Sushi Balls

In the past few years I have learned to like Sushi. However, I will not eat the raw fish, octopus or eel kind of sushi. I will only eat the sushi that consist of veggies, crab meat or shrimp. Tempura means fried, so anything that says tempura is really good. No raw stuff! Smoked is still raw to me so none of that either. You just have to acquire a taste for it.

I do not have a way to make sushi rolls. It takes some special skills and utensils to get it right. But you can have sushi other ways. I have had a sushi bowl before where all the items are layered in a bowl. Taste the same as the roll. 

The other night I was in the mood for sushi, so I came up with my own little experiment and made Sushi Balls. 

-First I cooked some sticky rice using an individual size microwavable rice pack. 

-I turned over the rice into a glass bowl and mixed in a teaspoon of rice vinegar. 

This is important to get that flavor going. 

-Then I cut up some cucumbers and imitation crab meat into small pieces and mixed it into the rice. 

The rice is very sticky and hard to handle. It will stick to your hands like super glue and can get frustrating. 

-I took some small snack sized seaweed and dipped it into some water to make it soft and flexible.

-With a spoon, I scooped some rice mixture on each piece of seaweed wrap and formed it into balls. 

-I topped each sushi ball with a dollop of cream cheese and spicy mayo. (Hot sauce and mayo). 

These little fishy bites are delicious and taste just like the fancy sushi rolls you can get at the Japanese restaurant. 

If you have never had sushi before, head up to your local Chinese or Japanese Sushi bar and give it a try. It’s ok to ask questions and find out how it’s made and what's in it. They will let you watch them make your sushi roll. After several attempts to eat sushi, I just couldn’t do it until I came across a very nice waitress that explained it all to me. Once I knew what I was actually putting in my mouth, I was ok with it and have learned to like it.

UPDATE:  A friend just told me that you can dip your fingers or utensils in the rice vinegar and it will not stick! Thanks GF!