Grandma Tsuna's Maki Tuna Roll

Hey all! JP and I are on a quest to eat healthy. It wasn't a New Year's resolution. I personally just got tired of not fitting my clothes right, and you just feel so much better when your healthy. As much as we love to eat, and I mean looove! It's been challenging to come up with meals that still taste good to us and are healthy.

I've been doing a lot of Asian inspired dishes. There are a lot of healthy Asian dishes that are full of flavor and low in calories. I made a spicy noodle dish using the House of Foods Shiritaki Tofu noodles. Those were very good and extremely low in calories. We will feature that recipe soon. We even had Japanese Style Ginger Pork, another dish we will feature.

So anyway! I've been craving sushi. Sushi can be healthy and not healthy. I guess depending on what you put it in it, and how much you eat. But hey, you gotta splurge sometimes. I was craving my Grandma Tsuna's Maki Tuna roll! She always made the best sushi. I have scoured the net to find a recipe that seemed remotely close to hers. I didn't really find one. I did ask my Mom who told me what all she used. It took me a couple of hours to make 60 pieces of sushi. Well worth it though. I also made my first Tamagoyaki. It was okay for a first attempt. My omelet skills kinda suck. LOL So I was a little afraid to make it. The roll requires this egg omelet. So, I had to suck it up and try. I think it came out good. You can also use Tamagoyaki in bentos. A lot of them have this piece of egg to go along with the rest of the food. Another ingredient in this sushi is Kempo. I'm not fond of Kempo so I omit that. So overall, the sushi came out excellent. It tasted just like Grandma's. I was so happy.



There is my Tamagoyaki. It could be better. I'll just keep trying. To make Tamagoyaki, you will need 5 Eggs, 3 Teaspoons of sugar, 1 Tablespoon of Mirin (Japanese Rice Winer Vinegar) and 1/2 a Teaspoon of salt.

You will need to beat all of the above ingredients. The tricky part of this for me is the rolling part in the pan. I think it's easier to use a small pan. I believe there is some square fry pan made specifically for this. So I used a large nonstick skillet. I had my stove on medium-low heat. You don't want it to high. You will also have to work fast. You are going to layer this. So add in a thin layer of egg in the pan. Let that set up. Once it sets, start to roll it up. Once you have that rolled and off to the side of the pan, add in another thin layer. Once that layer sets, roll it up until it touches the first layer. You want to keep doing this process until you've used all of your egg. You should come out with a nice layered thick omelet. Mine isn't a good example, but it works. I've seen people also use the bamboo sushi mat to make it square once it's done. Then just cut and use however you like. Mine was used for sushi.

This is the final product for the Maki Tuna Roll. If you would like to make the filling for these. Use the above egg recipe for that part. For the tuna, you will need 1 can of Tuna in water, 1 Tablespoon of Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce ( I use a strong Korean Soy Sauce so I do little less than a Tablespoon), 1 Tablespoon Mirin. Saute all of those ingredients in a pan until it's well incorporated. For the spinach, I used the frozen kind. I boiled it in some salted water for about 10 minutes or so. I drained all the water off and squeezed off the excess.

I also added in some of this, Sakura Denbu. This is a Ground Sweet Codfish. You could find this in an Asian Market. My Mom brought this from California for me. This also taste good in Onigiri, Japanese rice balls.

You will also need to prepare some sushi rice. You can view my recipe for California Rolls here.

You can follow the recipe there for the rice. It also shows you how to roll the sushi. You can layer your filling anyway you like. I laid down my tuna first, then I spread the Sakura Denbu, Egg, and then spinach. Then I roll and cut into pieces. It is very time consuming. You might not get it down pat at first. But, practice makes perfect. It's also cost efficient. Because, buying already sushi is costly. How many people can say they make their own sushi? You can also be creative. Try different fillings. It's all according to your taste. This is one of my favorites. I hope you try it! Enjoy!

~Feather


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Recipe of The Day: California Roll

Last night I made a bunch of sushi for JP to take to work. I have loooved sushi since childhood. I have vivid memories of my Grandma Tsuna making sushi for us. I even remember her working in this Japanese restaurant in Hawaii making sushi. Her Sushi, Tempura and Miso soup were always the best. So my love for sushi goes deep. Also, living in Hawaii I group up around a lot of Asian food. So here is my version of the California Roll. I wanted to make Tuna, but I can't find that sweet shrimp powder.

California Roll

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Cook Time: Depending on how many pieces and how good you are at rolling them! Could be a while! LOL I made a few rolls, so it about 1 hour.

Serving: I made a lot, so it served many! LOL

Ingredients for Roll:

3 cups of Rice (I use Botan)

1 package Imitation Crab

1 Avocado
1 Cuccumber

1 Bottle Japanese Mayo (Kewpie)

2 Packs of Nori(seaweed)

Ingredients for Vinegar Mixture for Rice:

1/4 cup Rice Wine Vingar

1/4 cup of white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Use a nice ripe avocado. I like to cut this when I start to roll the sushi so it doesn't brown. Mine was looking kind of tired! Don't mind it! lol



Imitation crab. I usually break this up and place in a bowl for easy use.



Japanese mayo. You give nice squirt over filling before you roll your sushi.


Japanese nori. This is what you will use to wrap the sushi.

Rice Wine Vinegar. This will be used for mixture to put in rice.


I like to get the cuccumber and stuff prepped before I start anything. It makes it a lot easier to work. I like to peel my cuccumber first. You do not have to peel it, if you don't want to.

Then slice into matchstick pieces. Put everything in bowls and to the side for now.


Next, you want to make your vinegar mixture. In small pan over medium heat. Combine all ingredients. Constantly stir until sugar and salt are disolved. Do not let this get to hot, and not to the point where it is boiling! Once disolved remove from heat.

You should have already pre-made some rice. I did about 3 cups in my rice cooker. I take a few scoops of rice to work with and place in a plastic bowl. I think it's best to use a wooden one. Pour a bit of the mixture over rice. You don't want to add to much, especially if your working with small amounts of rice at a time. Start mixing, being careful not to break any grains. You also want to fan the mixture as you mix. You could use a fan. I used a piece of cardboard! We want to cool the rice down a bit. You can taste to make sure the flavor is right. Once mixed place a damp cloth over bowl.

(Sushi Mat)

Place one piece of nori on your sushi mat. I cover my sushi mat with seran wrap so it's easy to stay clean.Then using your hands or rice paddle. I used the paddle, you really aren't supposed to. lol Or you can wet your hands and spread the rice over sheet of nori like in the picture above.


Place ingredients on rice like so. I did one with avocado and one without.


Begin to roll your sushi. Use the mat as a guide. Using a nice gentle rolling motion. You should end up with something ilke this. If you end up with a few unstuck ends, you can use some water to stick it back down. (I'm sure that shouldn't happen if your a sushi pro!)

I also do one with the rice on the outside. You would use the same method to roll. I use the mat to form it into like a square shape and then cut it. You can also coat the outside with sesame seeds or fish roe. I left these plain. So, that's pretty much it. You want to eat these as soon as possible. Fresh is the best! You can put them in air tight container overnight. I wouldn't let it sit no longer then a day. It can be a little tricky, but with practice and time you can become a sushi pro! You also don't have to make California rolls. There are all kinds of different sushi. Fill them up with whatever you like. The possibilties are endless!

Hope you enjoy!

~Feather

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