Sushi!

I love sushi; I think I’ve mentioned that before. Grand Rapids had one fairly decent place to go for sushi–Shogun. The Alpine Teriyaki & Sushi wasn’t bad, it was just easy to get to for us when we lived there, hence the frequecy of visiting (two days in a row sometimes).

Here in the alternate reality of Ann Arbor, there’s only one place to go (well, so far); Godaiko. They have really good rolls (tight and not too big) and the sashimi is usually pretty good, as long as you stay away from the whitefish. (That’s not a dig at Godaiko, it’s just a mid-range sushi restaurant issue all around.) Miki is ok, but it’s overpriced for the quality you get and, well, it’s downtown so you have to deal with that if you want to go on a weekend. Saica, on Plymouth, had potential, but we just keep going back to Godaiko.

Of course, that’s all well and fine. But now I have a new bend on the whole sushi-love: making it myself! J– got me a bunch of stuff for Christmas and we’ve made it for ourselves twice now. I’m finally getting the hang of rolling, although my sushi rice skills leave a little to be desired. But, the best part is we can make so much more of the kinds we like, such as Tempura Shrimp Rolls.

Oh, Tempura Shrimp Rolls, how we love you! Even with the big PITA that you are to deep fry and remove from skewers, your flavor and texture makes up for it in the first bite. And yes, to make you we even move towards the redneck sushi by mixing spicy chili sauce with mayonnaise, spreading the sauce over the rice, adding scallions and then rolling with the tempura shrimp, but your so good that way, we can’t help ourselves.

So, with a little up front investment (a good knife, a bamboo rolling mat, and a rice cooker), you really can do well making this stuff. For about the price of going out once, we made enough sushi for 2 meals, if not more. Plus, it’s one more thing you get to tell people about that they likely haven’t done.