Making sushi not as terrifying as it may seem

Sushi is incredibly mainstream. I've eaten and enjoyed the iconic Japanese dish for years, but I've never made it at home.

In fact, it terrifies me. My wife and I prepare new foods all the time, but sushi is not one of them. While not all sushi involves raw fish, the varieties I enjoy the most do — which causes me to shy away from making it at all.

So I sought out professional help. 

Ted Dimoglou is the owner of the recently-opened Tiki Sushi in Windsor's Via Italia neighbourhood. The business might be new, but Dimoglou has been making sushi for 16 years. He has led a number of sushi-making workshops, including a sold-out course this coming Monday at The Chef Next Door in Walkerville.

"It really isn't that complicated to prepare sushi," said Dimoglou. "Getting the rice the way you need it, to have it perfect, is the key." Dimoglou recommends using only medium-grain, calrose rice from California.

"Say you would start with two cups of rice. You rinse the starch off five or six times over a period of five minutes or so. When you strain the rice, you put it in your pot. Add two cups of a water — and a bit [more]. Cover, bring to a boil at high heat. Once it rolls real hard, let it go for about a minute. Turn it down to the lowest heat setting for five minutes. Then you crank it up to the highest heat setting again for 10 seconds — and turn it off. Let it sit for 15 minutes. After that, dump the rice, and stir in your seasoned rice vinegar."

Dimoglou said that every sushi chef has a different way of seasoning rice. For example, in addition to rice vinegar, some chefs add sake, a fermented rice beverage. Dimoglou's seasoning is a "trade secret."

"Once [the rice vinegar is] stirred in, you let [the rice] rest uncovered for 25 minutes, then stir it again one more time. Let it rest again for 25 minutes, then cover and wait for it to get to just above room temperature before using it."

While making perfect sushi rice does take practise, patience and time, it sounds very achievable at home. However, while rice may be the key to good sushi, it was the fish I was most worried about. Should I only purchase "sushi grade?"

Dimoglou said that while "sushi grade" can be a good indicator of the quality of the fish, it's more important to purchase it from from a knowledgeable establishment. Once told that you need fish for sushi, a proper fish retailer will guide you to the right offerings.

Tiki Sushi is lucky enough to be located next door to Mediterranean Seafood, one of the last fishmongers in Windsor-Essex. They source as much high-quality Canadian and North American fish as possible for the restaurant.

Dimoglou said that the freshest fish should have good colour, look fresh, and most of all, not smell "fishy." He said that good salmon, for example, smells more like watermelon than stinking fish.

Then, all you have to do is assemble it — and enjoy.

Of course, homemade sushi isn't going to look anywhere as pretty as what you get at a restaurant. Sushi chefs take years to hone the proper knife skills. Despite that, with a little bit of patience and a friendly fishmonger on your side, sushi made at home will certainly be tasty. 

Click the video above to watch Ted Dimoglou explain how salmon nigiri is made.

Hear Jonathan's latest food adventure every Thursday at 8:10 a.m. on CBC Radio One - 97.5FM in Windsor, 91.9FM in Leamington, 88.1FM in Chatham & 90.3FM in Sarnia. Do you have a food, restaurant or dish that you think Jonathan should explore? Call (519) 255-3400, email windsormorning@cbc.ca or tweet him directly at @jonathan_pinto.