Steamed seabass with freshly sliced ginger and scallion

We had this dish for dinner tonight to celebrate Chinese New Year. It's a special time of year in our family as my brother-in-law (William) is Chinese. William is head chef in his own restaurant, Ngai's in Athy, Co. Kildare so his Chinese cooking is pretty good! I wish I could take credit for this dish but he showed me how to make it. Ngai's restaurant has a selection of authentic Chinese dishes on the menu including this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Gong Xi Fa Choi - Happy Chinese New Year

Ingredients:

Whole seabass

Thumb size piece ginger (peeled and thinly sliced into strips)

Few scallions/ spring onion (sliced into strips)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions:

1. Ask your fish monger to clean and scale the fish. 

2. Place in a steamer for about 7-10 minutes depending on the size of the fish.

3. Once cooked place on a large serving plate and toss the strips of ginger and scallion over the fish. 

4. Heat the vegetable in a saucepan until smoking hot.

5. Pour the oil evenly over the fish and then pour the soy sauce in the same way. 

6. Serve with steamed rice and stir fried Chinese greens.

Saba shioyaki - grilled mackerel recipe

 

A Japanese work colleague once told me that Japanese cooking is about bringing the flavour out of the food rather than creating complicated sauces to cover the taste of the food. This simple recipe called "saba shioyaki" demonstrates the Japanese way of cooking using only salt and letting the mackerel do the rest of the work. I'd encourage you to buy mackerel fillets from your local fishmonger to make sure that you get really fresh ones. Mackerel is known for not staying fresh for long.

I love cooking mackerel at home because it's really tasty and cheap! I bought these mackerel fillets for just over €3 from my local fishmonger.

This recipe will take a few minutes to prepare and then less than ten minutes to cook.

Ingredients:
Sea salt
Fresh mackerel fillets
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions:

1. Generously season the mackerel fillets with sea salt on both sides.

2. Pour vegetable oil into a non stick frying pan and set the heat medium to high.

3. Once the pan is hot place the mackerel fillets on the pan skin side down and fry for a few minutes depending on the size. Then turn over and cook the other side for another few minutes until cooked through. The skin should be nice and crispy.

4. Serve with a salad or with rice and vegetables. Traditionally in Japan saba shioyaki is served with grated daikon (mooli) and soy sauce.
 

Goatsbridge Trout with Teriyaki Sauce Recipe

Here's a recipe from my demo at Savour Kilkenny

Ingredients:

Goatsbridge Trout Fillet

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Few handfuls of pak choi/ spinach leaves (blanched)

For the teriyaki sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sake

1 tbsp mirin

Half tsp honey (I used Fiona Dillon's honey from Hunters Lodge)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil on a frying pan.

2. Place the trout fillet skin side down and fry on medium heat for a few minutes depending on size.

3. Whisk all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce in a small bowl.

4. Turn the trout fillet and continue to fry to a minute or so.

5. Pour the teriyaki sauce over the fish. Try to spoon the sauce over the fillet to help the fish absorb the flavour.

6. The teriyaki sauce is ready once it starts to form small bubbles and thickens like syrup.

7. Take off the heat and serve on a bed of blanched pak choi or spinach.

Notes:

-       - Try not to overcook the teriyaki sauce as black bits will start to form. 

JAPANESE MISO SALMON SALAD RECIPE

Recent research carried out by Bord Bia shows that Irish people like eating fish when dining out however as an island nation we are surprisingly not confident cooking fresh fish at home. Bord Bia has launched a campaign to encourage Irish people to buy more fresh fish and as part of this campaign they posted simple fish recipes and advice from celebrity chef Martin Shanahan on their website.

Here are some of my tips for buying fresh fish: 

• Try to buy fish from your local fishmonger
• Don't be afraid to ask your fishmonger to fillet, debone or skin your fish
• Fresh fish should have a nice fresh sea smell and not a foul smell. It should look shiny, have bright eyes, red gills and any liquid on the fish should be clear
• Ask your fishmonger lots of questions to educate yourself about fish (e.g. when was the fish caught, where does it come from, is it wild or farmed fish etc)

MISO SALMON SALAD

When cooking fresh fish it can easily become dry and overcooked. By cooking fish in a sauce it will become tender and moist.

INGREDIENTS: 
2 x salmon fillet
Few large handfuls of spinach salad leaves
Few handfuls of cherry tomatoes
Roasted sesame seeds (to garnish)

For the miso sauce
120ml cold water
2 tbsp miso
2tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
3 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine) 

Serves 2

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients for the miso sauce in a medium sized saucepan, then using a whisk/fork mix until there's no lumps. 
2. Put on medium heat and after a few minutes it will start to simmer. Let it simmer for a few minutes. 
3. Gently place the salmon fillets in the saucepan side by side with the skin facing up.
4. Cut out a circle of  grease proof paper the size of the saucepan and use this to cover the salmon fillets. You can use a lid to cover the saucepan if you don't have grease proof paper. 
5. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes and then set aside.
6. Place the spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes and salmon fillets in a large salad bowl. 
7. Using your hand or a large spoon break up the salmon fillets into chunks.
8. Just before serving pour the miso sauce over the salad ingredients and mix well.
9. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the salad.
 

JAPANESE RAMEN COOKING EXPERIENCE WITH WAGAMAMA

A few weeks ago I was very fortunate to be part of a small group that was invited to a ramen cooking experience with Wagamama's head chef and trainer Juan Carlos Manteca. Juan has developed a great passion for Japanese food through his work in Wagamama's restaurants in Belfast, Cork and Dublin over the last 7 years. 

Juan started off with a very interesting presentation on ramen. Ramen was brought into Japan from China and over time has become one of the most loved dishes in Japan. Throughout Japan you'll find thousands of ramen restaurants (called ramen-ya). Japanese people believe that ramen making is like an art so each ramen-ya closely guards their secret ramen stock recipe and method of preparation. This art of ramen making is portrayed in a Japanese comedy film called "Tampopo" and an American film called "The Ramen Girl". 

Ramen is a noodle dish served in a flavoured soup with toppings such as bamboo shoots, boiled egg and seaweed. The four main categories of ramen include:

1. Shio - yellow coloured soup usually made from chicken stock

2. Tonkotsu - cloudy white coloured soup made from pork stock

3. Shoyu - clear brown soup made from chicken/vegetable stock and soya sauce

4. Miso -  miso paste mixed with one of the other flavoured stocks

After learning about ramen we got ready to start cooking in Wagamama's South King St kitchen in Dublin. We were each presented with our own Wagamama hat and apron. Juan explained that we'd have a ramen cook-off where each one of us would make our own ramen and then we'd rate each person's ramen.

It felt surreal to be at the other side of the counter as a chef rather than a customer. We had a quick tour around the kitchen and then started to make our own ramen. I made a salmon ramen with vegetables using pork stock (which Juan had been up the night before preparing) and miso paste.

Here's my Salmon Miso Ramen

My Wagamama pose which believe it or not was not a pose (I was tasting Wagamama's ramen stock)!

Wagamama's cooking experience has been enjoyed by the Irish Rugby team and the Irish Olympic team. I had so much fun with Juan and all the staff there. Thanks so much it's an experience that I'll always treasure.

Patrick Hanlon from RTE Food also attended this, click here to see his article on the ramen experience. 

View Wagamama's selection of ramen dishes at www.wagamama.ie.

QUICK JAPANESE RECIPE: SMOKED SALMON AND TOFU SALAD WITH WASABI DRESSING

The wasabi in this salad dressing adds a nice kick and goes really well with smoked salmon. You should be able to find all the ingredients for this salad in the world food section of your local supermarket or your local health store.

Salad ingredients:
100g mixed salad leaves
100g smoked salmon (cut into bite size strips)
200g tofu (drained and cut into small cubes)
2 x peppery radish (thinly sliced)
Freshly chopped mint & basil (optional to garnish)

Japanese dressing ingredients:
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Half tsp sesame oil
1 tsp wasabi paste

Serves 2

Instructions:

1. Toss the salad leaves, smoked salmon and radish together in a salad bowl.

2. Gently add the tofu pieces.

3. Stir all the Japanese dressing ingredients in a small jug.

4. Pour the dressing over the salad just before eating.

5. Garnish with freshly chopped mint and basil if you have some.

Why not:

Add prawns instead of salmon.

Tips:

Make sure to stir the salad dressing ingredients just before pouring over the salad as the wasabi will sink to the bottom of the jug.

LOW CALORIE TUNA & CHICKPEA SALAD WITH JAPANESE DRESSING

I love this salad because the ingredients are very filling so you won't be hungry an hour after eating it! The salad ingredient measurements are just a guide, you can add more or less or whatever you like!

Salad ingredients: 
100g mixed salad leaves
130g tin of steak tuna, drained
150g cherry tomotoes, halved
Handful of sweetcorn
Few handfuls of chickpea

Japanese dressing ingredients:
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp brown sugar

Roasted sesame seeds (optional) 

Serves 2

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Toss the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix together. 

2. Mix the Japanese dressing ingredients in a small jug.

3. Pour the dressing over the salad just before eating.

4. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the salad.

JAPANESE GARLIC PRAWNS WITH BROWN BREAD RECIPE

Now that my little boy eats bread almost every day I decided to start making my own at home as I can't help thinking about the amount of salt and preservatives in bread that I buy in supermarkets.  I wanted a recipe that was quick and easy to follow so I used Nessa Robin's brown bread recipe. I made the bread mix within 5 minutes and then just put it in the oven. Nessa has a blog called Nessa's family Kitchen (www.nessasfamilykitchen.blogspot.com) and it's one of my favourite blogs. Next month she will release her first cookbook called Apron Strings which I'm looking forward to buying.

Here's my recipe for garlic prawns which go really well with brown bread and a wedge of lemon. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

4 large garlic cloves (peeled and finely diced)
10 king prawns
Pepper
Soya sauce

Vegetable oil for frying

Few lemon wedges

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat vegetable oil on a non-stick frying pan on medium/ high heat.

2. Add the garlic and fry until you start to get a nice smell from the garlic (do not fry until the garlic turns brown).
 
3. Toss the prawns onto the frying pan and lightly season with pepper.

4. Once the prawns are cooked drizzle a little soya sauce over the prawns and then take the frying pan off the heat and stir.

5. Place on a serving dish with a wedge of lemon and some brown bread. 


TIPS:
If you are lucky enough to have large king prawns for this recipe then you may need to add a little more garlic as I used medium sized prawns for this recipe. It really depends on how much you love garlic!

JAPANESE RECIPE: SALMON TERIYAKI WITH STIR FRIED UDON NOODLES & VEG

You can easily add flavour to a chicken or salmon dish by simply adding terikyaki sauce. Bottled teriyaki sauce is available in most supermarkets but you should really try making your own. It requires just one ingredient that you may not have in your kitchen cupboard called sake (Japanese rice wine). Sake can be bought in most Asian markets and if you invest in a bottle of sake there are loads of other recipes that you can use it for so it won't be wasted!

This recipe is a mild teriyaki sauce as I find some of the teriyaki sauces can be too strong. However you can add more/ less sugar or soya sauce to adjust the flavour if necessary. I'd love to hear back from you, let me know how you find it.

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves of garlic (peeled and finely grated)

Thumbsize piece of ginger (peeled and finely grated)

100g sugersnap peas

100g baby sweetcorn

Packet of udon noodles (can use other types of noodles)

Fillet of Salmon

Vegetable oil for frying 

Teriyaki Sauce (mix all the ingredients below in a small bowl)

3 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Place the packet of noodles in a bowl of boiling water and set aside for a few minutes. Gently separate the noodles while in the water and then drain.

2. Pour a little vegetable oil on medium/high heat on a non-stick frying pan. 

3. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for about 30 seconds.

4. Toss the sugarsnap peas and baby sweetcorn into the frying pan and fry for a few minutes leaving the vegetables nice and crunchy. Set aside in a bowl.

6. Add more oil to the frying pan and set the heat to medium/high again.  

7. Place the salmon fillet (skin side down) on the frying pan and seal both sides of the fish. 
 

8. When the fish is nearly cooked (place the salmon fillet skin side down at this point) pour the teriyaki sauce over the fish.
 

9. Use a large spoon to pour the sauce over the fish fillet while continuing to fry.

10. When the sauce is starting to get thick (but not as thick as syrup) add the noodles and veg. Continue to stir until the noodles and veg are completed coated in the teriyaki sauce. 

11. Garnish with sesame seeds. 

TIPS:

Keep a close eye on the teriyaki sauce when it is reducing as it can quickly reduce on high heat.

JAPANESE STYLE FRIED FISH FILLET

This is a quick and easy way to add flavour to a fish fillet dish without the hassle of following a complicated recipe. Don't worry if you don't have some of these Japanese ingredients at home as I've mentioned other ingredients which can be used as an alternative. 

INGREDIENTS:

Fish fillet (cod/ hake)

1 tbsp Japanese rice wine called SAKE (can use dry sherry or white wine instead)

Potato starch (can use corn starch or flour instead) 

Nanami-togarashi (can use other seasoning such as salt & pepper instead)

Vegetable oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pour sake over the fish fillet and using your hands make sure the whole fillet is covered in sake. 

2. Set aside for 10 minutes or longer if you have the time.

3. Pat dry the fish fillet with kitchen towel.

4. Then, coat in potato starch.

5. Sprinkle nanami-togarashi over the fish fillet on both sides.

6. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy based frying pan on high heat and add the fish fillet.

7. Seal the fish fillet on both sides until there is a nice golden brown colour. 

8. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes until cooked (depending on the size of the fish fillet). 

HOW TO EAT:

Serve with a bowl of boiled white rice and some stir fried vegetables. 

NANAMI TOGARASHI - JAPANESE SEVEN SPICES

This spice mix includes chilli, orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, seaweed, Japanese pepper and ginger. It's often added to Japanese dishes to add a little kick and extra taste to the dish. 

 

   

    

BASIC JAPANESE COOKING: TEMAKI SUSHI HAND ROLLS

I love making temaki when I'm entertaining family or friends at home. Sometimes I prepare the temaki rolls in advance and other times I leave all the ingredients in the centre of the table and let everyone dig in and make their own temaki. My nieces and nephews eyes always light up when they're allowed to make their own temaki so it's a enjoyable way to encourage kids to eat a healthy meal. 

Temaki sushi is a cone shaped hand roll wrapped in nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice and your favourite ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

Sushi rice and seasoning

160g sushi rice (uncooked)
Japanese white rice vinegar 50ml
Sugar 1 tbsp
Salt half tsp

Temaki

Half nori (roasted seaweed) sheets

Smoked salmon or raw salmon (make sure to source salmon which is suitable for eating raw)

Avocado (peeled and cut into long strips)

Mango (peeled and cut into long strips)

Sesame seeds (optional to garnish)

Soya sauce (optional as a dipping sauce)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

How to prepare sushi rice

1. Click here to see my post on how to prepare and cook Japanese rice. 
2. To make the sushi rice seasoning pour 50ml of rice vinegar and 1 tbsp of sugar into a non-aluminium saucepan. 
3. Heat until the sugar is dissolved and then add half tsp of salt. Stir, take off the heat and allow to cool. 
4. Once the rice is cooked transfer it to a shallow non-metallic baking tray using a rice spatula or wooden spoon. 
5. Sprinkle the sushi rice seasoning evenly over the rice and then gently turn the rice with a spatula (try not to break the rice grains by gently using the spatula to cut into the rice at an angle and fold over the rice).
6. Fan the rice using a fan or a piece of cardboard to help cool the rice to room temperature and absorb the excess sushi rice seasoning. 
7. Try to use the rice as soon as possible and avoid putting it in the fridge as this will harden the rice. You can cover the rice with a damp tea towel and set aside in a cool place until needed.

 
Temaki
1. Cut the nori sheet in half placing the shiny side of the nori sheet down.

2. Put a heaped tablespoon of sushi rice on the left side of the nori sheet. 

3. Moisten your hands before spreading the rice evenly over nearly half of the nori sheet using your fingertips.

4. Place all the ingredients including the strip of salmon, avocado and mango at a 45 degree angle on the rice (try not to overload with ingredients as this will make it difficult to roll).

6. Slowly start to roll the temaki by taking the bottom left corner of the nori and fold it over towards the top right corner of the rice. Continue to fold as shown in the photos below. Place a few grains of cooked rice on the last corner of the nori (to stop the roll unfolding) and finish folding. 
 

 7. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the temaki. 

  
HOW TO EAT:
Serve as soon as possible so that the nori is still crispy. Dip into a little soya sauce and eat with your hand. 

TIPS:
You can roll the temaki by laying the nori on the palm of your hand but I find it easier to roll the temaki on a solid surface. 

Temaki is a perfect finger food to serve at a party. 

BENTO - JAPANESE STYLE LUNCHBOX

Japanese people take great pride in preparing bento for their families. Many Japanese mothers get up quite early in the morning to make bento. They put a lot of effort and time into creating a bento that is nutritionally balanced, tastes great and looks appealing. In Japan, the appearance of the food is just as important as the taste! Generally, the bento will have rice, fish or meat and some kind of vegetable or fruit. Since the bento box is divided into different compartments various dishes can be stored in the box together.

It is surprising how quickly you can become immersed in this bento culture. When I lived in Japan the thoughts of bringing my bento to work every day seemed like a chore but it didn't take long before I was looking forward to making my bento every night.

Here is a bento that I made for my family at the weekend. It is served in a bento box used by Japanese restaurants and can be used to serve a Japanese meal at home. I bought this online from Amazon! The bento box used for work/ school lunches is smaller and more compact.

BENTO BOX MENU

1. Japanese rice - click here to see my post on how to cook Japanese rice. You can use any type of rice of this meal.

2. Japanese style pan fried cod fillet 
Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil or rapeseed oil (for frying)
Cod fillet
2 tbsp sake

Pinch of salt

Thumb size piece of ginger root (peeled and finely grated) 
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce

Instructions:
Marinate the cod in sake and salt. Leave for about 10 minutes before frying.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium to high heat. 
Place the cod on the pan and seal one side by frying for a minute or so. Then turn the cod over and seal the other side. 
Reduce the heat and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or less. 
Mix the ginger and soy sauce together in a small bowl and then pour over the fish when ready to eat. 

3. Japanese style stir fried spinach/pak choi with beansprouts

Ingredients: 
1 tbsp vegetable oil or rapeseed oil (for frying)
2 large garlic cloves (peeled and finely grated)
Thumbsize piece of ginger (peeled and finely grated)
200g Spinach/ Pak choi
200g Beansprouts

Seasoning (mix all in a bowl together):
2 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tsp caster sugar

Roasted sesame seeds (optional to garnish)

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan on medium to high heat. 
Add the garlic and fry for about 10 seconds. The quickly add the ginger and fry for another 10 seconds.
Toss in the beansprouts and stir. 
After less than one minute add the spinach. 
Pour the seasoning evenly over the vegetables. 
Fry for a few minutes until the seasoning has absorbed into the vegetables.
When ready to serve sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the vegetables. 

4. Sliced melon and mango sprinkled with pomegranate (Japanese people often eat fruit as dessert)
Ingredients:
Honeydew melon 
Mango
Handful of pomegranate seeds

Instructions:
Peel and cut the chilled melon and mango into small bite size cubes.
Toss a handful of pomegranate seeds over the fruit salad.

How to eat:
Bento goes well with miso soup if you're eating it at home or in a restaurant.

Tips:
Pack a smaller version of this bento into a lunch box by using cupcake cases or tinfoil to separate the dishes.
Be adventurous by swapping the dishes in this bento with your favourite Japanese dishes.

Why not:
You can get takeaway bentos in a few places in Dublin including Kokoro on Lower Liffey Street in Dublin http://kokorosushibento.com/
Musashi noodle and sushi bar and Michie sushi in Dublin, Ireland have a reasonably priced bento lunch deal 

EASY TO MAKE ROLLED SUSHI - MAKI ROLL/ MAKIZUSHI

The thoughts of making sushi at home sounds daunting but once you make sushi a few times you'll realise it's not as difficult as it looks. There are many different types of sushi but today I'm going to focus on maki rolls. A maki roll is a sheet of nori (roasted seaweed) rolled in sushi rice and different fillings. There is such a wide selection of fillings that I decided to make 3 different types of fillings that work well together and are reasonably easy to get in the shops. You can change these and replace them with your favourite ingredients or simply add what you happen to have in the cupboard or fridge at home. 

WHERE TO FIND THE INGREDIENTS: 
Nowadays, all the basic ingredients that you need to make sushi can be found in larger supermarkets, health stores and Asian supermarkets. Most larger supermarkets in Ireland like Tesco and Superquinn have a designated Asian/ Japanese food corner. The most well know Asian supermarkets in Dublin include The Asian Market (Drury St Co. Dublin and Merrywell Business park, Ballymount Dublin 22) and Oriental Emporium (Jervis St. Co. Dublin, George's St. Co. Dublin and Unit C, Aerodrome Business Park, Collegeland, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin). Click here to see my post on "Basic Japanese Ingredients - what they are and where you can find them".

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO MAKE SUSHI AT HOME? 
Sushi has developed a reputation for being an expensive food to eat and this can be true when you eat sushi in sushi bars or restaurants. However, it is relatively cheap to make sushi at home. In the last few years all the ingredients to make sushi have become readily available in our supermarkets and ever-growing selection of health stores and Asian supermarkets. I've listed the individual prices from Tesco and Superquinn of the items to make sushi (this price was collected in July 2012 and may change). Once you invest in these ingredients you'll be able to reuse them to make different sushi recipes making it even cheaper to make sushi at home!

TESCO	Price1	SUPERQUINN	Price2
Sushi Bamboo Mat	€1.79	Sushi Bamboo Mat	€1.61
Sushi Nori (roasted seaweed sheets)	€1.79	Sushi Nori (roasted seaweed sheets)	€1.99
Wasabi (Japanese horseradish)	€1.79	Wasabi (Japanese horseradish)	€2.19
Japanese Sushi Rice (500g)	€1.79	Shinode Japanese Rice (1 kilogram)	€3.19
Japanese Sushi White Rice Vinegar (150ml)	€1.79	Japanese Sushi White Rice Vinegar (150ml)	€2.99
Pickled Ginger	€1.79	Pickled Ginger	€3.19

INGREDIENTS: 

Sushi rolling mat
4 x Sushi Nori Sheets (roasted seaweed sheets)
Japanese Sushi Rice 320g (uncooked)

Sushi rice seasoning 
Japanese Sushi White Rice Vinegar 100ml
Sugar 2 tbsp
Salt half tsp

Serve with the sushi 
Wasabi (Japanese horseradish)
Pickled Ginger
Japanese soya sauce (Kikkoman preferably)

- Type 1 Sushi Filling
Cooked prawns (pull to straighten)
Avocado (cut into long strips)
Pickled Ginger 
- Type 2 Sushi Filling
Tinned tuna mixed with mayonnaise
Cucumber (cut into long strips)
- Type 3 Sushi Filling
Carrot (cooked and cut into long strips)
Egg (omelet style cooked egg cut into long strips)
Cucumber (cut into long strips)
Pickled Ginger

STEPS TO MAKE SUSHI:

1. Click here to see how to prepare sushi rice

2. Putting the sushi rice on the nori 
Place a sheet of nori shiny-side down and the lines in the nori running vertical on a rolling mat. Cut off the top piece of the nori as shown in the picture below to get the perfect sized maki roll. Put a few drops of vinegar in a bowl of water and use this to wet your hands when applying the rice to the nori to avoid the rice sticking to your hands. Using the spatula divide the rice in the tray into four quarters using one quarter for each nori sheet. Gently spread the rice over the nori sheet trying not to press on the rice too hard. Spread the rice to the edges of the nori and leave a 2 cm gap at the top of the seaweed as shown in the picture below.





 3. Put the fillings on the rice as shown in the pictures below.

 

4. Start to roll

Using both hands hold the filling in place with your fingers then use your index fingers and thumbs to start to roll the mat forward and bring the nori over the filling. Now, press down firmly but gently to create a roll shape. To form the complete maki roll pull the end of the mat with one hand and continue to push the roll forward with the other hand (if some ingredients fall out the sides just push them back in and don't worry if the edges of the roll look untidy as this is ok). Remove the mat from the roll.

5. Cut the roll

Place the roll on a chopping board and using a sharp knife cut in half (try to only cut in one direction). Then, using a damp clean cloth wipe the knife clean and continue to cut the two halves into four pieces and then cut the four pieces in half leaving you with eight pieces altogether.

Place on a plate and serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.