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| Ja-Roen's Sushi Area. |
"You know, the kind with seaweed wrapping
I can never seem to get enough,
So get your hands off my sushi man
Roll it up!
Got chopsticks to hold it up
Dip it in wasabi if you're bold enough
Cuz I love, I love sushi"
The Sushi Song
Song by Romeo Eats and Walk off the Earth ‧ 2021
When we hear the term “sushi”, automatically we think of
Japan, raw fish, sticky rice, soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi. Well, in the Cokenour household, we do, and
when we have a craving for it, it’s to Ja-Roen Thai & Sushi, here in
Monticello, that we run to. But there is
more to sushi than the simple items I just mentioned.
While Japan comes to mind immediately, the origin of
sushi, or the art of preserving fish in fermented rice, began in the Mekong
River region. “Narezushi” spread to
other countries that the river flowed through; China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia, and Vietnam before reaching Japan by the 8th century. The more evolved presentations, that we see
in today’s restaurants, developed during the Edo Period (16th to 19th
centuries). As England and America began
to explore Japan, the cuisine of this mysterious new country was also
investigated thoroughly.
Quick, when you hear the word sushi, what do you
immediately imagine? There are many
types of sushi, and not all come in a rolled form.
Traditional Sushi Types:
Nigiri: A small oblong of hand-pressed rice topped
with a slice of raw fish or other seafood.
Maki (or Makizushi): Sushi rice and fillings
rolled in seaweed (nori) and sliced into rounds.
Sashimi: While often served with sushi, it is not
technically sushi as it is just thinly sliced raw fish or meat with no rice.
Temaki: A cone-shaped roll with seaweed filled
with rice and other ingredients.
Chirashi: A bowl of seasoned rice topped with a
variety of scattered ingredients, often including fish and vegetables.
Uramaki: A type of maki roll where the rice is on
the outside of the seaweed.
Inarizushi: Sushi rice in a seasoned, deep-fried
tofu pouch.
Oshizushi: A type of pressed sushi made by
pressing the ingredients into a mold, creating a rectangular block of sushi.
Gunkan: A type of nigiri with a band of seaweed
wrapped around the rice to form a cup, which is then filled with soft, loose,
or finely chopped ingredients like sea urchin or fish roe.
Temari: A small, ball-shaped sushi that is often
made for special occasions.
Is sushi healthy?
Yes and no, and it all depends on, not just any illness you may have,
like diabetes or gastrointestinal issues, but also the quality of the
ingredients used.
Ah, the rice, it’s a main component when creating sushi,
but can any type of rice be used?
The best rice for sushi is short-grain Japanese (or
"japonica") white rice due to its high starch content which makes it
sticky enough to be molded into the correct shape. If short grain is unavailable, medium grain
can be used in a pinch, but using long grain rice ensures a total failure.
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| Master Sushi Chef Dos, and his wife, Fon. |
Recently, I was honored to be able to take a sushi making
lesson with Ja-Roen’s master chef, Dos.
He has been creating his masterpieces for 24 years, and can be seen
working alongside his wife, Fon. Palm,
Ja-Roen’s most excellent manager, assisted with my lesson; hey, put a sharp
knife in my hand and who knows where it will fly off to! My hubby, Roy, chose the roll that I would be
creating…The Spider Roll. This is a
soft-shelled crab (shipped in from Thailand), done up tempura style, slices of
avocado and English style cucumber (less moisture, so holds its shape when
cut). Toppings over the roll are unagi
sauce (aka eel sauce) and mayo; along with flying fish roe (bright orange-red
color).
Hair tied back, gloves on (a dab of mayo rubbed on them
keeps the rice from sticking to the gloves), makisu (the sushi mat) down, and a
square of nori (seaweed sheet) on top.
Most important step begins with measuring the rice, 130 grams (approx.
2/3 cup), and using a food scale will get the perfect measurement. It is placed on the center of the nori and
stretched out to the left and right edges; half the rice is then spread upwards,
till about a half inch from the edge, and a couple of bits of rice are mashed
to the edge to create a type of “glue”.
The other half of the rice is spread downwards, again, about a half inch
from the edge. The rice should be spread
that none of the nori is visible underneath without mashing the rice. The crab, which was cut in half lengthwise,
is placed in the center, and the legs should stick outside the end of the nori. Two slices each, of avocado and cucumber, end
to end, on top of the crab.
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| Soft Shell Crab |
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| Spreading the rice. |
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| Add Avocado and Cucumber Slices. |
Now the scariest parts of all, for me at least, was the
rolling and knife cuts.
Dos had already
demonstrated each step, and I paid attention like a deer caught in
headlights.
When it comes to the
rolling, the trickiest part is making sure to do it evenly, and not put too
much pressure.
Once rolled, then comes
the knife cuts, and while I have very good knife skills, I am no master!
Estimate, as close as possible, the center of
the roll, place knife down, begin to cut downward (not too much pressure!), then
a sort of see-saw motion quickly.
Now
there are two halves; with one half, cut off one section, about a half inch;
then cut the remainder of the roll in half, and cut those two halves in half.
Repeat with second half of the original roll,
and now there are ten sections, hopefully all evenly cut.
Being a nervous nelly, and being scared I
would squash the roll, I sometimes did not cut the nori all the way
through.
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| Apply Even Pressure. |
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| Begin Rolling. |
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| Ready to be Cut. |
Lining up the pieces next to each other, the mat is used
to “repress” them into the proper shape before plating.
That was fun, making the pieces stand or lean
prettily, decorating with the sauces and roe, but the best part of all was…the
eating!!!
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| Cut Roll in Half. |
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| Cut 1st Piece off 1st Half. |
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| Cut Pieces Evenly as Possible. |
Plating.
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| Now for the condiments and sauces. |
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| Begin Plating. |
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| Pickled Ginger and Wasabi in one corner. |
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| Unagi Sauce and Mayo. |
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| Sprinkle on Flying Fish Roe. |
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| My Spider Roll (front view) |
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| My Spider Roll (back view) | |
All in all, what I thought would be a scarily difficult
food creation ended up being much easier, and definitely less terrifying, than
I thought it would be.
Chef Dos and Palm
were very patient, and most excellent instructors.
It made me feel so much more confident to
hear Chef Dos say, that, for a first time, I didn’t do too badly.
Oh, the spider roll…this was the most
delicious one ever, especially since I had made it.
In the mood for sushi, after reading this; Ja-Roen Thai
& Sushi (380 S Main St, Monticello, UT 84535; (435) 587-4000) are open Mon-Wed:
11am-3pm, 4pm-9:30pm, and Thurs-Sat: 11am-9:30pm. Last seating is at 9pm.
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| Cucumber Roll pairs nicely with Spider Roll. |
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| Cucumber Roll | | | | | | | | | | | |
Also, Ja-Roen has extended their drink menus (see photos below) and locals get a 5% discount!
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| Coffees, Tea, Juice, Water. |
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| Boba(Bubble) Tea, Soft Drinks, Non-Alcoholic Beer. |
When it comes to excellent service, atmosphere and Thai/Japanese cuisines; you MUST check out Ja-Roen Thai & Sushi.
Mary Cokenour
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