Lessons Learned from the Maki Experiment

After watching (for the nth time) my favorite series 'Kekkon Dekinai Otoko', I suddenly had the urge to eat some assorted maki. Having watched a lot of Japanese anime and drama as a basis on how to make a simple veggie Maki, I went to the grocery to get some cucumber, iceberg lettuce, nori strips, and mayo (the ordinary grocery kind...the Japanese mayo was a bit expensive).



On the way back, realizing I have no rice with me, I just bought the 'carinderia' rice, thinking it won't make a difference. I prepared the veggies, spread the rice...prepared everything ala 'Urban Peasant'. Long story short, the experiment was a failure. It should have been evident to me that some chef study these things from a cook book...and not from the comfort of your living room watching your fave Maki Horikita or Abe Hiroshi series.

Here are a few things I learned from this failed maki experiment;

1.) Short grained sticky rice is more preferred that the usual long grained asian variety. The short grained rice are more likely to retain its shape and stay together when the juices of the veggies seep into the mix. Long grained rice also tends to break down or crumble while rolling your maki.

2.) Ordinary boiled rice (or the common Filipino 'kanin') does not have the taste and texture that compliments the veggies. Ordinary 'kanin' is too rough. Moreso, it is made of long grained rice (to see why, refer to lesson 1). I also read from About.com that vinegar is also added to the rice meant in making sushi or maki.

3.) Don't wrap the maki too thick. I'm not sure if its beause of the the type of nori that I used, but wrapping the maki more than 3 times will make it harder for you to bite down on your maki or even chew it. Also, the more nori you use, the more it overpowers the taste of the veggies.

4.) NEVER PUT PEPPERONI IN YOUR MAKI. It tastes awful... trust me.