Time To Food Travel - Sushi

Today, I am food traveling to Japan for sushi!

Remember traveling can be a state of mind and food traveling helps get you there!  So put on a kimono and take out your chop sticks because we are going to talk sushi!

Pre-marriage, my future husband took me to a Japanese steakhouse to try sushi.  I happily went along and when the sushi came, he gallantly went first.  He reassured me that it was great, so I popped one in my mouth...YUCK!  I swore I would never have sushi again.  And yet, I still married him...even though, at the time, he misled me about the sushi...go figure.   :)

But, I matured and decided to give it a go 2 weeks ago...some 20ish years had passed and I was ready!

We went to Nabuki in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago.  And my taste buds had matured!!!!  I loved it!

Look at how pretty these look!!!

So we started off with some scallops.  So tender and seasoned perfectly!  Then we moved on...

This sushi was so pretty to look at!  It is called the Kicker and has white tuna, spicy crab, jalapeno and avocado, topped with maguro tuna and wasabi potato puree.  One word...delicious!

This one is the traditional California Roll with crab, avocado and cucumber...so yummy!

But this one was my absolute favorite!  It was called the Stanley Cup (in honor of the Blackhawks) and I couldn't even tell you what was in it...but it was to die for!!!  We all shared, but I could have kept this one for myself!

So if you are feeling like you want to travel to Japan, check out a local sushi bar.  We have found that asking the waiter for his or her recommendations is the best!

Now if you don't want to travel out to a restaurant, I have a simple spring roll recipe you can make and it doesn't involve raw fish.

This isn't the best picture, but I wanted you to see how easy they are to make.  You will need:

rice paper

julienned carrot

shredded lettuce

julienned cucumber

cooked shrimp (split in half)

handful of cooked rice noodle

Cook the rice noodles according to the package and set aside.  Next lay out your rice paper.  Look at the package as to how to handle rice paper.  Place your ingredients in the center and roll.

My family likes to dip the spring rolls in sweet chili sauce.

Keep your passport handy!  Been food traveling across the states then to Italy and now Japan!  I wonder where we will be tomorrow?

Celebrate the little things that make life sweet!

Christine