Since I am kind of a cheapo, I subscribe to about 1 zillion different New York and Philadelphia deal websites. This time I got a deal from the Dealist. 25 dollars for a sushi making session at Satsuko in the LES. Sushi making?? Only 25 bucks?! I had to drag my friends, Janet and Priscilla with me.
Sake Bomb
When we first arrived, the very charming bartender talked Janet into doing a sake bomb. This is essentially a car bomb, but super asian. They use Japanese beer (Sapporo) and the house sake. Balancing the sake ever so delicately on chopsticks, you pound your fists down and scream "ichi...ni...san..SAKE BOMB!!!" The chopsticks go FLYING and you chug your little heart out.
Price: $5.00 all night special
Chardonnay and Nigori Sake
Janet got the Chardonnay, but I got the Nigori Sake. Nigori means "unfiltered", so the rice residue is still in the drink. It gives it a milky look and creamier texture. I really enjoy unfiltered sake, and this one was particularly sweet and creamy.
Price: $8.00 (per drink)
They started to bring out our "tools". A bowl of water and a washcloth....later on in the night, these turned out to me by be my best friends.
Sushi Rice
Hot and fresh from the pot, my stomach was already rumbling. Half from excitment, and half because I was hungry!
Our ingredients
4 slices of tuna, 4 white fish,4 yellowtail, 4 salmon, 2 shrimp, 2 crab sticks, 4 avocado, cucumber matchsticks and carrot shreds.
Rice Demonstration
She was trying to teach us how to properly put the rice onto the nori( seaweed). You first have to get your hands SUPER wet, I mean drench those suckers or else sticky rice will get everywhere!
Success so far. I added avocado, crabsticks and cucumbers. The teacher was impressed at how pretty it looked!
After rolling....okay so it looks a little less pretty. And maybe I added a little TOO much avocado. When you roll, you have to keep it tight, only roll half, then release and roll the other half.
Okay...so maybe sushi making isn't my forte...maybe it looks like a bull dozer ran over it.Repeatedly. My asian ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves.
Since trying to cut it made it even worse, I decided to eat it like a wrap. It was still edible after all! (By the way, I don't think I ever picked up my chopsticks that night, but sushi IS a finger food!).
Okay, so just to point something out. I am ALWAYS surrounded by other asians upstaging me. They are somehow always smarter, faster, or better in everyway possible than I am. I will forever be the lesser.
Anyway with that being said... the girl sitting next to me was whipping crazy sushi skills left and right, I asked her how she learned so fast. Her reply? " Oh, I make sushi all the time at home"....cricket sounds...then why are you here?!?! Obviously to make me feel stupid.
However, she was kind enough to give me some pointers. First off, the nori was too short, which gave me less room for stuffing. She suggested I flip the rice to the outside so that I have more room for filling. I did this, and added my array of yummy fish.
Success!! No gushy innards coming out! I then added spicy mayo on top, but that just ended up making it look like puss was coming out of it....
The sushi expert sitting next to me also said to wet the knife when you cut to make the rolls and to wipe it clean every time. They almost look professional! (Other than the failure in the upper left corner and the gross spicy mayo poops on top!) I ate these th next day for lunch at work, it was actually very tasty and the fish was fresh.
Priscilla, Janet, and I
Sake Shot
In the end, with all our hard work, we got a free sake shot. This one was filtered and a lot more dry then the sake I had been drinking that night.
Verdict: If you are seriously trying to learn how to make sushi, this might not be the thing for you. The sushi making demonstration was very short and not too informative. The teacher only told us how to put the rice onto the nori, but didn't teach us any tricks or gave any tips. We were also packed in a very tight space. All the important information I learned was actually from the girl sitting next to me. I think that next time, I would spend the 25 dollars on prepared sushi! This deal is normally 42 dollars, so I would suggest finding another place to learn how to make sushi.
Satsko
245 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
www.satsko.com
