How to Make Low-Fat Temaki Sushi

Sushi is Japanese finger food that, legend has it, was invented for card-players' snack trays. Temaki sushi, or handrolls, is the equivalent of the western sandwich, with tasty fillings wrapped in a layer of vinegared rice and nori seaweed that can be picked up and eaten whole. Since the traditional Japanese diet relies heavily on fish, rice and vegetables, making low-fat Temaki (or any other variety) sushi is a snap. It's only when sushi began to adapt to American tastes that high-fat ingredients, like avocados and fried foods were added. Except for the beloved toro, or fatty tuna, and tempura, low-fat temaki is easy if you stick to traditional ingredients.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Yakinori (seaweed)
• Sushi meshi (vinegared rice)
• Fillings (gu)
• Wasabi
• Sliced ginger root
• Japanese soy sauce
• Sharp knife to cut ingredients
• Cutting board
• Serving dishes

1. Prepare the vinegared rice. Use only Japonica rice and rinse twice before cooking. Do not rinse after cooking but add sushi vinegar (sushi-zu). This sweet vinegar is made with cider vinegar, sugar and Mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine. Add the vinegar to your cooked rice and roll like bread dough on a clean board. Once rolled, you'll need to work quickly with your rice because it is very sticky.

2. Cut yakinori sheets in half to make manageable rolls. Put a few tablespoons of rice on a sheet and make a cigar-shape across the sheet from an outside corner to the center of the opposite side. You'll have to experiment with how much rice to use--too much will make your temaki soggy.

3. Cut vegetables and fish into long strips. Be sure to use only sushi-grade ingredients. Use radish (dakon), green onion, cucumber, sprouts--any vegetables that can be shaped into long, thin strands. Arrange a few vegetables lengthwise along the rice and push them into the rice so there is a little indentation. When you roll the temaki, this indentation will close up and your fillings will be surrounded by rice. Always set a few strands of wispy green onion or sprouts beyond the outside end to decorate the roll.

4. Choose low-fat fish such as shrimp and salmon, flounder, yellow tail (hamachi), meguro (regular tuna) or cod. Cut fish fillets across the grain in quarter-inch-thick slices, then julienne them into quarter-inch-square strips. Lay a piece of fish along the vegetables. Add a smear of Japanese horseradish (wasabi) to the fish for zest.

5. Roll yakinori and fillings up in a cone-shaped roll. If your friends are familiar with temaki, you might simply set out the prepared ingredients with chopsticks for them to assemble their own rolls. Garnish with little mounds of wasabi and thinly shredded ginger and dakon. Provide dishes for each diner to mix soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to keep ingredients very cold before and during preparation. Serve very cold. Most ingredients for Japanese dishes are now readily available in Asian specialty stores or online.

• The only ingredient in temaki that contains any fat is the fish. Try Japanese egg (omelet) or tofu in your handroll.

• Buy a bottle of Mirin wine for sushi meshi and use it to make teriyaki and ponzu sauses. This slightly sweet wine is used in dozens of dishes. It's also great with a little plum sauce in a stir fry.

• If you've never tried sushi, you're missing a treat. Visit a sushi bar before attempting it yourself. Sit at the bar and ask the sushi chef to explain the process. There are some secrets that these trained professionals won't give away but they're usually happy to answer questions about ingredients and serving protocol.

• Use only the freshest fish from a market that specializes in sushi-grade fish. Most sushi restaurants use flash-frozen fish, frozen on the boat for up to a day's transit. "Fresh this morning" often means that it arrived that morning, not that it was caught six hours ago. If fish smells "fishy", pass on it.

Resources

• Sushi ideas
• Types and service of sushi