Silver's Kitchen Countertop

[silverberry]

It comes with its own resealable bag! But there's four other people who are not as careful about moving and storing it as me.

Cooled cooked rice tends to be drier and harder - not a good texture for making onigiri or sushi with! For other things like reusing leftover rice for fried rice, it works well enough.

[silverberry]

Sushi
Vinegared Rice Rolls


98% rice sushi, slightly squashed.
Only looks this uniformly good because I immediately ate the ones that got ruined from trying to slice with a dull knife.

Ingredients

For rice:

• 1.5 cups Japanese short-grain rice
  
• 2.25 cups water
• 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
Filling:
Mango and sesame seeds would be a great addition to this combo.

• Imitation crab sticks, sliced into long strips
• Avocado, peeled, sliced into long strips
• Cucumber, sliced into long strips, deseeded
• Nori sheets
• Soy sauce
  Get the Quality kind.

Other Notable Materials & Equipment

• Sushi roll maker
  Optional - this was just the gift that motivated me to make sushi from scratch
• Sushi rolling mat
• Sharp knife
  IMPORTANT. SHARPEN THAT KNIFE. USING A DULL ONE WILL ONLY BRING SORROW.

Procedure

1. Prepare rice: Rinse the rice grains twice in cool water. Soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Add the 2.25 cups of water. Cook as usual.
2. Combine the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Mix with the cooked rice. Set aside and let cool until easy to handle.
3. Use the sushi roll maker: Place rice on both sides of the opened tool, leaving a channel in the center. Place the filling inside the channel. Attach the plunger on one end. Close the tool. Attach cap on other end to ensure compression.
4. Place a sheet of nori on top of the rolling mat.
5. Remove the cap from the sushi roll maker. Twist the plunger until it can be pushed in. Push the rice roll out and on to the nori.
6. Wrap the nori around the rice roll. Dampen the nori with fingers to make sure it sticks on non-rice surfaces.
7. Wet the knife to keep it from sticking to the rice. Cut the roll into desired thickness.
   Please do not imitate me. Cut it thicker. And don't hesitate to run the knife with water again once it starts to stick.
8. Serve with soy sauce

---

Looks great, tastes great, and did not fall apart despite the thinness. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed with the amount of filling I placed, and will consider this one a failure. Should probably also try to manually roll the rice myself, without the roller tool, just for the experience. And I probably should have wasabi to serve it with, in addition to the soy sauce.

[silverberry]

Lemon Pasta

Based on an IG post.
No photo - it got eaten fast. Will place one once I get a chance to make this again.

Ingredients

• 10 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente
  About 280 grams
• Lemon sauce
  
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Zest of 1 lemon
    Wash the lemon well before zesting
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 cup Grana Padana / Pecorino cheese, grated
    No fancy cheeses for me - subbed with grated parmesan.
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
    Subbed with all-purpose cream and some butter.
  • Salt, to taste
• Reserved pasta water
• Chopped parsley

Other Notable Materials & Equipment

• Microplane, or anything to help with zesting the lemon.
• Smalll sieve
  Just to keep the seeds out when the lemon is juiced.

Procedure

1. Mix together the ingredients for the lemon sauce.
2. On low heat, toss together cooked spaghetti, lemon sauce, and a ladle of the reserved pasta water until thickened to desired consistency.
3. Top with chopped parsley.

Would likely pair well with seared chicken breasts or salmon.

I failed to divide the lemon evenly, so the pasta ended up a bit too acidic, but I just tossed in a bit more cheese and cream to even it out.