Chef Hoang Manh Thang.

A: Hi guys. Welcome to another show of VOV24/7’s Food Delight. We’re A & B.

B: Hi A, you look as if you have something to share with me and our listeners.

A: Yeah, I’m thinking about how to eat a balanced diet. As we get busier and busier, we are more likely to turn to fast food and processed food. Yesterday, I read an article which says the Japanese are known for their long life expectancy, longer than almost anywhere else in the world. This is mainly thanks to their healthy diet.

B: The most important characteristic of Japanese people’s eating habit is that they eat raw foods and avoid sauces with a strong flavor. One obvious example is sushi. Here’s an idea: why don’t we make sushi for our next meal? It’s a very healthful food.

A: Good idea.

B: I’ve invited chef Hoang Manh Thang from Hanoi’s La Sushi restaurant to help us prepare some sushi.

Chef: One of the most important ingredients to make sushi is to have the right sushi rice, a kind of short grain rice. The main ingredients to make Japan’s traditional sushi only include sushi rice, fresh mustard, and salmon or tuna. The rice should be rinsed in cold water and kept in the fridge for a while. With the ratio: 1.2 liter of water for 1 kilo of rice, the rice is steamed for around 45 to 60 minutes and then let it cool down. You add a little sushi vinegar, around 200 ml of vinegar for 1 kilo of rice.

A: The rice is cooked quite differently from the way we normally do. Then, with the vinegar, the rice becomes more fragrant and sticky and will be easier to crust or roll later. What do you do with the salmon?

Chef: Japanese people are rather careful and sophisticated in their cuisine. For salmon, they use a very sharp knife to cut the salmon only once to create thin slices. Salmon is the most popular because it is nutritious. They may also use tuna for sushi. The fish is first cleaned, deboned, and cut into slices, thin enough to cover a piece of sushi.

B: That is how Thang makes sushi in the traditional way. Traditionally, Japanese people use their bare hands to press the cooked, vinegared rice into a ball of sushi. It is then sprinkled with mustard powder and covered with a slice of salmon.

A: Now, with a sushi making kit, we can create varieties of sushi rolls.

Chef: To make sushi rolls, you need to prepare some nori sheets. Sushi rolls can be made in different ways but the most sophisticated way is that the nori sheet is dried on a charcoal stove. Spread out a nori sheet on a bamboo mat, then press out the vinegared rice, add the filling, which may be salmon, tuna, or boiled shrimp, and fresh mustard, and roll it. The sushi roll is then cut into 6 to 8 pieces.

(Photo: hoidaubepaau.com)

B: The sushi rice can be combined with raw fish, prawn, avocado, cucumber, or eggs. Sushi is usually served with soy sauce or pickled ginger.

A: It’s both delicious and good for your health. So, consider it for your family’s menu. VOV24/7’s Food Delight will be back next week with more recipes and food suggestions. Good bye until then.