More Sushi?

If I never make another sushi roll, it will be too soon. Everyday someone demonstrated one roll or another at the macrobiotic conference. Granted, they were all different but sheesh, I'm still terrible at it and I kept having to do it. It was torturous...except for today when I got to eat it without having to make it. 

It was fabulous, too. Check out the Flower Roll. This is a roll courtesy of Deco Nakajima of Brown's Field (there's not much English on this site but you'll get the jist). She's a very "crunchy" Japanese woman who started Brown's Field in the Japanese countryside. They grown there own food there. The rice is amazing. Totally organic, sustainable. She teaches about cooking with the seasons and natural building techniques.

This roll is apparently adapted from one that she learned from an older woman in a nearby village. If I heard correctly, it's only made during Obon or for celebrations. It requires a lot of work. Follow along and you'll see. In the original roll, the yellow outside was tamago (sweet omelette) but eggs are out in macrobiotics so she bakes a pumpkin cake and cuts that to size for her recipe. 

Pumpkin Cake

dry ingredients

1 c unbleached wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

wet ingredients

3/4 c mashed pumpkin (steamed, peeled, mashed)

2 TBL maple syrup (optional for add'l sweetness)

2/3 c apple juice

Bake thin pumpkin cake. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Stir wet ingredients together well in another bowl. Mix the dry and wet ingredients lightly. Add a little more apple juice if necessary. Spread mixture about 1 cm thick on baking sheet w/parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes at 350*F. Allow to cool and cut into 8 in x 8 in squares.

other ingredients

7/8 oz carrots, julienne

salt

1 3/4 oz leafy green vegetables (e.g., kale or other bright green color, soft texture and light taste)

11 3/4 oz brown sushi rice (recipe below)

6 1/3 oz half-polished sushi rice (recipe below)

2 sheets nori

brown sushi rice

2 1/2 c brown rice (washed)

3 1/3 c water

salt, to taste

2 TBL ume plum vinegar

2 TBL apple juice

half-polished sushi rice

2 1/2 c brown rice (washed)

2 TBL half-polished black rice (washed)

2 c water

salt, to taste

4 tsp ume plum vinegar

4 tsp apple juice

Cook brown rice (for 25 mins) and half-polished rice (10 mins) separately in pressure cooker. Place each in separate bowls and toss lightly with appropriate amounts of vinegar and apple juice.

Sprinkle carrots with pinch of salt and rub, then blanch. Blanch greens in same water. Cut nori into quarters, enough to make five strips (use 2 sheets)--reserve the other 3/4 sheet. Place 1/4 sheets nori on sushi mat, add 1/6 of half-polished sushi rice and roll. Make 5 thin rolls. Place 3 thin rolls on sushi mat, set carrot in middle, then two thin rolls over, and roll. Squeeze together lightly to set.

Place pumpkin cake on another sushi mat, spread brown sushi rice thinly over entire cake. Shape 3 ridges on the 1st on third and place 3/4 sheet nori sheet over the ridges (see photo). Put 1/6 of half-polished rice (or substitute gourd like Deco did here) in the 1st valley, then greens on both sides of the rice. Put flower on other side of far ridge. Press together and roll with mat. 

Slice into 8 pieces.

I don't know if I would make this thing. It's so involved but pretty cool.