Recipes

Smoked Fish Hand Roll

This larger hand roll is still small enough to be held and eaten easily but also makes a great appetizer or lunch if you allow for 3 rolls per person. Choose any smoked fish, but make sure it is moist and soft.

Makes 18 pieces

1 small red onion, finely sliced
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
7 oz. smoked fish, such as trout, salmon, or eel
1 2-inch piece of cucumber
6 sheets of nori, about 8 x 7 inches
Seasoned sushi rice (see Michael Schulson’s recipe)
1 tsp. wasabi paste (optional)
1 small carrot, finely sliced ? into thin strips
1 small red bell pepper, finely? sliced into thin strips
Japanese soy sauce

Procedure
Put the onion in a small saucepan with the vinegar and water. Bring to a boil, drain, and let cool.

Cut the smoked fish into strips, about ?2 inches x 1/2 inch (you should have about 18 even pieces).

Quarter the cucumber lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, then cut into fine strips using a mandoline or vegetable peeler.

Cut each sheet of nori into 3 pieces ?(3 x 7 inches).

Put a piece of nori on a work surface with the long edge toward you and the rough side up. Spread 1 small, heaping teaspoon of rice crosswise over the nori about one-quarter of the way in from the left edge. Smear with a little wasabi, if using. Top the rice with a piece of fish, a few strips of carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber, and a little red onion, pressing slightly into the rice to hold it firm while you roll.

Take the bottom-left corner of the nori and fold it diagonally so the left edge meets the top edge. Continue folding the whole triangle. Arrange with the join downward on a serving plate. Repeat to make 18 rolls altogether.

Serve with soy sauce.