Not Ooey Sushi {Kids in the Kitchen}.

I didn't have sushi for the first time until I was in my late 20's.  It is now one of my favourite things to make and eat.  I recently made it with my after-school program and was pleasantly surprised with the response.  By definition, sushi is simply a food made with seasoned (cold) sticky rice and rolled with slivered vegetables, meats, cooked eggs, or seafood.  The meats and seafood can be raw or cooked, I'm really squeamish about meat and seafood so only choose to use cooked varieties for myself.  I couldn't find the large sheets of nori (dried seaweed) so did this with the small pre-cut sheets. The first attempt was a mess since I was over filling the seaweed wrap and the wraps were cracking, not rolling. My second and third attempts got better as I decided to use my dip as a way to moisten the sheets before rolling. Tips for success: Don't overfill the wrap, use about 1/2 teaspoon of  rice, slice your ingredients as small as possible, leave some room at the ends, moisten the ends to bond the seaweed together.

I used imitation crab at home. While planning this for 
my kindergarten group of children, I stuck to the vegetables typically
 found in a California roll. 

Sticky Rice Prep- yields 2.5 cups

1. Rinse 1 cup rice in cold water and drain.
2. Add to 1 2/3 cups cold water in saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 12 minutes.
4. Keep the lid on and DO NOT STIR.
5. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes while you prepare the sushi rice seasoning.
6. Add rice to a bowl and pour the sushi rice seasoning over it, stir gently.
7. Allow to cool to at least room temp before using the rice to make sushi.

Sushi Rice Seasoning- Heat in a microwave dish for 30 seconds to dissolve the sugar and salt.

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablepoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Sushi Dip- For eating and moistening the wrappers while rolling.

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 of soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Sushi Assembly- For a group of 10 people I used:

• 8 x 8 sheets of wax paper for each child to use as a work station
• small dipping bowls
• 2 packages of nori (equal to 30 sheets measuring, 1 x 3 inches each)
• 2 cups of sticky rice- cooked, seasoned, and cooled
• cucumber, red pepper, avocado, imitation crab, carrot - all thinly sliced or slivered