Shrimp & Salmon Tempura Sushi Rolls

A Taste of California… Shrimp & Salmon Tempura Sushi Rolls

Tonight, is a Taste of California. We’re making shrimp and salmon tempura sushi rolls. Tiger shrimp and salmon filets are dipped it in tempura batter and deep fried in sunflower oil, then wrapped in nori, sushi rice, cream cheese, sliced avocado, and sesame seeds. With chopsticks and dipping sauce, the sushi will be plated on black slate plates and served with hot sake.

And why are we making this dish tonight? Well this week we were in sunny southern California with it’s beautiful beaches and breath taking sunsets. And famous landmarks like Sunset Blvd, the Whiskey a Go Go, Mel’s Drive-In and the iconic Hollywood sign. And for a taste of Asian flare, be sure to visit Nobu restaurant in Malibu. Delicious food with a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. California rolls and chopsticks for lunch, which brings us to our dish tonight.

Shrimp & Salmon Tempura Sushi Rolls.

 To make our dish as authentic as possible, we’ll visit a real Asian market to do our shopping. We went to Super H Mart in John’s Creek Georgia and got the following items:

Seafood and Vege
6 oz Salmon Filet
½ pound of Tiger Shrimp
1 Avocado Sliced into Strips

Tempura Batter
Carbonated Water
Corn Starch
Rice Flour
Salt & Pepper
Seafood Seasoning

Rice
Sushi Rice
Salt
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sugar

Sushi Rolls
Nori Roasted Seaweed Sheets
Bamboo Shaper
Cream Cheese
White and Black Sesame Seeds
Plastic Wrap

Breadcrumbs
Japanese Style Panko Breadcrumbs

Dipping Sauces
Soy Sauce
Wasabi Sauce
Sriracha Hot Sauce
Horseradish
Mayonaise
Dijon Mustard

Beverage
Japanese Hot Sak
Sake Cups
Sake Warmer

Serving Utensils
Black Slate Plates
Dipping Sauce Bowls
Chopsticks
Chopsticks Holder

Our first step is to make the dipping sauce. We’ll use ketchup, sriracha sauce, and mayonnaise to get started. In a small ramekin combine a heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of ketchup, and about a teaspoon of sriracha sauce and stir them together.  Taste for heat and flavor and adjust accordingly. 

Next we’ll get our sushi rice ready.  We’ll add rice wine vinegar, sunflower oil, salt, and sugar to a small pot.  Bring the pot to a boil and stir everything together thoroughly. This will be added to the rice once it is cooked.   Sushi rice is a short grain rice. It needs to be rinsed several times before it can be used. Pour the rice into a bowl and add water to the bowl of rice. Wash the rice thoroughly and then drain out the water. Repeat this process five or six times until the water is clear. This process eliminates the excess starch in the rice.  Add water to a pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring the water to a boil.  Add in the rinsed sushi rice, give it a stir, cover, and cook the rice on simmer for 20 minutes.

Next we’ll get our salmon ready. Slice the salmon longways into strips. These salmon strips will be dipped into a tempura batter and panko breadcrumbs and deep fried. This is also a good time to get your shrimp peeled and de-veined.

Once the rice has finished cooking, we need to let it cool. Add the rice to a glass dish and space it out. Add in the vinegar, sugar and salt mixture a little at a time and fold it into the rice thoroughly. Put the dish of rice aside; we’ll use it a little later.  

Now let’s get our tempura batter ready.  Add in a half cup of rice flour, a half cup of corn starch, two teaspoons of seafood seasoning, we’re using a custom mix from our friends at Elite Spice, but if you can’t get that, then you can use Old Bay brand of seafood seasoning available at your local grocery store.  Salt, pepper, and whisk it together evenly. Add in 6oz of cold carbonated water a little at a time and whisk it into the mixture thoroughly.   Add in a pinch more rice flour if the batter is too thin.

To get our deep frying ready, add the sunflower oil to a small deep pot. You can use an electric frying pan or a deep fryer if you’d like to. Bring the heat up to medium.  While the oil is heating up, add your panko breadcrumbs to a plate. Begin to dip the salmon strips into the tempura batter, allow the excess to drip, then place the coated salmon strip into the panko bread crumbs and cover the salmon strip with the breadcrumbs thoroughly. Repeat the process with the other salmon strips and the shrimp. 

Once the oil is hot, begin to add the salmon strips into the oil and cook for about three minutes. Place the cooked salmon strips onto a plate and keep them in the oven at 170 degrees to stay warm and crispy.  Repeat the process with the shrimp; cook them for three minutes, place them on a plate and into the oven to stay warm.

Now we’ll begin the process of building our sushi rolls.   Place a sheet of the nori onto your cutting board.    Then add the sushi rice onto the nori sheet.  Using your fingers, spread the rice out evenly across the sheet. Fill in the gaps and then flip the sheet over; don’t worry the rice is sticky and will remain stuck onto the nori sheet.   Spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto the nori sheet; the cream cheese is for flavor, and it also helps the salmon and shrimp stick the roll.

Begin putting the shrimp onto the roll. Sliced avocado is another great ingredient for sushi rolls; you can slice your own or buy it already sliced at your local grocery store. Start to roll up the sushi roll; try to keep it tight. Then get your bamboo roller, cover it with plastic wrap, and begin shaping and rolling your sushi roll.  Its going to take some practice but continue to pull the bamboo roller tight so that your ingredients are nice and tight inside the sushi roll. Unroll it and repeat the process with the remaining shimp and also the salmon strips. And now we’ll get ready for slicing.  You’ll need a thin sharp knife; if your blade is too dull, you’ll squish the sushi roll instead of slice it.  

And now it’s time to plate our dish.  

And there it is! A Taste of California!  Shrimp & salmon tempura sushi rolls, made with tiger shrimp, sliced salmon filets, tempura batter, panko breadcrumbs, and dipping sauces. Garnished with wasabi, eaten with chopsticks, and served with hot sake. A treat from the Pacific Ocean.

It was delicious!

Until next time,
Bon Appetit!
Ciao,
Mark