Ingredients
- Yellowtail, thinly sliced and kept on ice
- Nori, toasted
- jalapeno, thinly sliced in rounds
- garlic, crushed
- cilantro, crushed
- cucumber, peeled and julienned in 3" pieces
- Japanese mayo
- pickled ginger for serving
Preparation
Step 1
Mix garlic and cilantro together and set aside.
Place a bamboo mat wrapped in plastic wrap with slots crosswise on a work surface. Place nori dull side up lengthwise on top of mat with perforations running from vertically.
Dampen hands in hand vinegar, scoop up a baseball size scoop of rice and place it on the nori. Redampen fingertips in the hand vinegar and press the rice evenly to the edge of 3 sides of the nori, leaving a 1/2" border uncovered on the edge farthest from you, using additional rice if needed.
Use your fingertip to spread a scant lengthwise stripe of garlic/cilantro mixture and squeeze a bit of mayo horizontally across the rice.
Place cucumber and yellowtail on top of the garlic/cilantro mixture.
Keeping the fillings in place with your fingers pick up the edge of the mat nearest you with your thumbs and slowly life the rice-covered nori around the fillings, pressing gently against the mat to make a nori roll filled with rice with the fillings in the center. Let the roll stand in the mat briefly so that the rice can set. Turn the mat around so that the open end of the roll is nearest you, then fold down the mat and roll the extra margin of seaweed so that it overlaps the roll to form a tube of rice-filled nori.
To serve rinse a sharp knife in hand vinegar and wipe with a moistened cloth. Cut each roll in half, then cut each half into 3 equal pieces. Arrange the slices cut side up on a platter and top each piece with a slice of jalapeno.
Serve with small bowls of pickled ginger and ponzu sauce.