Student Lunchbox: the ultimate sushi

Up until a few weeks ago, my weekends mostly consisted of being a chef at the Leeds tapas restaurant El Gato Negro. The money was good, and after up to 27 hours in the restaurant, I certainly felt I’d earnt those Bakery 164s (or Piccard’s) during the week. However, as I’m no longer working during term time (the rumours are true, being a chef is stressful and time consuming), I’ve started making and documenting some of my lunches, with the intention of bringing some inspiration to your own Tupperware. So, I wouldn’t take any of these are exact recipes, because I am aware that most people’s idea of “fun” isn’t washing up a pestle and mortar twice in an evening so you can make hummus and a black olive tapenade for your lunch the next day, but if you finish reading this somewhat inspired and with a few ideas, I’d feel I’ve done my job well.

Sushi for a student lunch?

You don’t need any special kit to make this, just a pan, a knife and a board. And there’s nothing like the looks of jealousy (or confusion, or annoyance at the smell of pickled radish) one receives when pulling this out of your lunchbox. Traditional sushi making is all about perfection, but we’re in a hurry here, so don’t worry about that. I bought my sushi rice from Hyde Park’s Continental Supermarket.

For the rice:

1. Fill a normal large tea mug (with straight sides, it’s easier to eyeball) with sushi rice.
   Pour into a pan that has a lid you haven’t lost yet (you can use tin foil if not).
2. Washing rice is essential, especially sushi rice, so fill up your pan halfway with cold
   water, swirl around with your hand, pour out the water, being careful not to spill out the
   rice, using your other hand to keep it in the pan. Repeat 3-4 times until the water you
   pour away is nearly clear.
3. Get rid of as much water from the pan as you can, then add one and one third mug’s
   worth of water to the pan. For emphasis, the ratio by volume you’re looking for is one
   mug of rice to one and one third mugs of water.
4. Place the lid on your pan and set on a high heat until it comes to the boil, reduce the heat
   to low (it will bubble over, I turn my hob down to 1/6) and set a timer for 12 minutes. If
   your lid is ill-fitting you can tin foil the top of your pan, or I normally loosely cover with
   a tea towel, but be very careful they don’t touch the hob for obvious reasons.
5. When it’s done, leave it to sit for 10 minutes, then correct seasoning with 2 tbsp rice
   wine vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar and salt to taste.

Note: this is enough rice for four, but even if just cooking for myself I always make this
amount, it lasts for 2-3 days in the fridge and is very useful for a quick dinner with some tasty
sides. And yes, you can microwave cooked rice, just ensure it’s piping hot and only reheat once.

For a quick pickle that lasts a while in the fridge:

Finely slice some veg of choice, place in a bowl, compact down and cover with any
vinegar. I used a bag of radishes and about half a chilli, but I’ve done Romano peppers,
deseeded cucumber, carrot: any veg you like that has a bit of crunch will work well. If
you don’t have the knife skills to finely slice veg like this, you can use the slicing side
of a box grater, or if want to get into cooking a bit more, I’d recommend buying a mini
mandolin on Amazon (not an endorsement) for around £12.

Assembly

The idea of making sushi is quite intimidating, but just have some fun with it. One thing
to note is that your hands will get a bit sticky when touching the rice, so do it in one do.
Get your rice in a generous sausage shape on your sushi, along with any fillings you
desire. I used some leftover chicken, but tinned tuna would work well (just make sure
you drain off as much water as you can). To turn your bland protein into something to
cheer you up in the library, make a simple dressing/marinade of soy sauce, crispy chilli
oil and a squeeze of lime juice to make these rolls pack a punch.