Food Truck Bite of the Week: I Sushi, You Sushi, We All Sushi

This SF Weekly blog talks about one of the favorite Japanese foods around the world - sushi.

Our weekly bite explores the city's food trucks, one at a time, highlighting our favorite mobile dishes and snacks.

The Truck: We Sushi  
The Cuisine: Japanese-California rolls and bowls
Specialty Items: Deep-fried rolls and chirashi sushi rice bowls  
Worth the Wait in Line? On an overcast day, it was a total 10 minutes from the end of the line to food in hand.

The very nature of sushi, and the consumption of raw fish, inspires some inherent mistrust in certain situations. Discounted late night sushi at a 7-11? Probably not a great idea. While your risk-adverse brain (it is just doing its job) may categorize sushi off a food truck at a similar risk level, We Sushi surprised us with the freshness of the fish, portions, and value.

See Also:
- Flying Southern for the Winter
- ICHI Sushi's Tai Nigiri
- Is American Sushi on the Decline?

The menu of rolls, including sushi "burritos" dominates half of the menu, along with deep fried items like their popular Lobster Crunch ($8, lobster salad, cucumber, avocado, yuba aka tofu skin). Tossed in a tobiko spiked dressing, the nice chunks of lobster meat and veggies get wrapped in yuba, coated in tempura batter, and deep-fried. While it was crunchy, generously portioned, and a nice combination of ingredients, it's a dish best reserved for those days with an open calendar, i.e., able to sneak a nap under your desk.

The simple beauty of the Chirashi ($9.50, assorted sashimi and vegetables, sushi rice) bowl seemed to highlight the freshness of the fish the best. A warm bed of seasoned sushi rice with just enough sweet-salty-tangy flavor contrasted nicely with the large slabs of salmon, hamachi, albacore, and what we guessed was probably snapper (we forgot to ask), a small tangle of some amazing seaweed salad fragrant with sesame oil, cucumber batons, and the usual ginger and wasabi. While we wished the fish came sliced thinner and in bite-sized pieces, the fish was fresh, and the price amazing for the portions. A spicy version is also available, though the fish is chopped and mixed with a spicy mayo sauce; not quite as light or visual striking.

A filling-yet-revitalizing meal is a rare feat for food truck fare, but like Liba Falafel's wonderful salads, We Sushi's chirashi manages to expand your food truck options to something delicious you won't feel bad about eating.

Source: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2012/11/food_truck_bite_of_week_we_sushi.p

Feature: Tuna sushi with rocket salad

Published in BBC.co.uk, this recipe includes a step by step procedure on how to make tuna sushi, complete with dressing and a salad side dish. 

by: Simon Rimmer

For this recipe you will need a sushi mat.

30 mins to 1 hour: preparation time
Less than 10 mins cooking time

Ingredients

For the tuna sushi

• 200g/7oz sushi rice
• 350ml/12fl oz water
• pinch salt
• 30g/1oz caster sugar
• 50ml/2fl oz rice wine vinegar
• 100g/3½oz nigella seeds
• 1 tbsp ready-made wasabi paste, mixed until well combined with ½tsp water
• 200g/7oz raw top-grade tuna fillet, cut into very thin slices
• 100g/3½oz carrot, peeled, very finely sliced (use a mandoline if you have one) 

For the dressing

• 100ml/3½fl oz light soy sauce
• 1 lime, juice only
• splash fish sauce
• 1 tsp ready-made wasabi paste

For the rocket salad

• 150g/5½oz fresh rocket leaves
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, out of their shells

To serve

• 10 -12 pieces pickled pink ginger
• soy sauce, to taste
• 1 tsp ready-made wasabi paste

Preparation method

1) For the tuna sushi, wash the sushi rice thoroughly in cold water and drain well. Place the drained sushi rice into a pan and pour over the water. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the rice for 4-5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside, covered, to cool.

2) When the cooked sushi rice has completely cooled, drain off any excess water, then transfer the rice to a bowl. Season, to taste, with the salt, then sprinkle over the sugar and drizzle over the rice wine vinegar. Mix until well combined.

3) Cover a sushi mat with cling film and sprinkle over the nigella seeds to form an even layer. Place a 1cm/½in layer of the sushi rice on top of the seeds, then spread over the wasabi paste.

4) Lay the tuna slices on top of the wasabi to form a thin layer, then arrange a layer of carrot slices on top.

5) Roll the sushi into a tight sausage shape using the sushi mat. (The sushi mat and cling film are used as guides to make the sushi easier to roll, but they should not be incorporated into the sushi roll, but should be peeled away as you roll the sushi).

6) Wrap the sushi roll in cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. When the sushi roll has chilled, slice it into 2cm/¾in rounds, trimming off the ends.

7) For the dressing, in a bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients until well combined.

8) For the rocket salad, in a bowl, mix together the rocket leaves and pumpkin seeds. Drizzle over the dressing and mix well to cover the leaves.

9) To serve, divide the tuna sushi pieces equally among four serving plates. Place a few pieces of pink pickled ginger, a small dipping bowl of soy sauce and a dot of wasabi paste alongside. Pile the dressed salad alongside.


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tunasushiwithrockets_91177

Five JC Uni-tec premium kitchen products

For years, JC Uni-tec has been one of the leading suppliers of quality Japanese kitchenware—from the unique Taiji products to the magnificently handcrafted sushi showcases created by Kanzen. Below are five of its products all “made with quality, safety, and convenience in mind.”

Sake warmers. Available in 12 different models and custom colors, these Taiji products utilize the traditional method of heating sake in a hot water bath, enabling the sake to preserve its delicate and natural flavor.

JC Uni-tec, Inc. image credit: svpply.com

Sushi Showcase. Available in three series, these Fuji showcases boast of handcrafted design from Japan’s renowned showcase manufacturer, Kanzen. The products have the same durability and unique functionality that Kanzen merchandise are known for.

JC Uni-tec carries a unique and specialized line of high-quality restaurant equipment.

Towel warmers. Available in various sizes, these quality Taiji models are all tested to meet UL and NSF 4 standards.

JC Uni-tec, Inc. image credit: tjskl.org.cn

Vegetable slicers. Available in various units that are specifically made to cut any type of vegetable, these Happy Food Machinery products are all professional grade designed to reduce preparation time and produce better results.

Pressure cookers. Available in two series—Mighty Mickey series and Iwatani series—these pressure cookers have the patented Safety Cap and other safety features for high capacity pressure cooking.

JC Uni-tec, Inc. image credit: greenearthmall.com

Just as there’s no way that Japanese cooking will become irrelevant in the culinary circle, the ubiquitous Japanese kitchen products from JC Uni-tec will stay significantly involved in the current trend on cutlery innovations.


Visit www.jcunitec.com for more.

Keeping cutlery in good taste

Jc Unitec Image Credit: dayboropartyhire.com

The battle of the cutlery; the world can call it that—the unseen modern contest for the best kitchen gadgets served raw on the public psyche for years. It simply points to the spoilt age of high-tech kitchen tools that put aside crude cookware at many restos and homes. Yet despite the digitization of kitchens that saw the emergence of capricious Internet-enabled appliances, the need for simpler, efficient modern cookware remains high.

Oddly enough, culinary expectations never get higher than in recent years when cooking shows and celebrity chefs started to dominate television primetime. “There’s a new cook in town and let’s see what cookery magic he’s got for us,” as most people would say, or imagine at least. But behind the curtain of sweat and swift slices in the countertop, most fail to notice the unique showcase hidden on sweet, delectable delights captured frame by frame—cookware.

Jc Unitec Image Credit: dailyperricone.com

Sadly, the aggressive rise of cutlery innovations diminishes the appeal of real cooking. The need for efficiency is simply universal and the tools that people use evolve to meet the demand. There’s just no need to overdo things when what people lost is the feel and appeal of genuine cooking. Real innovation happens when the essence of things are preserved. An example is the amazing Japanese-made kitchenware. They’re innovative but do not lack the authenticity of crude tools.

Jc Unitec Image Credit: superstock.com

The world of cooking basks in the limelight, but what’s being cooked up in the field of cookware must never be stale.


For more information on JC Uni-tec, follow this Twitter page.