Mushroom hosomaki

vegan, 5 to 6 rolls
Hosomaki is the name for the thinner sushi rolls. The mushrooms somehow absorb all of the sweet and sour flavours like a sponge and combined with their soft, chewy texture produce a delicious filling. Use either fresh shitake mushrooms or button mushrooms for this recipe.
Ingredients 200g (1 cup) shitake or button mushrooms 30ml (2 tbsps) sesame oil 20ml (Just over 1 tbsp) rice vinegar 20ml (Just over 1 tbsp) soy sauce 2½ teaspoons fine sugar 1 batch sushi rice 5 to 6 sheets of nori	Sesame oil isn't usually used for frying but it works very well in this recipe. Slice the mushrooms and heat the sesame oil in a frying pan or wok. When hot add the mushrooms and stir fry them until they start to brown and are just cooked through. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer the mushrooms in the sauce that is created by the ingredients until there is little or no sauce left. This will only take a couple of minutes over a high heat. Allow the mushrooms to cool before using them. They will keep well in the fridge for a few days.
	This roll can be made without a sushi mat if you haven't bought one yet. To make the hosomaki take a roll of nori seaweed and place it on a work surface or on your sushi mat. Lightly push the rice onto the seaweed until it has reached about halfway up. Don't push down too firmly. You will need a container of warm water to rinse your fingers between each handling of the rice. Place the mushrooms along the length of the rice as in the picture and then roll up tightly making sure you rinse and dry your fingers beforehand. If the last part of the nori doesn't stick just wet it lightly with a little of your rinsing water and then finish the roll. Cut the sushi just before you need it as will tend to dry out after a few hours. Serve the sushi at room temperature with wasabe, soy sauce and pickled ginger.
	Tip for cutting sushi 1. Always use a sharp knife and rinse the knife between each cut if you want the neatest, tidiest sushi possible. The stickiness of the rice will gum up the blade. 2. If you want your sushi all perfectly the same height cut one sushi roll and then place it alongside the rest of the sushi to measure up the next one. The picture illustrates this.

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Sesame oil isn't generally used for cooking but added as a finish to sauces. The oil should be dark brown and have a strong toasted sesame seed flavour. Use any Asian style brand. You will find it in most supermarkets.
Shitake mushrooms are used alot in Asian cooking. Use fresh shitake mushrooms for sushi.
Rice wine vinegar or rice vinegar is made from fermented rice or rice wine. The Japanese variety is colourless to light yellow and slightly milder and less acidic than Western varieties of wine vinegar. You can use Clear Chinese rice vinegar instead. On many occasions, when I have run out of rice vinegar, I have used white wine vinegar.
Nori seaweed is used for wrapping around rice to create nori sushi but has many other uses. It is dry and made in a similar way to paper - but using seaweed. You will find it in large sheets in most Asian grocers. Nori seaweed is high in fibre, vitamins, protein and minerals. It provides calcium and iron and contains other important trace minerals and is traditionally eaten to strengthen the circulatory system and help lower cholesterol.
Wasabi is a Japanese horseradish with a strong, hot flavour that doesn't leave an afterburn in the mouth. A bit like snuff it can freeze your brain if you take to much - not literally! It can be bought in powder form, in which case you mix it with a little water to form a green paste, or pre mixed in a tube. Use whichever you prefer - the tubed stuff is more convenient. Whenever you serve sushi serve some of this as well along with some pickled ginger and soy sauce.
Pickled ginger is always served with sushi and is meant to be used as mouth cleanser inbetween each bite of sushi. Eating it altogether with the wasabe and soy sauce is great though. It can be found in most Asian stores and is sometimes coloured pink.
A Sushi mat is a device for rolling sushi. It is usually made from bamboo and they are very cheap to buy. Sushi can be rolled without it but but some things like spinach or delicate things like egg rolls can't. If you can't find one locally buy one online.