Dining with the Chef

Authentic Japanese Cooking: Chef Saito's Hand Rolled Sushi (Temaki Sushi)

In this episode, we'll be making hand-rolled temaki sushi, a staple of Japanese house parties. Instead of the usual fresh seafood, we'll be filling the sushi with more laid-back items like cheese and ham, for simple sushi that's bound to delight kids and grown-ups alike. In addition to cheese and ham, we'll be making sushi filled with surimi, tuna and mayonnaise, watercress, cucumber, avocado, lettuce, and takuan pickled daikon radish, for a spread that offers a delicious variety of flavors and textures. We'll also be making mizu-yokan, a popular summer treat. By making cuts into a bamboo leaf and rolling it around the mizu-yokan, it can be served in a dish with ice, keeping it chilled to make the most of its juicy texture.