Rating: A
Price: $1.89 at Hugo's
