The sushi experiment: The Grasshopper Roll

I am a big fan of sushi, and a big fan of do it myself so it wasn't long before I attempted to make my own. I always left it to the experts because I didn't want to get sick and I didn't know that sushi grade fish is so readily available at fish mongers. When I lived in Vancouver, I never really thought about making my own because I could just go down the street and there was at least 2 good sushi restaurants in minutes from where I lived. The Fish was always fresh and tasty. Then I moved to Montreal, and well until recently, I couldn't find good sushi, most of it is either over-priced or mediocre. A while back when I was looking for a good piece of salmon for tartare I found that all the fish at my fish mongers was sushi grade (well in the display). That got the wheels turning, but still intimidated it took me a while to try making my own rice and wrapping a roll or two.

I was going to my local fish monger to get some fresh Haddock for fish and chips, and in front of me was a bag of Kokuho rose rice (the best short grain rice). Living with Korean roommates for 4 years I remember that brand as the best sticky rice. My friends used that for Korean sushi (Gimbap). So now I needed a good fish, and the fish monger recommended Talapia. I never would have guessed that Talapia was good raw. Talapia worked well because it has a firm flesh which makes it easy to slice thin for sashimi. It has a mild flavour and goes with things that won't over power it. I used some papaya, cucumber and carrots which worked well.

Being a beginner on the whole sushi thing I came up with the name of my new roll from the Kung fu series. I called it the grasshopper because it is not complete, with patience I will be able to perfect it, and I thought it was funny. So that said, sushi was good but I need to keep practicing and I will keep you posted.