Rolling The Bomb Squad
If I can roll sushi…so can you! Other than watching my mom roll sushi when I was a kid, I knew nothing about rolling sushi. And, as a kid, I never took the time to learn how to roll sushi. I was just good at eating the end product!
I was a better customer at Imura, eating sushi and drinking their sake, than being a sushi chef! One drunken night of excessive sake drinking, Master Sushi Chef, Jim Song, along with his partner in crime, Master Sushi Chef, Brian Yamash, talked me into being a sushi chef upon retirement from law enforcement.
As a loyal customer of Imura, I frequented the establishment, always sitting at the sushi bar to engage in eating and debaucherous sake drinking; a dubious affair every other night! The Sushi Boyz made it their goal to sabotage me every time I showed up; making sure the hot sake flowed without interruption. My Uber bill sky rocketed in retirement.
This was how my illustrious career as a sushi chef began. In January 2019, I started working on a prototype roll which would eventually become the “Bomb Squad” roll. It was made in honor of the sheriff’s bomb squad. A team I supervised for 5 years. And a team of dedicated professionals, who loved to “blow shit up” out of everything they could get their hands on.
Since we are all home these days, I have seen more food pictures and recipes on social media, than any other time before the pandemic. So, here is my contribution to the craziness.
Sushi Rice Recipe
First thing you need to do is make the sushi rice. Using a rice cooker (the best method) or in a pot on the stove, make your rice.
If I’m making sushi for myself, I make 2 cups of rice. If you are going to make a few rolls for friends and family, then make 4 to 6 cups of rice. Use even numbers.
After the rice is cooked, remove the rice from the pot and into a bowl. Add your sushi wet mix to the rice.
Sushi Wet Mix Recipe for 2 cups of rice:
1/2 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. If you are making 4 cups of rice, double the recipe, and so on…
Heat the mix until the sugar melts. Stir the mix into the rice until thoroughly blended together. Let the rice cool down before using it on your rolls. Room temperature rice is ideal.
Making the Sushi Patty
The Nori (seaweed) has a shiny side and a dull rough side. You want the dull rough side facing up. I throw a small size ball (enough to fit the palm of your hand) of rice onto the upper left corner of the Nori. Flatten the rice left to right and then downward. Handle the rice as little as possible. If you touch it too much the rice becomes mushy. The rice should cover the entire Nori, thin and evenly spread out, as depicted above. You should be able to see the bottom of the Nori throughout the rice patty.
The Nori I’m using in these photos are half size sheets. The Nori you buy in a store or on-line comes in full size sheets. Take a full size sheet and cut it in half. Unless you want to use a full size sheet, it’s optional.
Flip the patty over (right to left) so the Nori is facing up. I put down a hefty portion of dynamite paste. Spread it lengthwise in the middle of the Nori with a butter knife.
Dynamite paste: sriracha sauce mixed with Japanese chili powder until it turns into paste.
All the ingredients I mention in this blog can be found on-line, in an Asian grocery store or your local grocery store.
Next, I lay down cream cheese using a butter knife to slice the cheese.
Next, slice some tuna. Typically, I cut two small pieces, which I then cut again, lengthwise. I use a professional grade sushi knife (Yoshihiro brand). I only use this knife to slice fish. You can use a chef knife or a fish fillet knife from home.
We use Maguro (Blue Fin tuna). Maguro is a leaner fish. You can use Ahi tuna (Yellow Fin tuna) which is found in most grocery stores that have a fresh fish counter. Ahi tuna is a fattier fish.
After slicing your tuna lay it down in the same manner as the cheese.
My customers like this roll extra spicy! So i lay down a line of sriracha sauce inside the roll, in addition to the hefty layer of dynamite paste.
Sriracha sauce is a common item in grocery stores these days. It can also be found at Asian markets.
Now it’s time to roll! I start on the left side by tucking in the roll. I go left to right and keep rolling like a tidal wave would in the ocean. It looks messy when you have sauce involved on the inside, but it will all come together in the end.
Now your roll is ready to be tightened down. I use a rolling mat that is covered in cellophane wrap (plastic). The reason for plastic wrap around your mat is prevent the sticky rice from getting stuck to your mat.
Lay the mat on top of your roll and crimp (lightly) down on the roll. Then, while keeping the mat on top, roll your roll forward and crimp it down, then roll it back towards you and crimp down one last time. Try not to over squeeze your roll or it will turn into mush and taste pasty.
Remove the mat and this is what your roll should look like.
Now it’s time to add spicy tuna on top. Every sushi restaurant has a different version of spicy tuna. We use ground tuna, fresh tuna scraps (optional) and add Japanese chili powder and sriracha sauce. We have one secret ingredient in this mix, but your spicy tuna will be just fine without it.
Use one piece of cellophane wrap over the roll.
Next, use a bare mat (no plastic) to crimp down lightly, one time, on the roll.
Remove the mat and this is what it should look like.
I use a professional grade sushi knife (Shun brand) to cut through plastic. At home, you can use a chef knife. I cut my rolls into 8 pieces. You can cut it into thinner slices if you want.
Now, using the mat, wrapped in cellophane, place on top and crimp down lightly one time. Remove the mat.
Remove the plastic from the roll and this is what it should look like.
Here’s a trick of the trade or the lazy way: if you don’t have plastic wrap available, put your mat inside a gallon size plastic bag. It works just as good! If you are a sushi chef, this is frowned upon and you will be harassed accordingly.
On top of the spicy tuna, add a line of sweet sauce across the top. Sweet sauce is a combination of soy sauce and sugar. You can find ready made sweet sauce in the Asian isle of your local grocery store or Asian market. Or buy it on-line.
Add a line of sriracha sauce on top of the sweet sauce.
I add tempura crunchies and a zigzag line of spicy mayo. The tempura crunchies is tempura batter mix deep fried in oil. The spicy mayo is sriracha and mayo mixed together. You can find spicy mayo in the mayonnaise section of your local grocery store. Tempura batter can be found in the Asian isle or an Asian market. Or on-line.
The last two items on top: habanero tobiko and diced jalapenos. The habanero tobiko can be ordered on-line or found at an Asian market specializing in sushi products.
And that’s all. You just learned how to roll sushi! Congrats!
Paul's Maki Style Fish Roll
Maki style roll refers to the Nori (seaweed) being on the outside of the roll.
For this particular roll I start with the patty being vertical. And at the very top I leave a section of the Nori bare. This helps attach that section better to the roll for complete sealment.
For this roll I’m using salmon and three different types of tuna: hamachi, maguro and albacore. Doing this vertical, allows me to fit larger pieces of fish into the roll.
Using either the wrapped or unwrapped mat, place the mat on top of the roll and crimp it down lightly. Roll forward with the mat on top and crimp. Roll it back towards you and crimp one more time.
Now it’s ready to be sliced.
Using a sharp chef knife from your kitchen, slice this roll into 6 pieces. I wouldn’t go any thinner than that. If you do, you risk the roll falling apart or the contents falling out. If you like it thicker, you can slice into 5 pieces.
That’s all! Very simple. I don’t like pouring sauce all over this type of maki roll. However, you can add what ever you want on top of it or inside of it. As a side dish, I use a basic dipping sauce of wasabi and soy sauce.
From my kitchen to yours…I hope you found something useful in this episode. Take care and be safe.
Pretty good looking stuff, Paul!
Thank you Kevin!
Looks really good!! Hope to experience your new trade!!
Thanks Scott