Sushi

Ingredients:
1 lb. bluefin or yellowfin tuna fillet
1/2 lb. yellowtail fillet
15-20 large shrimp, cooked, peeled, butterflied 
             and chilled
1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch sticks
Prepared wasabe, gari and nori
    Sushi Rice
3 1/3 cups Japanese rice
4 cups water
    Vinegar Mixture
5 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. rice vinegar
5 Tbs. sugar
4 tsp. salt

Preparation:
Wash the rice until the wash water runs clean and drain in a colander for 1 hour.  Place the drained rice in a rice cooker and add water.  Cover and cook until all the water is absorbed and the cooker says rice is done.  Place rice in hangiri and cover with a damp kitchen towel.

Combine vinegar ingredients in an enamel or stainless steel pan and heat slowly until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.  Cool quickly.  Pour sweetened vinegar over rice stirring constantly with a shamoji (large wooden spatula).  Run the spatula through the rice in right-and left slicing motions to separate the grains.  Continue the slicing motions while fanning the rice to cool the mixture.  The fanning and mixing will take about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches room temperature.  Cover rice with damp cloth.

Assemble sushi pieces according to your preferences.  Here are my favorites:

    Nigiri-zushi
Maguro:  Form small oblong piece of rice in your hands.  Place small amount of wasabe on one side of a 1-inch by 3-inch sliver of tuna.  Place wasabe side of tuna on rice.

Ebi:  Form small oblong piece of rice in your hands.  Place small amount of wasabe on underside of shrimp.  Place shrimp on rice.

Hamachi:  Form small oblong piece of rice in your hands.  Place small about of wasabe on one side of a 1-inch by 3-inch sliver of yellowtail.  Place wasabe side of yellowtail on rice.

    Nori-maki
Tekka-maki:  Half a sheet of nori (seaweed) is spread on a bamboo rolling mat.  In the middle of the nori arrange a band of sushi rice and spread to the edges.  Spread wasabe in a line along the center of the rice.  Place raw tuna strips on the wasabe.  Starting at the edge closer to you, use the mat to roll up the sushi.  After rolling, remove from mat and slice in half then cut each half into 3 rounds.

California Roll:  Half a sheet of nori (seaweed) is spread on a bamboo rolling mat.  In the middle of the nori arrange a band of sushi rice and spread to the edges.  Spread wasabe in a line along the center of the rice.  Place cucumber, avocado, and shrimp or crab strips on wasabe.  Starting at the edge closer to you, use the mat to roll up the sushi.  After rolling, remove from mat and slice in half then cut each half into 3 rounds.  Many times I’ll make this by turning the rice and nori over and putting the wasabe, cucumber, avocado, and shrimp on the nori and roll with the rice on the outside.  Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds or flying fish eggs on rice then slice.