How To Make Sushi Part 2 -Sssshhhh, Silent Sushi Incursion!

Part 2 of my sushi special will have a rather different feel, because part 2 of preparing sushi has a rather different feel. Now, when I'm cooking I'm fairly high-energy. I zoom around, I kick cupboards shut, slam drawers, and I never put anything down carefully if I can throw it instead. I have learned from bitter experience that this mood doesn't work for sushi, at all. I'm not going to get all pretentious about the exact correct way to prepare food - this isn't nouveau cuisine. But sushi is fundamentally fiddly and precise, and it needs a bit of concentration.

For that matter, the mood and attention needed to prepare sushi can be really fulfilling. It's a characteristically Sino/Japanese approach, taking considerable time and care in a (relatively) simple activity, and thereby transforming it into an experience of meditation and calm magic. The same approach is shown (although more so) in the tea ceremony, where every fold of clothing must lie in the right position, every individual movement of the hands much be precise, every pause perfect. I'm just going to cover making the basic maki (roll) today. Once you've got that down you can do anything. First, you'll want to have everything you need ready and neatly arranged. Pre-chop all your vegetables into thin strips (I use carrot, cucumber, scallions, peppers and mushroom usually), and where necessary shell, bone, clean and/or chop your fish and seafood.

I use smoked salmon trims because they're delicious and cheap and the misshapes don't matter in rolls, prawns, seafood sticks, mussels, cod, snapper, all sorts. Best are things with a strong taste like the smoked salmon and prawns, milder fish like cod don't create such a strong contrast of flavors. Your rice should be ready and cooled, and you'll want to cover it with a damp tea-towel so it doesn't dry out while you're working. Have a tablespoon sitting in a mug of water, which you'll use to scoop the rice out. Keep it in the mug when you're not using it, if it's dry the rice will start to stick and accumulate into a giant lump.

Not good. Wipe down your surface so it's spotless, and arrange everything so you can reach it. At this point, I've found the way to get best results and the most enjoyment from the process is to make sure your mind is really clear, you're calm and not thinking about other things. Whatever you do, don't try to make sushi in a rush or when your head is messed up, you'll mess it up and just end up frustrated. I actually turn off any music I've got playing, sit down and do five minutes of meditation, just focussing on my breathing and excluding the rest of the world.

Sounds over the top I know, but this is a process - and a food - worthy of that bit of time. In a sense the time you put into it makes it special, making it worthy of the time. Now you're ready to start. Take a sheet of nori, and place it shinier-side-down on the surface (it should try to roll up towards you if you've got it right). I put my smaller knife along the top edge to stop it rolling up as I lay the rice down. Take a couple of tablespoons of the vinegared rice with your (wet) tablespoon, and spread them evenly on the lower half-and-a-bit of the nori sheet. Then add strips of seafood and some veggies, whatever you feel will go well together.