Sushi-ing, Sauntering, and Getting Lost in Toronto

Today was Andrew's and my first time wandering downtown Toronto on our own. We were originally supposed to spend the day in Kensington market, shopping, meandering, and just spending time with each other. The highlight of the day for me was going to be a great meal at Oishi Kada on Augusta (280 Augusta, at College, if you're interested, and I highly reccomend it!!). Well, I got my sushi meal, but only after we walked for about 45 minutes the wrong way down College (my fault, freely admitted), freezing our butts (and fingers and toes...) in -25C weather, before Andrew had the good sense to turn us around and get us into the market! We still had time for lunch (perfectly salty edamame, salad with kappa- and tekka-maki (rolls) for me, soup and the Kensington sushi meal for him) and some browsing before heading home, so I was perfectly A-OK with that!




It was a good trip, albeit cold, and I want to do a longer, warmer roam in that area (and Chinatown as well) in the summer! For now, here's a version of an easy, worry-free sushi roll slightly modified from (I believe) Michael Smith of Chef at Home on Food TV Canada.



Simple Sushi
Serves 4
1 cup sushi rice
1 cup brown rice
3 cups water
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ tbsp sugar
½ tbsp tamari
¼ cup horseradish
Drop of green food coloring
1 can skipjack tuna, drained
2 dill pickles, sliced into strips
½ cucumber, cut into thin strips
1 carrot cut into matchsticks
1 red pepper, seeds removed and cut into matchsticks
4 sheets of nori paper

1. Rinse rice under cold water and then put into a medium saucepan along with the water.
2. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered 3 minutes, stirring, and then reduce heat, cover with a tight fitting lid and let simmer about 20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 20 minutes. Turn out into a large bowl.
4. Whisk together the rice vinegar, sugar and soy sauce until dissolved.
5. Sprinkle over the hot rice and toss well until the rice is coated well. Let cool.
6. Whisk together the horseradish and green food coloring.
7. Lay a sushi mat onto a flat work surface and place a sheet of nori down.
8. Put about half a cup of rice on the nori and flatten it down, leaving at least a one-inch border at either end.
9. Spread with some horseradish and then spoon some tuna, a few slices of pickle, cucumber and remaining vegetables along the edge closest to you.
10. Begin to roll the sushi, pressing it with your fingers to create a tight roll.
11. Moisten the edge of nori to seal it and then repeat with the rest of the nori.
12. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and serve.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 245.5
Total Fat: 1.4 g
Cholesterol: 23.6 mg
Sodium: 987.2 mg
Total Carbs: 33.3 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.5 g
Protein: 24.3 g

Andrew may hate the gari ginger with all his might, but the one thing he loves is his spicy salmon nigiri! Since I love to cook for my man, I took a few recipes from around the Web and created my own version of the "dynamite sauce" used on those types of sushi. You can use this sauce in spicy tuna or salmon rolls, or on a volcano or lava roll. The Siracha hot sauce is the secret ingredient (the one with the rooster on the bottle!). You can be authentic and use "real" Japanese Mayonnaise (Kewpie), but good old Hellman's works fine too.

Dynamite Spicy Sushi Sauce
Serves 4
½ cup (low-fat if desired) mayonnaise
2 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
¼ tsp roasted sesame oil

1. Whisk the ingredients together until well blended.
2. Store in fridge.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 103.1
Total Fat: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 10.5 mg
Sodium: 282.5 mg
Total Carbs: 2.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 0.3 g