Agreed that it’s hard to go back once you learn what represents “good” sushi. The place we used to go locally isn’t even on our radar anymore, it’s terrible compared to our current favorites. Outside of Wichita my two favorites have been Nobu in Malibu where I met Pelican Craig, and One Flew South I’m Terminal E at ATL.

Come back to AZ and I’ll take you to a great place. I’ve had sushi all over and the little place by our house is still my favorite.

Exactly, we haven't been to the two places that we went when I first moved here in MANY years.

We are fortunate to have a few good places here in Houston.

I like the contrast between the cold fish and the warm vinegared rice.

Good info there.

Just to clarify though: Please use chopsticks with sashimi. :p

Also, "nigiri" is different than "nigiri-sushi". The former being the same as musubi (rice balls). Just be sure you know what you are ordering. ;)

Yeah, there are a couple great sushi places here, for sure.

It's funny, many folks think that inland areas can't have good sushi, because it can't possibly be as "fresh" as the coastal areas. The fact is that all sushi-grade fish coming into the US is flash-frozen.
So, the only real differences are the quality/selection of the fish at the time of procurement (Japanese fish market/auction), and the handling/storage/preparation by the chef.

In fact, if you do live in a coastal area and are ever offered "fresh" (never frozen) locally-caught sushi, you would be wise to not eat it!

No NO - not brown rice

chirashi is ok but not my interest - I usually think of chirashi as a failed maki roll (just as I regard scrambled eggs as a failed omelet)

sushi as in hand or roll (nigiri, maki ... even temaki cones if I had to)

ok no soak after washing as the Zoji's little elephant brain takes care of that

Thx - saw this after posting the above reply to your earlier post

BTW, I used to make/steam long grain Louisiana rice the old timey way on the stove - don't think I'd ever made sushi back then.

re: washing - I wash it a few times even tho the water never looks very milky

ok, next...

I have a (cheap, pine wood) hangiri for cooling the rice after it is doused with the vinegar mix

- some recipes say it is critical to fan the rice (and I even tried it once), but I usually just cut thru it both directions with the rice paddle and let it cool without 'forced convection'

what I see on internet searches doesn't tell me how cool the rice should be before putting it on the nori

- room temperature or lukewarm? or does it matter?

also... I know the japanese like enoki or some other kind of cedar - hopefully pine is ok?

Yeah, those "smart" cookers are pretty nice, and will pre-soak if/when needed, depending on the desired outcome. The only variable is the water itself.
If you have/use really hard water, no amount of "fuzzy logic" in your rice cooker is going to save you.

Good point - our water here wins awards (turns out the water utilities have some kind of a national contest); it is mountain water from near the top of the Cascades and they filter it, then only need a tiny amount of chlorine - I have to say I prefer Baton Rouge, La. water - it's very soft and almost a sweet taste

LOL we call the hangiri, "the wooden pan thingy". Be sure to wet if before using.

The ratio of vinegar, salt, and sugar is a personal thing. Try around 3 TBSP white vinegar, 7 TSP sugar, 2 TSP salt and stir together. Adjust to taste. Once that is done, you're ready.

Wet the wooden pan thingey. Dump the entire rice cooker contents in it. You use a chop/ push motion to spread out the rice without smashing the grains. Fan the rice to get it to start cooling. Do not douse it with vinegar while it's hot because you'll just steam off all of the vinegar, leaving a weird sugar salt reduction on the rice. I noticed that Japanese Americans who are 4th and 5th generation prefer a bit more salt and vinegar on their sushi rice. This is super old school. Remember their culture is frozen in time from around 1900 or so. Japanese restaurants here in the USA tend to make their sushi rice much much more dry and sweet, with very little vinegar and very little salt. Traditional sushi rice is salty but not as much as the ocean, and bitter with vinegar. Japan, especially in the north, pickles a lot of their food to last through the winter.

Prepare a bowl of warm water and a bit of vinegar to dip your hands into. You'll quickly realize what this is for.

You don't want to attempt to make roll-sushi "maki" without a makisu, bamboo rolling mat. Always use an odd number of ingredients; Futo-maki has 7 ingredients as filling. Roll firmly, but do NOT make an indentation for the ingredients to sit in. Don't leave any air gaps between the fillings and the rice. Make sure the ingredients are perfectly in the middle. You can make maki ahead of time, then roll them in wax paper like a cigar and refrigerate.

If you make the reverse maki, with the rice on the outside, then be sure you toast the sesame seeds before you sprinkle them on the outside of the roll.

And a supremely sharp knife yes?

A friend of mine is a professionally trained chef, he said sushi is one of the more challenging foods to make well.

Thx! I have a makisu, even tho 'the internet' says you can use plastic wrap.

I am in the low sugar camp (tho have zero ancestry from anywhere near Asia)

I didn't realize the rice should be cooled before adding the vinegar - I'll add that one to my list.

Yes. I have a Japanese one - I think it is really a vegetable knife - got it in the 1970s when it was hard to import stuff; also got a wok & Chinese cleaver.

I do know to dip the knife in water to slice thru the nori better.

We have 20-30 sushi places in my small city - starts with $2 "student sushi" and goes up from there. Two are xlnt. and I hope they open soon...