How to Throw a Sushi Party
With the holiday season upon us, entertaining is the focus of many. If you’re making sushi at home, chances are you will share it with friends as most sushi rice recipes yield more rice than most can consume alone in one setting. Sharing your home made sushi with friends makes the process festive and even more rewarding. Sushi parties, applied creatively in areas one doesn’t generally associate with sushi, offers a fresh way to keep things interesting. (Game Day Sushi anyone?) Sushi parties are a great way to celebrate the holidays, birthdays, milestone events and much more.
First, you’ll need to decide what type of sushi party you wish to have. You may be surprised to find that there are several ways to share sushi with friends. Like any sort of gathering, sushi parties require you to consider how much effort you want to expend in its planning as well as how much time you have in putting it all together. Throwing a fabulous make your own hand roll party requires minimal effort while orchestrating a sushi cocktail hour requires more planning. Also, the amount of effort you’d like your guests to expend is a factor.
During the course of the holiday season, I’ll offer several tips on how to put together spectacular sushi bashes. But first, what are the types of sushi parties? This list is certainly not all-inclusive, but it offers a good breakdown of some of the more popular ones:
Hand Roll Party– A make your own hand roll party is one of the most popular types of sushi parties. A large bowl of rice as well as iced bowls of ingredients is set in the middle of a table. Guests make their own custom hand rolls with minimal effort as no knives or bamboo rolling mats are required.
Sushi and Cocktails – This type of gathering usually consists of dazzling cocktails with Asian inspired flavors as well as pick up appetizers that include sushi as well as other tasty tidbits. Sushi for this is usually made ahead or purchased from a favorite sushi bar.
Make Your Own Sushi Party – Do you have adventurous friends that don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands a little sticky? This party goes one step beyond the typical roll your own hand roll party. At a Make Your Own Sushi Party, sushi making stations that include step by step photos and ingredients are set up so that guests may try their hand at making sushi. This set up works best for small gatherings or 4-8.
Sushi Play Date – Little ones enjoy playing with their food. At a children’s sushi party, bowls of sushi rice as well as platters filled with colorful ingredients captivate anxious little hands. The use of cookie cutters and candy molds makes sushi preparation simple. And don’t forget the sweet treat at the end! Candied California Rolls are always a favorite.
Sushi Sit Down Extravaganza – Want to show off your sushi skills? Prepare sushi right in front of guests, sushi chef style by setting up a cutting board right at your dining room table or kitchen counter. And in true sushi tradition, serve each course to those sitting around the table right after it is made. As the wine flows, dinner conversation will be constantly sparked as friends watch you make their sushi.
Photo by Josh Hailey
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