Spearfishing

"ENERGY FOLLOWS THOUGHT"
"WORK CLEVER NOT HARD"
"TRAIN HARD, FIGHT EASY"

Some-one once told me, a sushi chef takes 7 seven years to perfect the preparation of the rice used in his dishes. That may deter some people from even attempting sushi at home. Sushi is an incredible, albeit time consuming way of preparing your catch. The other great thing about sushi is that a small amount of fish goes a long way.

You will need some basic ingredients readily available from your local supermarket. These are sushi rice, rice vinegar, nori (toasted seaweed sheets), soy sauce (Kikkoman preferably), wasabi (incredibly potent), avocado, cucumber, Japanese/Chinese mayo, pickled ginger, sesame seeds (black & white if you can get them) and some fish. The type of fish you use is entirely up to you. I have found mackerel, dorado (dolphin fish), Rainbow Runner and Jobfish to be very good but the best is Yellowfin Tuna. When the diving is poor, salmon from the supermarket is a good substitute. One can even employ reefies to make an enjoyable dish.

I find that a narrow bladed, very sharp knife is indispensable and you will definitely need a sushi mat. Wrap your sushi mat in clingfilm, it makes cleaning a breeze.

I am probably quite conservative when I prepare sushi, relying on a few tried and tested preparation styles viz California, maki and rainbow rolls as well as nigiri sushi and fashion sandwiches.

Prepare the rice as instructed on the packet and allow to cool before flavouring with rice vinegar. The rice is very sticky and wetting your fingers will allow you to work it more readily. Lay a piece of nori shiny side down. The nori has striations which make cutting easier. Rolls should be prepared in this direction.

The idea of well prepared sushi is in the appearance of the dish. One continually strives to produce neat, clean, well presented, delicate mouthfuls of flavour.

1. California roll: distribute a thin amount of rice over the surface of the nori. It should just be lightly covered and an odd gap here and there is of little concern. Press the rice flat against the nori using your wet, clean hands. Turn the nori over and place on the sushi mat. The rice sticks readily to the nori. Place your ingredients along one end of the nori: thin strip of fish, strips of avo and strips of cucumber. Apply some mayo along the ingredients (I like to mix some wasabi with the mayo to give it a bit of a zing). Use the mat to roll the nori over the ingredients. This takes a little practice. The roll produced has ingredients in the middle wrapped in nori with rice on the outside. The delicate bit is compressing the roll. Use the mat to put some pressure on one end of the roll and use one hand to prevent the ingredients being squeezed out. Now do the same thing on the other side. Sprinkle some sesame seeds along the top of the sushi and apply some more gentle pressure. A single roll using an entire piece of nori produces approx 8 bite sized pieces after slicing.

2. Maki roll: Place the nori on the sushi mat, shiny surface down. Apply rice thinly over entire surface. Using the side of your hand create a groove along one side of the rice. Place ingredients into groove and use the mat to roll up the nori. The rice surrounds the ingredients with the nori on the outside.

3. Rainbow roll: Follow the directions for making a California roll but only put some fish inside the roll. Compress the roll but do not apply sesame seeds. Cut strips of fish & avo and arrange these diagonally over the upper surface of the rolls. The rolls when sliced will have some fish in the centre and a rainbow-coloured arrangement of fish and avo on the outside.

Apart from rolls, one can also produce nigiri sushi very quickly and easily. A small quantity of rice is manipulated into a rough small cylinder (approx 40mmx15mm). A piece of fish, thinly sliced, and large enough to cover half of the outside of the roll is selected. Some wasabi is applied to the inside and the fish placed over the rice and moulded into place.

Fashion sandwiches are prepared by covering 2 separate pieces of nori with thin layers of rice. These are then turned over, so the nori is now on top. Thin layers of ingredients are placed on the nori: fish, avo, cucumber. A thin layer of rice may also be applied. A generous helping of mayo is also inlcuded. The one nori/rice piece is arranged on top of the other with the rice to the outside. This block is now compressed to create a solid rectangular block, rice on the outside, ingredients between nori sheets on the inside. Apply some sesame seeds to the top and compress again. You will have to use your hands to prevent ingredients being squeezed out. Using your sharp knife cut the rectangle into bite sized pieces.

I find it important to keep my knife sharp, clean and wet to facilitate slicing.

I serve several different pieces of sushi with some wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. The wasabi is dissolved into the soy and a piece of ginger placed on a piece of sushi. The piece is dipped into the wasabi/soy mix and then into the mouth. Takes a bit of getting used to but has become one of my favourites.