How to cook a cucumber roll?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Classic sushi uses seaweed, rice and fish, but vegetarian variations of this Oriental dish also exist. Rolls with takuan or cucumber are the most common. How to cook a roll with cucumber? A recipe with a photo of this light Japanese snack is presented in our article. What is the sequence of actions?

Preparing rice

Rice often takes up to 80% of the volume of all ingredients in sushi. That is why its proper preparation is one of the most important elements of successful sushi making at home. How to cook it correctly?

First, you need special sushi rice. It is necessary to rinse it with cold water several times until the water used is clear.

Secondly, sushi rice should be cooked under a closed lid over low heat without any stirring. The amount of water should be one and a half times the number of grains.

Third, you need to use a specialseasoning for sushi, which is made on the basis of rice vinegar. As soon as the rice is ready, you can start making the cucumber roll directly.

Ingredients

For this you will need:

• 2 nori sheets;
• ¼ long cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise;
• wasabi;
• pickled sushi ginger;
• light soy sauce;
• salmon caviar (optional).

For rice:

• 100g sushi rice;
• 2 teaspoons sake or mirin;
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar (not needed when using mirin);
• 25 ml rice vinegar.

Cucumber roll: recipe

It's easy to make at home. Rinse the rice in a colander, turning it over with your hands until running water runs clear. Leave to drain for 15 minutes. Place the rice in a saucepan with 200ml of water and sake or mirin if using. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from fire. Set aside and cover, leave for 15-20 minutes.

Then transfer the cooked rice to a large bowl. Dissolve the icing sugar (if using) in the rice vinegar, pour over the rice and stir. Cover with a damp towel and leave at room temperature until use.

Place 1 sheet of nori on a mat and cover half of its surface with slightly chilled rice. Place salmon strip and cucumber slices in oneline in the middle of the rice layer. Add a drop of wasabi along the edge of the filling with your finger. Roll up the cucumber roll and squeeze tightly so that the ends of the nori stick together. Repeat the same with the remaining ingredients.

Cut each roll into 6 pieces and serve with extra wasabi, ginger, soy sauce and salmon roe (optional for garnish). In addition, you can make a roll with cucumber and salmon, the name of which sounds like “shake maki”. To do this, you will need an additional 100 grams of red fish fillet, skinned and boned. The classic Japanese recipe calls for raw salmon. If you intend to follow it, the fish must be fresh.

Correct cutting

Cucumber must be peeled and cut lengthwise. The core with seeds is removed, and the cucumber is cut into longitudinal thin slices. If desired, you can use it not only as a filling, but also as a wrapper for a roll. Slicing a cucumber into thin slices for the top layer of rolls can seem like a daunting task, but don't be intimidated - it just takes a little experience and practice.

Peel the cucumber and cut it horizontally to make two cylindrical halves. To cut a thin sheet (like nori), make a spiral cut with a very sharp thin knife. For a visual example, imagine trying to peel the skin off an apple from top to bottom to get it off intact.

How to roll up properly

If you want to doroll with cucumber not only inside, but also outside, place the pulp cut into a spiral on a bamboo mat (makisu). The shell should form a large square sheet of a relatively flat shape. Cover the cucumber with a thin, even layer of rice. About 2 tablespoons is the optimal amount. Put some wasabi and Japanese mayonnaise to taste, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Place lengthwise cucumber slices and/or other ingredients of your choice in the center of the rice layer. Using the makisu, roll the cucumber until the edges overlap significantly. Cut the resulting cucumber roll in half, and then divide the resulting halves into 2 equal parts again.