One of the most important things to me when traveling is immersing myself into different cultures. I disguise myself as much as possible to avoid looking like a tourist so that I can really feel what it’s like to be a part of the country I’m visiting. In 2014 my husband and I booked a trip to Japan to experience life in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka during the famed cherry blossom season.
Japan will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was our last major trip before having a child (we weren’t sure about traveling with kiddos but check us out now!) and while we were there I made a formal wish at a place called Fushimi Inari Shrine that we would have a safe and easy road to pregnancy. Eleven months later we had a little boy named Fox, who was named after the shrine we made our request at in Kyoto.
Here’s a photo from the shrine with a super adorable pair of kid’s training chopsticks that Fox will have to put to good use very soon!
On one of our first days in Tokyo we took a private cooking lesson in an apaato, a traditional Japanese apartment with a sweet local named Mari. We learned to make a variety of dishes from okonomiyaki to miso soup, but my favorite takeaway was crafting a mouthwatering roll of sushi.
Alas, my husband is a fair-weather sushi eater and opts for the westernized California rolls with the occasional Spicy Tuna roll, so we’ve gotten pretty good at making them around these parts.
I’ll let you in on my favorite gift-giving secret: sushi dishware, sake sets, and sushi ingredients make for an amazing hostess gift! Also good for someone who seems to have everything and leaves you stumped with what to give them next.
The first time I met my husband’s family was during Christmastime and we stopped by World Market to pick up just that and it’s been my go-to ever since. They have the best selection of international food brands I have found to date.
Soy Sauce Plates // Sushi Plates // Rice Bowls // Kids Chopsticks // Adult Chopsticks
Key players in the Japanese gift basket: Sake // Wasabi // Pocky // Sesame // Soup Spoons // Sushi Roll Kit // Miso Soup // Basket // Bamboo Sushi Set
The best part is that the international favorites pictured in all of the photos above from food items to the basket to dinnerware came in under $100! If I was pressed to choose one item out of the bunch that helped the most with sushi night I’d choose the Sushi Roll Kit. It includes microwavable sushi rice, sushi vinegar, soy sauce, wasabi, sushi nori seaweed, and a reusable bamboo sushi mat.
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 sticks Surimi (Imitation crab)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 cucumber
- 2 nori (seaweed) sheets
- Sesame seeds
- Plastic wrap
- Wrap bamboo mat with plastic wrap to ensure rice does not stick.
- Slice avocado, cucumber and crab into thin slices.
- Mix together crab and mayonnaise.
- Fold vinegar and salt into hot cooked rice.
- Place nori shiny side down on bamboo mat and layer with thin layer of rice (you may leave the bottom quarter of the nori uncovered so as not to have too much rice).
- Sprinkle sesame seeds on rice and carefully flip over so that rice is face down.
- Place a layer of crab mix, avocado, and cucumber about 1/4 of the way up the seaweed.
- Roll bamboo mat up and over the interior of the roll and squeeze. Pull the mat up and continue to roll the sushi, squeezing it tight 2-3 times until the roll is complete and tight. At this point, lay the mat over the top of the completed roll and squeeze one last time.
- Cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. It is easiest to start in the middle.
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce
- 1/2 cup of diced raw tuna
- 2 nori (seaweed) sheets
- Fold vinegar and salt into hot cooked rice.
- Mix diced tuna and sriracha (to your taste for spice level).
- Place nori shiny side down on bamboo mat and layer with thin layer of rice. You can keep it traditional and continue - seaweed outside, or you can flip it like the california roll to have the rice on the outside - inside out.
- Place a layer of mixed spicy tuna about 1/4 of the way up the rice.
- Roll bamboo mat up and over the interior of the roll and squeeze. Pull the mat up and continue to roll the sushi, squeezing it tight 2-3 times until the roll is complete and tight. At this point, lay the mat over the top of the completed roll and squeeze one last time.
- Cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. It is easiest to start in the middle.
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Have you ever learned how to make food while visiting a foreign country? Tell me what it is in the comments below!
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