Windset Sushi Roll
Hidekazu Tojo, via Windset Farms
Tojo-san presents: the Windset Roll
One of the perks of being on the West Coast is being able to visit Hidekazu Tojo’s little hideaway in Vancouver. We asked the inventor of the BC roll to create a Windset Roll for us. Wow. The first time we saw his creation, it was too pretty to eat! But we got over it…
Sushi Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1-2” piece dashi kombu (kelp)
Instructions
- Combine vinegar, salt & sugar. Add kelp, cover & store in an airtight container, in a cool place.
- Rinse rice three times in cold water until water runs clear.
- Cook rice with cold water. Allow to steep 10 min after cooking.
- Remove rice from pot. Spread into a shallow, flat container.
- Pour prepared vinegar mixture over warm rice, and mix in using a wooden spatula in a “slicing” motion, fanning rice continuously until rice glistens.
- Allow rice to sit until steaming stops, repeat slicing technique several times until rice has cooled.
- Place rice in a container & cover with damp towel. Rice is ready to use and will hold up to 3 hours.
Prawn & Yam Tempura
For those unfamiliar with cooking tempura, it can be a tricky, time-consuming dish to make. To save time or avoid deep-frying, purchase pre-cooked tempura from an Japanese grocery store or restaurant.
Ingredients
- 2 large prawns – peeled, deveined, tail shells left intact
- yams – cut lengthwise into 10 cm X 2 cm sticks
- about 4 cups vegetable or peanut oil for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ tbsp. baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups ice water
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Make shallow cuts across inside curve of each shrimp and gently press flat to prevent curling during cooling. Season lightly with salt & pepper.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 ¼ cups ice water, until dry ingredients are moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Note: Water must be very cold; this is a key step in making tempura.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan, med heat to 325°F – using a thermometer is recommended.
- Using a long metal slotted spoon, dip shrimp & yam pieces into batter and fry, turning occasionally until golden, approx. 2 min. Don’t overcrowd the oil pot, fry 3 to 4 pieces at a time.
- Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Windset Roll
Ingredients
- 2 Fresco™ Seedless Cucumbers – peeled katsuramuki style, 10 cm wide, 2 mm thick**
- 4 fresh pineapple wedges – 10 cm long, 1 cm wide
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 asparagus spears, blanched
- 1 Maestro™ Sweet Bell Pepper – grilled whole, peeled, sliced
- prawn & yam tempura (see recipe above)
- sushi rice (see recipe above)
- 4 nori sheets
- 2oz mayonnaise
**Katsuramuki is a technique used by professional Japanese chefs. It requires a special thin, flat knife made for shaving thin slices and results in long, thin sheets of vegetables that can be used for garnish, sashimi and sushi. Do not use this method unless you are familiar with the katsuramuki technique.
To mimic a katsuramuki style peel, take a potato peeler and peel around the vegetable in a spiral. Resulting with a long thin peel that can be wrapped around the sushi before slicing.
Instructions
- Lay nori, rough side up, on bamboo sushi mat. Spread over sushi rice evenly.
- Place paprika pepper sheet on top of rice. Spread mayo widthwise over the paprika pepper sheet.
- Lay tempura, pineapple, asparagus, and avocado lengthwise in the middle.
- Roll width-wise using sushi mat. Fold the bottom third in, then roll it up with the top third.
- Wrap sushi roll with cucumber slice.
- Cut into 5 pieces & serve.
For more delicious recipes visit www.windsetfarms.com
