The class is being taught by Chef Nikki Gilbert, aka The Sushi Girl (also check out her blog under "My Recommendations" on the right). Chef Nikki worked and lived in Japan for a number of years, so she knows everything you need to know about sushi. During the class, she demystified many misconceptions Americans have about sushi. It was very educational and eye opening for me.
To start, Nikki showed us how to prepare the sushi rice, which is an important part of making great tasting sushi. She shared with us that good sushi means warm sushi rice with cool sashimi (raw fish). If the rice is cold, it is not good sushi.
The first sushi we learned to make was cucumber sushi maki rolls. Nikki says that in Japan, cucumber sushi is actually a very common dish vs. the American misconception that cucumber sushi is "low grade" or "nothing." She showed us how to cut cucumbers correctly so we can taste its freshness, and how to prepare our sushi rolling mat or makisu. Here's my station and the cucumber sticks I made, with my makisu ready to go.
