| 1 | Soak the rice in a bowl of cold water. |
| 2 | Swish around with your hands and drain when the water becomes cloudy. |
| 3 | Fill with water again and repeat the procedure until the water remains very clear. |
| 4 | place the rice in a heavy 4-quart saucepan. |
| 5 | Add the water and cover with the lid. |
| 6 | Bring the water to a boil without lifting the lid (watch for the lid jiggling). |
| 7 | Reduce the heat to medium high and cook for 5 minutes. |
| 8 | Listen for a hissing or crackling sound to indicate that the water has been absorbed. |
| 9 | Remove from the heat, and still without lifting the lid, let the rice stand for 20 to 30 minutes. |
| 10 | transfer the rice to a large bowl. |
| 11 | Toss with a japanese paddle or a wooden spoon until it stops steaming. |
| 12 | in a small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt. |
| 13 | Stir until the sugar is dissolved. |
| 14 | Sprinkle into the rice, a little at a time, and toss in. cover the vinegared rice mixture with a clean tea towel and set aside until needed. |
| 15 | Don"t refrigerate it. |
| 16 | use one shee of nori as a guide for cutting the vegetables. |
| 17 | The vegetables you use should be cut into very thin, very long matchsticks; their length should match the width of a sheet of nori. |
| 18 | The exception to this is avocado, which won"t be long enough, but this isn"t a problem because of its soft texture. |
| 19 | Just cut the strips lengthwise. |
| 20 | The idea is to use about 6 strips of vegetable in each sushi roll; you may use one type of vegetable in each roll, or combine two, for example, cucumber and avocado. |
| 21 | take a tablespoon of the wasabi powder and combine it in a small bowl with enough water to make a thin paste. |
| 22 | place a sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a sudare, a bamboo mat made expressly for rolling sushi (available at oriental markets). |
| 23 | Dampen your hands and spread ?cup of the vinegared rice over the surface of the nori, leaving a ?inch border on the end nearest you and a 2 inch border on the end farthest away. |
| 24 | abuot 1 ?inches from the side closest to you, paint a stripe of wasabi paste (use very little) across the rice. |
| 25 | Lay 6 or so strips of vegetable atop the stripe. |
| 26 | Lift the side of the mat closest to you and roll it over so the nori is tightly rolled over the rice and vegetables. |
| 27 | Wet the far end of the nori and continue the rolling motion until the result is a snugly closed roll. |
| 28 | lay the rolled nori seam-side down on a board, adn repeat with the remaining sheets of nori. |
| 29 | you"ll need a very sharp knife to cut the rolls. |
| 30 | Wet the knife lightly and cut each roll into six equal sections. |
| 31 | Arrange on a large platter. |
| 32 | in a small bowl, combine the remaining wasabi with enough water to make a fairly thick paste, thicker than what you made for the sushi rolls. |
| 33 | Guests should take a small dab on their plates to be spread on the sushi rolls if they"d like. |
| 34 | Put some pickled ginger in another small bowl. |
| 35 | Let each guest take a slice or two. |
| 36 | dipping sauce: |
| 37 | combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl. |
| 38 | Divide the dipping sauce among six small oriental bowls and set next to each guest"s plate for dipping the sushi rolls. |
| 39 | vegetarian celebrations by nava atlas/mm by deeanne |
