Carrot Maki (Sushi)

Ingredients:

• 125g sushi rice
• 3 carrots
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, if you can get it then get Japanese soy sauce as it's less salty, but light soy sauce works too
• 2 or 3 sheets sushi nori

You'll also need a sushi rolling mat.

Method:

1. Cook the sushi rice according to the instructions on the packet. This will usually involve rinsing it a couple of times and then cooking it slowly in a sauce pan with a lid and a measured amount of water.
2. Wash and peel the carrots. Cut off the top and bottom of each carrot.
3. Carefully slice each carrot in half lengthways.
4. To get strips of carrot which are suitably thin then it's necessary to cut the halves of carrots in half again, but going in the same direction as the other cut. This will give you two thin strips of carrot, rather than 2 quarters. It can be tricky to do, and be careful not to slip and cut yourself with the knife.
5. Having got the 4 thin lengthways slices from the carrots, cut them into thin strips, no more than a couple of cm long.
6. Put the strips into a sauce pan, add the water and soy sauce and place a lid on the pan.
7. Bring to a simmer on a low heat and cook for 10 minutes, keeping the lid on the pan.
8. The carrot should now be softer, but not completely cooked, so they still have some bite.
9. Leave to cool.
10. To make the rolls, place a sheet of sushi nori on the rolling mat and cover 2/3rds of the nori with a thin layer of the sushi rice. Leave a gap of about half an inch at the bottom and about an inch at the top.
11. Place the strips of part-cooked carrot down the centre of the sushi rice. Be careful not to over fill it, otherwise it'll be hard to roll. However it's difficult to know how much to fill it without trying. Just don't be worried about failing to get a neat roll, it'll still taste as nice and after making it a couple more times you'll perfect it.
12. Before starting to roll up the sushi, brush cold water on the top edge of the nori so that it sticks to itself more easily when you roll it up.
13. Carefully roll up the sushi, starting at the bottom edge.
14. Once the mat is rolled up, press firmly all long it to help seal it all together.
15. Unroll and then cut into bit size pieces using a sharp knife. It generally helps if the knife is a bit damp as this prevents it sticking to the filling or the nori.
16. Serve with wasabi, if you like it, and pickled ginger, to cleanse your palette between pieces of sushi.

Serves 1, but you probably want to make some other types of sushi to go with it.