Owner Tom Dong is excited about his quaint yet contemporary restaurant and says its niche is “new fusion” cuisine. Dong began his culinary career in Baltimore during the mid- 1990’s, specializing in hibachi-style cooking. Recently, he moved to the Annapolis area, opening Yama just this past February. “I like to bring very interesting cuisine with great taste and new flavors to our customers, with the best service,” he says. This month, Dong’s head sushi chef shows us how to make a basic sushi roll, which we sampled afterwards with gusto; it was delicious. A bit of patience is needed to prepare the initial ingredients that go into the roll, but all steps can be easily mastered, with a little bit of practice, by those at home. When you’ve settled into this meal, it is enjoyed best with cold, filtered sake, according to Dong.
This recipe makes four rolls, each serves one person. There are several preparations to complete prior to constructing each roll, beginning with the crabstick mixture, which can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight. The sushi rice and shrimp tempuras are to be made fresh, just prior to making the sushi rolls. The rice takes just over 1 hour to make, beginning to end. The shrimp tempuras are perhaps the easiest to make; about 10 minutes, altogether.
Crabstick Mixture
- 1 eight oz. package of crabstick
- (a.k.a. imitation crab)
- 1 six oz. can albacore “white” tuna
- 4 oz. red snapper filet
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
Chop crabstick and snapper filet into small pieces. Add to large bowl with tuna chunks, mayonnaise, and rice vinegar. Mix well by folding gently. Cover and set aside (refrigerate if made the night before).
Sushi Rice
- 3 cups Japanese rice
- 3 1/4 cups water
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
Rinse 3 cups rice in a cold water bath, drain, and repeat until water runs clear. Add rice and 3 1/4 cups water to pot. Soak rice 30 minutes (no heat). Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Turn the heat down to low and cook about 20 minutes, or until the water is almost gone. Turn off heat, keep lid on, and let steam about 15 minutes. While rice is steaming, prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture. Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate or a large bowl (wooden bowl preferred). Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice with a spatula quickly. Be careful not to smash the rice. To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It’s best to use sushi rice right away.
Tempura Shrimp
- 8 raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 package tempura mixture
- 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- Sunflower or peanut oil for frying Fill bottom of deep saucepan or pot with about 1/2 inch deep of sunflower Salad Roll (for each roll)
- 1 makisu (bamboo mat)
- 1 sheet nori (seaweed)
- 3/4 cup sushi rice
- 3/4 cup crabstick mixture
- 2 tbsp. Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tempura shrimp
- 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. seaweed salad
1) Place makisu on flat surface. Place nori on top of makisu. Gently spread sushi rice over nori and press to make it stick together. Gently lift and flip over the nori, so that the rice covered side is on the bottom (touching the bamboo). 2) Spread crabstick mixture across middle of nori. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs over mixture. Place two shrimp lengthwise on top of mixture. 3) Begin to roll makisu and nori together, upwards. When makisu begins to fold over on itself (one full rotation), 4)carefully manipulate makisu to roll up the remaining flap of the sushi roll. 5) Finish forming the cylindrical sushi roll with the makisu. 6) Dab mayonnaise lengthwise along the top of the roll and add seaweed salad on top, pressing into mayonnaise so it sticks to roll. 7) Here’s a trick; to cut roll into perfect 1 inch slices, use a bit of plastic wrap around the roll to hold its shape while cutting. 8) Plate and garnish with accoutrements of your choice (wasabi mayonnaise, masago, ginger, etc.) or peanut oil—these are the best oils for frying—and set on high heat, reaching a temperature of 365° F. Make tempura mixture into batter, in a bowl, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on a plate. Take each shrimp and dip into tempura batter, remove, press into Panko bread crumbs to coat, then gently drop shrimp into the frying oil. Cook shrimp for about 3–4 minutes each. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to cool.
Salad Roll (for each roll)
- 1 makisu (bamboo mat)
- 1 sheet nori (seaweed)
- 3/4 cup sushi rice
- 3/4 cup crabstick mixture
- 2 tbsp. Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tempura shrimp
- 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp. seaweed salad
1) Place makisu on flat surface. Place nori on top of makisu. Gently spread sushi rice over nori and press to make it stick together. Gently lift and flip over the nori, so that the rice covered side is on the bottom (touching the bamboo). 2) Spread crabstick mixture across middle of nori. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs over mixture. Place two shrimp lengthwise on top of mixture. 3) Begin to roll makisu and nori together, upwards. When makisu begins to fold over on itself (one full rotation), 4)carefully manipulate makisu to roll up the remaining flap of the sushi roll. 5) Finish forming the cylindrical sushi roll with the makisu. 6) Dab mayonnaise lengthwise along the top of the roll and add seaweed salad on top, pressing into mayonnaise so it sticks to roll. 7) Here’s a trick; to cut roll into perfect 1 inch slices, use a bit of plastic wrap around the roll to hold its shape while cutting. 8) Plate and garnish with accoutrements of your choice (wasabi mayonnaise, masago, ginger, etc.).
