This is anything but your typical spicy tuna roll! The tuna is dressed in a chipotle infused aioli as well as a hint of lime and cilantro.  Black beans, a fairly uncommon sushi component, pair well with the tuna mixture. And as a playful tribute to the ever popular crunchy roll, the outside of this roll is coated in finely crushed tortilla chips. 

Chipotle Tuna Sushi Rolls

Makes 4 Inside Out Sushi Rolls

1/2 pound sushi grade tuna, diced

1/2 lime

2 TBSP finely chopped scallions

1 TBSP finely chopped cilantro

pinch of salt, or more to taste

2-3 TBSP Chipotle Aioli, see recipe below

4 sheets nori, 4in x 7in

3 - 3 1/2 cups prepared sushi rice

1/4 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup finely crushed tortilla chips (For best results, fry your own tortillas and leave unsalted.)

Place tuna in a medium sized bowl and squeeze lime over tuna. Add scallions, cilantro and a pinch of salt. Toss well. Add 2 TBSP Chipotle Aioli and stir to coat. If desired, add 1 additional TBSP.  Set mixture aside.

Place crushed tortillas on a flat plate. Set aside.

To assemble sushi rolls, place 1 sheet of nori horizontally on work surface, being sure to face the rough side upwards. Spread entire sheet of nori with prepared sushi rice in an even layer. Flip nori over. Place about 2 1/2 – 3 TBSP of the chipotle tuna mixture in the horizontally in the middle of the nori being sure that tuna reaches both edges of the nori. Next, top with black beans in a thin even layer. Roll according to the method for rolling inside out sushi rolls, leaving roll uncut.  Place roll on the plate of crushed tortillas and roll to coat. Cut roll into 6-8 pieces. Repeat with remaining sheets of nori.

The chipotle in this spicy tuna roll provides plenty of heat. No wasabi is needed.

Chipotle Aioli

Courtesy of Chef Ben Smith - Tsunami Restaurant Memphis, TN

1 7 oz. can chipotles in adobo sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. Salt

4 egg yolks

1 whole egg

1 cup olive oil

Place chipotles and sauce in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the garlic, lime juice, salt, egg yolks and whole egg and puree until well blended. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until it is incorporated and the consistency is like mayonnaise.

I think being Southern and having a sweet tooth are synonymous. No matter what I’ve eaten, I always save a little room at the end for a bite of dessert. I like to rationalize that if a Japanese meal is traditionally ended with sips of green tea, desserts that follow sushi should contain green tea.

This recipe combines two of my very favorite things: cupcakes and gingerbread. Cupcakes offer the perfect sized treat - not too much but just enough. And spicy gingerbread is fully flavored requiring only a tiny bit if any enhancement rather than the typical thick coating of frosting most cakes require.

For these lovely gems, I opted to make a simple green tea glaze and topped each one with purchased mochi balls (sweet glutinous rice balls) filled with red bean paste for dramatic effect.  You’ll need matcha powder, a special type of powdered green tea, in order to make the glaze. If you’re unable to find matcha powder, serve cupcakes with a small scoop of purchased green tea ice cream, which is available in most grocery stores. 

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze

12 cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour (not self rising), plus more for flouring the pan

1 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp finely ground black pepper

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, softened plus more for buttering the pan

1/4 cup brown sugar (dark)

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup warm water

12 purchased mochi balls, optional

Green Tea Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour each cup of a 12 cup muffin tin generously. Alternately, place a paper muffin liner inside each cup.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Beat for 1 minute.  Add half of the flour mixture and beat until well incorporated. Add half of the warm water and beat until incorporate. Repeat flour and water additions, making sure that the mixture is well combined.

Pour batter into muffin cups so that each cup is 2/3 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pan on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing cupcakes from pan. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on wire rack before adding green tea glaze.

Green Tea Glaze

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 1/2 TBSP matcha powder, or more to taste 

2-3 TBSP milk

Stir powdered sugar and matcha togther in a bowl. Add 1 TBSP of milk and stir. Continue to add milk, 1 TBSP at a time, until desired consistency has been achieved.

To glaze cupcakes, place cupcakes on a wire rack set on waxed paper to catch any drips. Place a spoon full of glaze on top of the cup cake and allow glaze to flow freely over the edges. Allow glaze to set for 1 minute before placing mochi balls on top. 

It is always such a pleasure to visit the Commerce Street Market. Owner Margaret Hortman and Chef Kay Campanella always extend such a warm welcome. Despite having taught over 10 hands on sushi classes in less than one year, the residents of Laurel continue to request my sushi classes and ask “So when are you coming back?”

It has been fun for me to create a new sushi class menu for each visit that is easy for first timers to prepare, but also challenging for those that may be repeating the class. And though most of the past classes have been reserved for adults, we included a hands on children’s class during this visit. 

 The Children’s Class

For this class, the turnout was a great range in ages. We enjoyed some lemonade and crispy fried shrimp chips while discussing a little sushi history and sharing thoughts on our favorite types of sushi.

When it was time to make make our own sushi, one attendee told everyone “This is just like playing with Play-Doh!”

Everyone else agreed, although one added, “Only you can eat it when it gets stuck to your hands. You’re not ’spose to eat Plah Doh.”

During our time together, we made rice balls for tamagoyaki(sweet Japanese omelet) and asparagus, which we attached with nori “seatbelts”. One very observant and very young attendee stated “This is not very easy,” although she produced some very nice rice balls in the end. After making our nigiri, we made a California futomaki roll. And just for fun, we enjoyed some beautiful tempura shrimp with heads intact. For dessert, we had dessert “sushi” made with crispy rice cereal and marshmallows, pretzels and Snickers candy bars. And everyone got to take home some Yan-Yan, a delightful cookie treat with chocolate and strawberry dip, a pair of chopsticks, and a fun word search with some of the Japanese words we learned. 

    Sushi Class

While getting acquainted with each other, we enjoyed some shrimp chips along with some of the delicious dips sold at the market. This group was very interactive and spunky. And we kept each other laughing throughout the night.

After discussing basic sushi techniques, we made the following rolls: Seared Tuna with Apples, Bacon and Scallions; Ponzu Marinated Beef Tataki Roll with Avocado, Asparagus and Scallions; Sweet Potato and Shiitake Futo Maki; and Shrimp with Mango, Cucumber, Lettuce and Cream Cheese Hand Roll. (The delicious Ponzu used for the beef roll is bottled and sold by market owner Margaret Hortman.)

“I only had a piece a bacon, a few little apples and some taters,” joked the class comedian, “but I’m full as a tick.”  Still, most had a little room left for a slice of pound cake topped with ice cream and some delicious fudge sauce, which is sold by the market. 

We had a great time discussing ideas for sushi to make at home. The group even collaborated on ideas for two new rolls I should try. One was fried chicken and mashed potatoes topped with gravy which they dubbed the Jones County Roll and another with hot dogs and cheese deep fried dubbed the Tailgate Roll. These of course were jokes and we ended the night with a big laugh.

Thank you so very much Commerce Street Market and Laurel, MS as always for your warm welcome. Until next time…  

For residents of Laurel, MS, Commerce Street Market carries a stock of sushi making basics such as sushi rice, sushi nori, rice vinegar, pickled ginger, wasabi and bamboo rolling mats. Also available are sushi gift baskets, all inclusive make your own sushi kits, locally crafted wooden cutting boards, and a selection of Asian inspired sauces and dressings.   

Marisa in the local news (past articles) - Laurel Leader Call

WDAM TV Laurel-Hattiesburg 

Cater’s Market  4919-B Poplar Springs Dr., Meridian, MS

I was very fortunate to have been invited to Meridian, MS this past week to teach a hands on sushi class. The class, sponsored by Cartmell Gallery, Cater’s Market and Meridian Community College, had a tremendous turnout. Hostess Jamie Cater made her lovely and well stocked market available to me and my sous chef (Mom).

For appetizers, we enjoyed a chilled vegetable soba noodle salad and edamame. During our class, we focused on the techniques for preparing four styles of sushi rolls: thin rolls (hoso maki), thick rolls (futo maki), hand rolls (te maki), and inside out rolls (ura maki).  And using ingredients that could easily be found locally, most available at the market, everyone made their own Asparagus and Shiitake Thin Roll, California Futo Maki, BLT with Wasabi Mayo Hand Roll, and Shrimp and Spicy Crawfish Inside Out Roll. For those that still had room for a little dessert, we enjoyed Gingerbread Cupcakes with Green Tea Icing topped with Red Bean filled Mochi. 

I had a blast! I can’t wait to see pictures from those that have made their own sushi at home.

Thank you again, Meridian, for such a warm welcome. 

For residents of Meridian, MS, Cater’s market has a complete stock of sushi making basics including sushi rice, sushi nori, rice vinegar, pickled ginger, and wasabi. The market also has edamame as well as a stock of Asian inspired dressings, sauces and noodles.

Marisa in the news - Article in The Meridian Star   

For those that would like a printed reference, a version of the Sushi From Your Home Kitchen booklet I created for my sushi workshops is now available for download.

It includes:

- Basic Sushi Rice Recipe

- Black and white step by step photos for thin rolls, thick rolls, inside out rolls, and hand rolls

- A few recipes to try (including a recipe for brown sushi rice)

- My favorite internet resources for sushi supplies and products

Keep your sushi green! Print this booklet on recycled paper and/or doubled sides.

Sweet potatoes and shiitake mushrooms are boiled in a soy sauce based broth which gives a pleasant salty, sweet and savory flavor to this roll. Try this roll served with a side of steamed spinach.

Sweet Potato and Shiitake Maki

1/2 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into French fry sized sticks

5 large shiitake mushroom caps

1 1/2  cup soy sauce

1 1/2 cup water

1/4 cup mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

5 tablespoons finely chopped scallions

5 pieces nori (4in x 7in)

2 1/2 – 3 cups prepared sushi rice

pickled ginger, optional

wasabi, optional

In a medium sized saucepan, stir together soy sauce, water and mirin. Bring to a full boil over high heat.  Place sweet potato sticks in boiling liquid and boil until just soft, about 3 –4 minutes. Remove from liquid, reserving liquid for mushrooms, and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Place mushroom caps in boiling liquid and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from liquid and place on a plate to cool. Once cool, cut each cap into thin slices.

To assemble rolls, begin with a piece of nori placed vertically on a bamboo rolling mat, rough side facing up. Cover the bottom 3/4 of the nori with a thin even layer of prepared sushi rice, about 1/2 –3/4 cup. Place 1 tablespoon of scallions horizontally in the middle of the rice. Spread one cap’s worth of sliced mushrooms on top of the scallions making sure that the slices extend to the edges. Top the mushroom slices with 2-3 sticks of boiled sweet potato. 

Roll according to the method for rolling thick rolls. Let roll rest seam side down on the cutting board for 2 minutes before cutting into 5 pieces. Repeat steps for assembly with remaining 4 pieces of nori.

Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce for dipping if desired.

This tongue twister is not only fun to say, but offers a fun Spanish twist to the world of sushi. Grilled mahi mahi is enhanced with golden raisins, capers and toasted almonds. This slightly sweet, crunchy, briny combo is good on it’s own or served with a small drizzling of purchased eel sauce.

Grilled Mahi Mahi Maki

Makes 4 sushi rolls of 6 pieces each

8 oz mahi mahi, grilled medium (slightly cool center) and cooled to room temperature

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

1/8 inch piece of ginger root

4 teaspoons capers

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

4 pieces nori (4in x 7in)

2- 2 1/2 cups prepared sushi rice

pickled ginger for garnish, optional

purchased eel sauce for drizzling, optional

Place raisins in a small heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, stir together soy sauce and mirin. Add piece of ginger and bring to an almost boil over medium heat. Allow mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Immediately pour hot liquid over raisins, discarding piece of ginger.  Allow raisins to set in liquid about 10 minutes, or until plump.  Drain raisins, discarding liquid, and set on a plate covered with paper towels or a clean dish towel to further drain.

Divide mahi mahi into 4 portions. Cut each portion into strips about 1/4 inch wide. 

Place toasted almonds on a flat plate or directly on a cutting board. With fingers, crush almonds into slightly smaller pieces. Spread almonds into a thin, even layer.

To assemble each roll, begin by placing one piece of nori, rough side up, horizontally on work surface. Cover entire surface of nori with a thin even layer of prepared sushi rice, about 1/2- 3/4 cup. Flip nori over so that the rice is facing down and the nori is exposed. Place the strips from one portion’s worth of mahi mahi horizontally across the middle of the nori, making sure that the strips extend to both edges of the nori. Spread 1 teaspoon of capers across the center of the nori. Next, spread 1/4 of the raisins across the center of the nori. Roll according to the method for rolling inside out rolls.

Place roll on top of toasted almonds and roll to coat. Adhere almonds to roll with a gentle pressing of a bamboo rolling mat.  Cut into 6-8 pieces.  Repeat steps to assemble rolls with the remaining 3 pieces of nori.

Serve with pickled ginger and a drizzling of eel sauce, if desired. 

Though not a typical sushi flavor, the addition of a little curry lends wonderful spice to sea scallops in this roll that is more flavorful than hot. Madras curry powder, a blend of spices typically containing tumeric, curry leaves, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, fenugreek, black pepper, cloves and chile pepper, is used to sufficiently flavor the scallops. Only a bit of lime juice, salt and scallions are needed to finish the creamy center which is offset by cucumbers, carrots and an outer coating of crispy tempura flakes.

Curried Scallop Maki

Makes 3 Sushi Rolls of 6 pieces each

For the Curried Scallops

4 very fresh sea scallops, diced

freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lime

1 1/2 tsp Madras curry powder, or more to taste

1 tsp finely chopped scallions

salt to taste

For the rolls

3 pieces of nori (4in x 7in)

1 1/2 – 2 cups prepared sushi rice

6 cucumber sticks, French fry sized

1/4 scant cup carrot sticks, matchstick sized

3/4 cup tempura crispies, cooled

pickled ginger for garnish, optional

wasabi, optional

soy sauce for dipping, optional 

Tempura crispies

1 egg

1 cup ice water + ice

1 cup all purpose flour

Beat egg in a bowl. Add ice water (including ice) in the bowl. Add flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Do not overmix the batter. In a frying pan, heat a few tablespoons of oil to about 325 degrees F. Dip a fork or whisk into the tempura batter and drizzle batter over the oil being careful not to drop ice into the hot oil. Allow to fry until golden brown. Remove with a fry strainer and drain on paper towels. Cool completely before use.

To make the curried scallops, place diced scallops in a non-metal bowl. Add lime juice and toss well. Add curry powder and scallions and mix well. Salt to taste. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use. When ready to use, drain the excess liquid form the mixture.

Place tempura crispies on a large flat plate or directly on a cutting board.

To assemble each roll, begin with 1 piece of nori placed horizontally, rough side up, on work surface. Cover completely with a thin, even layer of prepared sushi rice, about 1/2 –3/4 cup. Flip nori over and so that the rice is on top of the work surface and the uncovered portion of nori is exposed. Spread 1/3 of the scallop mixture horizontally in the center of the nori, being sure to drain any excess liquid from the mixture. Place 2 cucumber sticks end to end horizontally on top of the scallop mixture making sure that the edges reach both edges of the nori. Place a few carrot sticks on top of the cucumber sticks making sure that they extend to both edges of the nori.

Roll according to the method for rolling inside out rolls. Place roll on top of tempura crispies and roll around to coat. Adhere crispies to rice with a gentle squeeze of a bamboo rolling mat. Cut roll into 6-8 pieces. Repeat process with remaining 2 pieces of nori. If desired, serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce for dipping.

Most Japanese restaurants and sushi bars offer several items that would delight any vegan palate. The cuisine is hallmarked by healthy offerings of seaweed, tofu, pickles, steamed rice and vegetables prepared in light broths. But don’t let these offerings catch you off guard when dining out. Dashi, the all star seasoning broth made from konbu seaweed and fish flakes, can end up on the most well intentioned vegan platter. These hidden sources of dashi are simply the nature of the cuisine. Dashi’s inclusion is often the traditional method for preparation of certain dishes. Though some restaurants are taking the needs of vegan diners into account, here are three items you may want to get a full background check on before ordering.

#1 Seaweed Salad (Hijiki)

Hijiki salad, a robust dark seaweed salad that is simmered or roasted with carrots and onions, often contains dashi. This is often not mentioned on the menu, so be sure to ask before ordering.

#2  Dipping Sauces

Many Japanese style dipping sauces also often contain a bit of dashi for an extra dimension of flavor. Ponzu, noodle dipping sauce, tempura sauce, house blended soy sauce and dumpling dipping sauce are the usual suspects. Your best option is to use table soy sauce or tamari.

#3 Tofu Dishes

Dishes such as simmered tofu will almost always be simmered in a dashi based broth or served with a sauce that includes dashi as a flavoring component. And often, the tofu dish is topped with a hefty topping of shaved fish flakes for garnish, though often not listed.

Other tips:

Ask for roe-free seaweed salad. Many places sprinkle the bright green salad with a contrasting orange or bright red fish roe for presentation, though this is not often listed on the menu.

Avoid furikake as a topping for dishes. Furikake mixes often contain sesame, several types of seaweed and fish or shrimp flakes.

If the restaurant offers a vegetable broth based clear soup or miso soup, be sure to request that it come without tempura flakes. Often these soups are offered vegetable broth based as Americans tend to be less fond of dashi based broths and are swimming with bits of egg laden tempura flakes to add richness.

Avoid sweet soy reductions. Many restaurants use the term sweet soy reduction because it sounds more appealing than sweet eel reduction or eel sauce. Unless the reduction is made in house, it most likely contains the broth of simmered sea eels.

Cool, creamy tofu takes on a spicy tone in this delicious roll. For a bit of surprise, freshly squeezed orange juice as well as a bit of the zest blend in with the spice marinade.  Tempura avocado gives the roll a slight but necessary crunch. Try dipping this roll in tangy ponzu sauce.

Spicy Tofu Futomaki

For each roll

1 4in x 7in piece of nori

about 3/4 cup prepared basic sushi rice, or brown sushi rice

2 wedges of avocado, about 1/4 in thick

tempura batter

oil for frying

2 1/2 TBSP spicy tofu

orange wedges, optional

pickled ginger, optional

ponzu for dipping, optional

Tempura Batter

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup ice water

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Spicy Tofu

4 oz firm tofu, roughly diced

2 TBSP finely chopped scallions

1 TBSP freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 tsp orange zest, finely grated

1 TBSP garlic chili paste

salt to taste

To prepare tofu, place all ingredients in a non metal bowl and toss well.  Set mix aside.

In a thick bottomed frying pan, heat about 1/4 inch of oil to 350 degrees F.  While oil heats, dredge avocado slices in plain flour, tapping to remove excess flour. When oil is ready, dip avocado slices into tempura batter before carefully sliding into the hot oil. Fry slices until golden brown on both sides, flipping if necessary. Drain on paper towels or a clean lint free kitchen towel. Set aside.

To assemble roll, place nori vertically, rough side up on a bamboo rolling mat. Cover nori with an even layer of rice, leaving approximately the top 2/3 of the nori uncovered. Place 2 wedges of tempura avocado in the center of the rice, making sure that the pieces extend from edge to edge of the nori. Top with about 2 1/2 TBSP of the tofu mixture. Roll according to the futomaki rolling technique.

Cut into 5 pieces. Serve with orange wedges, pickled ginger and ponzu if desired.