A Sushi Party

Second, a new supermarket opened up close to us and advertised a sushi bar, and I live in Oklahoma! I went to see this "market of the future" and purchased a sushi plate to take home. It was very good, but cost three to four times what it would have cost me to make at home. So, dear reader, we are hoping that you will continue to read about this delectable way of using leftovers, the freshest of fish, and vegetables, to make a meal that is at very healthy and as delicious to eat as it is beautiful to behold.

For those of you who know little about Japanese cooking, we will begin with a short primer. After all, your guests will want to know about this food that looks little like the meat and potatoes they eat on a daily basis.

Sushi Glossary:

sushi: short-grain (jasmine) rice combined with rice vinegar and decorated with small slices of ingredients such as vegetables, cooked or raw fish or seafood. Sushi can be blocks of molded rice topped with bits of garnish or rolled in dried seaweed that encloses the filling.

wasabi: very hot green paste served on the side with sushi. In Japanese sushi bars, it’s called namida (means "tears"). Buy this root in Asian markets either powdered (to mix with water) or ready-made paste. A dab of wasabi sometimes "glues" the fish or vegetables to the rice. A strong spice unique to Japan with a bright green color and flavor comparable to horseradish, wasabi is hard to find fresh, but most markets carry powdered wasabi or wasabi paste. Reconstitute the powdered kind with a small amount of tepid water and allow to stand for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

nori: seaweed that has been stretched on bamboo frames to dry in sheets. Sold in Asian markets and some supermarkets. Sold 10 to a package, nori measure 6 1/2 inches (16.25 cm) X 8 inches (20 cm) and have a shiny and a rough side. When making rolled sushi, the shiny side should be on the outside, the rough side next to the filling.

pickled ginger: a palate cleaner, these pink strips of breath-taking ginger root should be eaten between pieces of sushi.

Japan is a most interesting country geographically. It is 1800 miles in length, but only 200 miles across at its widest point. It has climates that vary from snow bound winters in the north to humid subtropical weather in the south. Although there are more than 4000 small islands that make up Japan, the 4 largest ones are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Perhaps because of the small size of the country, the diversity of the environment, the numbers of people, or for another reason we don’t understand, this is a culture that compartmentalizes. There is a love of privacy and understanding of minimization from computer chips to bonsai to the small lacquer trays neatly divided holding small portions of exquisite food. Japanese food often looks like a still life painting.

A meal in Japan revolves around rice and often fish, the freshest possible. After all, this is a country of islands. It may also include pickled vegetables and soup. Foods are either served raw or are cooked in one of four methods: grilled, simmered, steamed, or fried. The idea is to vary the textures and taste so that there is variety in each meal. The meal may, however, be made up of very few ingredients, just prepared in different ways. When eating in Japan or in a Japanese restaurant, expect to have many courses with small portions presented on different plates. The food is most often in bite-sized pieces so that picking them up with chop sticks is easy. Each course will have different tastes and by the end of the meal, you will note having a feeling of abundance rather than be focused on the small portions. Japanese cooking is mild and sauces are usually served on the side for dipping. The main ingredients and seasonings in these sauces are soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine), miso, seaweed, sesame seeds, fresh ginger, rice vinegar, and wasabi.

For our purposes we will start our guests with a mild sushi like Nigiri-Sushi (molded rice with garnishes) or "Nori-Sushi (rolled sushi) with strips of fish and vegetables. Please note that we most emphatically suggest that you cook your seafood unless you have a seafood shop that carries sushi-quality fish--that is fish that is very, very fresh. You can always substitute cooked shrimp, cooked salmon or tuna, or any small slices of cooked chicken for the raw ingredients suggested. By the way, if you’ve never made sushi, we suggest you visit a Japanese sushi bar, sit at the counter, and watch the chefs. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.

We will set our table with chop sticks and the lovely lacquer trays that are springing up in import shops and cooking supply stores. If you can’t get these, try some other oriental style dishes; just remember that less is more in Japanese decorations. Make sure to have enough serving trays to serve each type of sushi in the order you wish. Each person will get a dipping bowl, a small container, with a mixture of low sodium soy sauce mixed with wasabi. First time sushi eaters will want to go easy on the wasabi, but we always have extra on the table for those who have grown to love its distinctive taste. In Japan, cold beer or sake may be served, but just as often you might enjoy green tea, a treat readily available in the US. The table will also include a dish of pickled ginger which is intended for nibbling between sushi platters to cleanse the palate.

Manners for eating sushi are easy. You can eat with your fingers or with chop sticks- both are acceptable and your guests will appreciate your lead. Also note that you may need to warn your guests to taste the sushi before dipping as the rice has been seasoned with vinegar and the roll is flavored with wasabi. In Japan, the dipping sauces are used sparingly. The center piece for the table may also be simple, maybe one perfect flower in a bowl of water, an orchid arching over looking fragile and yet we all know that it will bloom for months, an oriental object’art with greens surrounding it. Just make it simple and elegant.

We all have gone to an American Japanese restaurant or seen a movie about Japan, so you may not surprise your guests if you ask them to remove their shoes when they arrive at your door. If you can, borrow some silk screens from friends to set the mood. If these aren’t available, you may want to hang some posters of Japan, have small oriental bowls with appetizers (most supermarkets sell seasoned rice crackers imported from Japan) set around to be nibbled before dinner, throw a brightly colored silk over the arm of your sofa or a chair, and to top it all off have a paper umbrella opened against a wall. How about playing Madame Butterfly on the CD when your guests arrive? You will want to change off to other music as the evening progresses, but this opera will set the mood and everyone knows the story and music.

Now relax. You have made the miso soup and have the tofu and vegetables ready to garnish the bowls. You have prepared the sushi in advance and all you need to do is slice them or place pieces on a tray and serve. You do not have to worry about saturated fats or cholesterol for this meal. You have carbohydrates, protein, and vegetables on those trays.

For desert, you will serve fresh fruit, beautifully arranged in Japanese style, and lovely fresh edible flowers. Each plate will be a Japanese work of art. By the way, make sure you have a camera for this dinner. You guests and food will make pleasant memories.

We wish to thank the owners of a new California-style sushi bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for lending us the beautiful mother-of-pearl plate and other serving pieces. The sign outside of this just opened restaurant says Dunwell Sushi, the real name is IN the Raw, and the lines inside say, "This is good food."

Note the place setting here with lacquered dish, hot towel, chop sticks and holder, sauce dish and soup bowl. Just adding the warm towels is enough to impress your guests; the rest you can improvise.

Finally a picture of sushi on that lacquered dish. Here I have vegetarian sushi with asparagus, carrot, and cucumber, crab and shrimp with avocado, and fresh tuna and salmon on sticky rice molds with cucumber decoration. On the plate are the pickled ginger and the wasabi.

(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)