FoodBuzz 24-24-24: Makan-makan Sushi (Sushi Party with a Twist!)
>> Sunday, March 28, 2010
Makan is a Malay word which means "to eat". Makan-makan is a typical Malaysian gathering whereby friends and families commune together to eat, drink and be merry. The question "Come, let's makan-makan?!" means time to relax and unwind - an open invitation to party! Everyone looks forward to makan-makan to enjoy some good food and good times in good company! My husband and I wanted to re-create this experience for our American friends by throwing a exciting Sushi extravaganza at our home. You see, D moon-lighted as a sushi chef many years ago and has been eager to whip out his sushi knife again. Not only did we miss making the traditional sushi but we couldn't wait to serve some of our special creations - a twist to the Japanese sushi and an ode to popular Malaysian dishes. This is the first time I've ever submitted a proposal for 24-24-24 and we were simply delighted when FoodBuzz accepted our Makan-makan Sushi idea!
Welcome to DJ's House of Sushi. Let's makan-makan everyone!
While the menu for our Sushi soiree was conceived long ago, we had some doubts if we could pull it off since D hasn't made sushi in a while and quite frankly, you don't want to mess up on sushi - the consistency of the rice is important, the ratio of rice vinegar to the rice precise, how the rice holds together in your palm or how tightly you make the rolls affects every bite and even the thickness and angle by which you cut the fish do make a crucial difference to your Nigiri experience. But I'm happy to report that making sushi is like riding bicycle - once you've learnt it, it only takes but for a while before everything comes back to you again. Despite not having any practice runs, D got right into his sushi groove with the first sushi item on our menu: Gurney Tekkamaki (hand-roll). This hand-roll was inspired by our favorite Malaysian h'or d'oeuvre, the Pie Tee. Fresh, crisp cuts of jicama, cucumber, carrots and lightly scalded bean sprouts wrapped in soy paper with a generous dollop of home-made peanut (satay) sauce. Absolutely refreshing!
There's a ton of prep work involved in sushi-making; it's so important to have your mise en place - everything in place before you start.
FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24: Makan-makan Sushi Party from Jencrafted on Vimeo.
If you've enjoyed this post, do buzz and vote for me here. Thank You!!
Welcome to DJ's House of Sushi. Let's makan-makan everyone!
While the menu for our Sushi soiree was conceived long ago, we had some doubts if we could pull it off since D hasn't made sushi in a while and quite frankly, you don't want to mess up on sushi - the consistency of the rice is important, the ratio of rice vinegar to the rice precise, how the rice holds together in your palm or how tightly you make the rolls affects every bite and even the thickness and angle by which you cut the fish do make a crucial difference to your Nigiri experience. But I'm happy to report that making sushi is like riding bicycle - once you've learnt it, it only takes but for a while before everything comes back to you again. Despite not having any practice runs, D got right into his sushi groove with the first sushi item on our menu: Gurney Tekkamaki (hand-roll). This hand-roll was inspired by our favorite Malaysian h'or d'oeuvre, the Pie Tee. Fresh, crisp cuts of jicama, cucumber, carrots and lightly scalded bean sprouts wrapped in soy paper with a generous dollop of home-made peanut (satay) sauce. Absolutely refreshing!
There's a ton of prep work involved in sushi-making; it's so important to have your mise en place - everything in place before you start.
How to cut cucumber strips - one of the basic skills that D had to master before he was allowed to make sushi at the restaurant. I shudder each time I see the sushi knife getting so close to his palm. Kids, don't try this at home!
Photo courtesy of Dwight.H
California Maki; this is always a sure crowd-pleaser.
One of my favorite rolls is the Rainbow maki (roll). It is an inside-out roll - the rice is outside the Nori (seaweed) with colorful pieces of thinly-sliced fish enveloping the entire roll. D made the Rainbow maki with the following selection: sake (salmon), hirame (white fish; halibut) and maguro (tuna). Colorful, isn't it? These rolls were consumed in a jiffy and D-san made extra due to popular demand!
Nigiri blitz:
Tuna (left) and Yellowtail nigiris
Salmon (left) and Halibut nigiris
Tobiko nigiri
Tuna (left) and Yellowtail nigiris
Unagi nigiri(topped with tobiko-special request from our guest friend Kevin)
Note from the Chef on tuna - make sure you ask for sushi-grade tuna (cut that's closer to belly) as there're less tendons and they are more buttery.
We now come to my most anticipated part of the meal: Chef's Specials! Our take on Sushi infused with a touch of Malaysian flair.
Delima maki is an inside-out, flavor-packed sushi roll of our favorite Malaysian dish - sambal shrimps. It's sweet. It's salty. It's spicy. It's crunchy (not only from the cucumbers but from the fleshy stir-fried shrimps as well!). Remember what I wrote on the versatility of sambal?
Well, here's the sushi version - instead of heaven on a plate, we now have heaven in a sushi bite! Our friends loved the melangé of flavors. It's not your traditional sushi, but it certainly works!
Here's the recipe for the star ingredient of Delima maki. The how-to
How to make Delima Maki from Jencrafted on Vimeo.
Another star of the evening was the special Rendang Maki. Rendang is a slow, really slow-cooked dish of meat (usually beef or chicken) in rich, coconut sauce and spices. Once it's done, you're presented with a meat that is fork-tender, scrumptiously fragrant and deliciously palatable, having absorbed all the wonderful spices that it's been soaking in. The rendang is typically served with compressed rice cubes during festive seasons in Malaysia. Our special Rendang roll has beef rendang, egg (tamago form) and cucumber strips. We chose to make a roll-in-roll for this one: a round roll, re-arranged and embedded in a square roll - now, square roll, that's an oxymoron, but you know what I mean, don't you? Square Rendang Maki.
Our guests were pretty full by this time, but we had one more Chef's special coming up: the Meranti Maki - barbequed pork with sauteed cabbage roll topped with a drizzle of plum sauce. Sweet-salty and bbq. What's not to love?!
We cycled through our menu once and was prepared to make more sushi but by then, our guests have been so well-fed that there simply wasn't room for anymore sushi, well, except for one last one: Crispy Salmon skin tekkamaki. The salmon skin is broiled in the mini oven until it's crisp, then served with cucumber strips and BBQ sauce in a hand-roll
Delima maki is an inside-out, flavor-packed sushi roll of our favorite Malaysian dish - sambal shrimps. It's sweet. It's salty. It's spicy. It's crunchy (not only from the cucumbers but from the fleshy stir-fried shrimps as well!). Remember what I wrote on the versatility of sambal?
Well, here's the sushi version - instead of heaven on a plate, we now have heaven in a sushi bite! Our friends loved the melangé of flavors. It's not your traditional sushi, but it certainly works!
How to make Delima Maki from Jencrafted on Vimeo.
Another star of the evening was the special Rendang Maki. Rendang is a slow, really slow-cooked dish of meat (usually beef or chicken) in rich, coconut sauce and spices. Once it's done, you're presented with a meat that is fork-tender, scrumptiously fragrant and deliciously palatable, having absorbed all the wonderful spices that it's been soaking in. The rendang is typically served with compressed rice cubes during festive seasons in Malaysia. Our special Rendang roll has beef rendang, egg (tamago form) and cucumber strips. We chose to make a roll-in-roll for this one: a round roll, re-arranged and embedded in a square roll - now, square roll, that's an oxymoron, but you know what I mean, don't you? Square Rendang Maki.
Our guests were pretty full by this time, but we had one more Chef's special coming up: the Meranti Maki - barbequed pork with sauteed cabbage roll topped with a drizzle of plum sauce. Sweet-salty and bbq. What's not to love?!
We cycled through our menu once and was prepared to make more sushi but by then, our guests have been so well-fed that there simply wasn't room for anymore sushi, well, except for one last one: Crispy Salmon skin tekkamaki. The salmon skin is broiled in the mini oven until it's crisp, then served with cucumber strips and BBQ sauce in a hand-roll
Kevin enjoying his salmon skin tekkamaki!
After 3 hours of sushi galore, we needed to allow all that food to digest and make room for desserts. All eight out us adjourned to the living room for a fun game of CatchPhrase. We decided against doing karaoke this time. Just couldn't bear another killing-me-softly episode (if you're brave and want to take the risk, click here).
All in all, it was a blast! Our friends enjoyed the food and we all had so much fun spending the evening together. One of the best makan-makan session I've ever had. Thanks to FoodBuzz for allowing us to share this memorable experience with you.
Here's a short video clip with the highlights of our Makan-makan Sushi party. Enjoy but do come back for more on our Sushi feast next week!
FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24: Makan-makan Sushi Party from Jencrafted on Vimeo.
If you've enjoyed this post, do buzz and vote for me here. Thank You!!
11 comments:
that's so impressive! lucky you having a sushi chef at your beck and call. lol.
Derek, you are superb! I'm really amazed at your sushi skills, very professional too. Am really proud of you. Hope to try every different sushi one day. Love all the videos done including the music that goes well with them. Great work!
Rendang Roll? Such creativity! Everything sounds and looks great. :)
It's good sushi comes in small bites because it would be difficult to choose. They all look good. Looks like a fun dinner party!
Enak sekali! Great idea for a party and a post. Terrific looking food. Delima maki looks particularly delicious.
we've had a few sushi parties before at our house where we transformed our island into a sushi bar! we had to prep everything in advance (like you) and then the fun begins when we get to roll the sushi! it's so much fun... that's great that you got to share this with your friends!
wow... both of you should open a makan-makan place!! some very lucky friends you have there (am jealous!!)
bravo to husband+wife team. am so proud of you too!!
GOOD JOB!!!! My step mom is Japanese and made us sushi a couple weeks ago. She just got back from Japan and brought me some stuff to make my own sushi. I can't wait. And all of your pics are inspiring me to do a sushi party myself, very soon. Seriously, great job!
amazing!! Can I come over next time!! PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Wow! Your menu is very impressive, and your sushi skills are even more so!
Having made sushi on several occasions, I can vouch that your mis en place looks perfect. Bookmarking this one for future reference on your techniques and variety of offerings.
Bon appetite
CCR
=:~)
Very impressive.....looks like a fun night!
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