Ruth Reichl food bloggers’ event

It is bit late but I participated the food blogger’s event to meet Ruth Reichl last week. I like to thank you to Karen Brown from Frantic Foodie to organize and invite me to this event. I got there late. I managed to take a short video clip Ruth answering a question from Seattle Times Food Writer Nancy Leson from All You Can Eat. Unfortunately I didn’t get whole questions and the video was not really good. I posted the raw video to this blog.

Brown Rice Sushi rolls

I was invited to a birthday party for my vegetarian friend. I told that I would bring Sushi rolls.
I was going to make California rolls and Vegetarian rolls filled with teriyaki marinated Tofu, Avocado and Cucumber. I decided to add another Sushi rolls even healthier than others from something found in my kitchen cabinets.
I cooked some Nishiki Brown rice and made Sushi rice as the same way as medium grain white rice. The cooked brown rice was not as sticky as white Calrose rice. Sushi rolls using Brown rice have to be wrapped to hold content together. Nori seems not to taste good with brown rice as white rice. I decided to use Soy wrappers instead of Nori.
When I tasted brown Sushi rice, it seems to be good with beans. I found canned black beans and washed, drained and mixed some with Sushi rice. How about fillings? I was going to use cheddar cheese. I added canned Mexican chilies and avocado. This Sushi transformed like American-Mexican wrapped sandwich and tasted like one.
I created several brown Sushi rolls with various color soy wrappers and brought to the party. The brown rice Sushi roll was popular and several guests asked what I used to wrap and what kinds of fillings I used for. Especially a lady who was born in India told me she doesn’t like Sushi used Nori but she loved brown rice Sushi rolls.
I forgot taking photos of the Sushi and there are no pictures for this Sushi. I plan to test to make them look and taste better next time and take photos to add to this blog.

Taste of Sushi rolls

Fillings of Sushi rolls can be any vegetables, meat, fish, and etc. The sushi rolls with vegetables are healthy and looks pretty but the taste is not satisfactory.
California rolls look good and delicious. How California rolls were invented who was the creator? Searching internet, I found the history of California rolls at SushiEncyclopedia, wikipedia, SushiBar.com ( This site has a lot of information and good recipes.) and New York Times. Sushi Chef, Ichiro Mashita, at Kyoto Kaikan invented California rolls in the 70’s. California Sushi rolls were the first fusion Sushi which was made by adding American ingredients into Traditional Japanese Sushi. Before the California sushi rolls, Sushi was made of only Japanese ingredients.
The chef had difficulty finding fresh Toro which is the fattest part of Tuna and started experimented with avocado. American people have never eaten raw fish 70’s. Some Americans are disgusted an idea of eating raw fish. Chef Mashita used avocado for its oily texture to substitute fatty texture of Toro and Imitation crab for its fresh taste of fish. The imitation crab’s official name is crab flavored imitation crab cake and is made of steamed white fish with crab juice and red coloring to make look like real crab.
American people didn’t like texture, color and taste of sea weed, Nori in Japanese. California rolls are made in-side out, Uramaki in Japanese, to hide Nori inside of the rice.
California roll seems to be the derivation of Tekkamaki which is Toro filled Nori-Maki, Nori rolled in Japanese, Sushi rolls.
The first California roll fillings consist of only Avocado and Imitation crab. The first California roll fillings consist of only Avocado and Imitation crab. Later Julianne cucumber and Mayonnaise were added to the fillings.
If this is the formula to select successful fillings for Sushi roll, the filling selections will be a fatty and rich ingredient for texture, a ingredient to substitute fresh seafood flavor, and cucumber or to neutralize. Cucumber may not be necessary because new Sushi eaters don’t consider Avocado as overpowering aroma. Mayonnaise also can be optional but enhance the taste of low quality imitation crab.
Considering Seattle Sushi roll, the fillings are cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumber.(I am not sure cucumber part.) Yes. The formula applies to the Seattle roll.
There is a disturbing fact. It was about the inventor of California Sushi roll. He must have been a very competent and talented Sushi chef. He was the pioneer of American Sushi culture. Unfortunately he went to jail and died there.