What exactly is nigiri?
Nigiri - or "hand-pressed sushi"- is a small mound of sushi rice that is pressed by hand, then topped with a bit of wasabi and fish.
When it comes to nigiri, technique is everything. People train for decades to be a sushi chef in Japan to perfect the art of nigiri making. Nigiri is all about a delicate balance : without the right pressure from your hand, sushi can fall apart on its way to your mouth; without attention to detail, delicate flavor pairings, and a little restraint, the fresh fish goes to waste.
What kind of fish should I use for my nigiri?
You can get as creative as you'd like! Perfectly seasoned sushi rice is there to showcase the fish. It is recommended for beginners to start using salmon first since it's easy to get almost anywhere, is reasonably priced, and is very tasty. You need to get either a piece of salmon (about the width of 4 fingers) or a fillet of salmon at the fish market, not at the supermarket unless they specialize in sashimi grade raw fish.
In Melbourne Australia, fish for sushi & sashimi available at local fish markets includes:
Here are tips on how to select the freshest fish.
How to select fresh fish
For sushi (including nigiri sushi & sushi rolls), fish has to be very fresh. In Melbourne, the fish listed above can be obtained at any fish market but you need to make sure it is fresh. Check the appearance (click above how to select fresh fish). You can also ask the fishmonger if it is OK to eat as raw sashimi. Tuna is limited and not always available. Some fish markets sell tuna just for using as sushi & sashimi (usually stated as sashimi grade).
Be absolutely sure of the quality and origin of your fish.
If you are not able to verify that it is of high quality, don't use it raw. Instead, grill, roast, or bake the fish before.
Fish Market Recommendations :
Prahran Market : 163 Commercial Rd South Yarra VIC 3142
South Melbourne Market : Coventry St, South Melbourne VIC 3205
Queen Victoria Market : 513 Elizabeth St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Directions
1. Before starting, cure the piece of salmon. Sprinkle salt & sugar over the top, bottom and sides. Leave it for about 10 mins. This curing will draw out moisture from the salmon and concentrate the flavor. You can check this method here. However, only cure it for about 10 mins as the salmon will become salty if it is cured for too long. Then rinse the salmon with cold, fresh water and dry with paper towel. Make sure to completely wipe the water off the salmon with paper towel.
2. For more detail on how to slice salmon for sushi, please check my video clip below. The size of a slice of fish for sushi is approximately : length 6 ~ 7cm, width 3cm, thickness 3 ~ 4mm. It's should be a rectangular shape.
3. First, dip your hands in water and make sure to keep them wet. Having wet hands helps to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands as you work with it. Then grab a ping-pong ball size (about 13 ~15g) of the rice and roll and squeeze it together until it rolls into a firm ball.
4. Hold a slice of fish on your left hand between your palm and the tips of fingers and put a little bit of wasabi (optional) on the fish. Place the rice ball in the center of the fish. Then press lightly with your left thumb to make a dent.
5. Use right fingers (thumb, index or middle) to make a shape. Then use your right fingers to roll the sushi over towards tip of your left fingers. Fish should now be on top. Grab the sushi and place back to where it was on your left hand.
6. Make a good shape with your right fingers (thumb, index or middle). Then rotate by picking up the sushi with right fingers and then place it back to make a good shape again. Repeat this one more time to complete the shape. (If you touch the fish for a long time with your hands, the fish will get warm and won't taste good. Also bacteria starts to grow. So it's important to make nigiri sushi as quickly as possible with minimum touching of fish).
7. You can try with other fish to make your personal nigiri sushi. Just remember that after making nigiri sushi, it's important to consume within 2 hours as you are dealing with raw fish. The more time raw fish is left at room temperature, the quicker the bacteria grows. It's recommended to use wasabi when eating nigiri sushi as wasabi has a property that kills bacteria. Ginger helps to cleanse your palate so you shouldn't eat it together with sushi. If you keep the sushi in the refrigerator, it's safe to eat later, but the rice will get hard and it won't taste as good as when it is freshly made.
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