¿¿¿ Como se dice Fiesta de Sushi ???

Certainly there are countries we could have chosen to move to that would have inspired a much greater degree of culture shock (Somalia comes immediately to mind). Sure, the language is different (Mexican Spanish ain't no Castellano), but Spain is an established, stable and developed country (or at least as much so as the U.S., never mind its recent AA downgrade) and countries that fall within this category tend to look more and more alike as the global economy matures. For example, when traveling, I now struggle to find locally-made souvenirs meant to invoke a little of the vacation-destination flavor; even if the tchotchke may look “ethnic”, I have learned to check for the now all-too-ubiquitous “made in China” stamp.

However, food items still seem to have difficulty crossing borders (I know from experience that the at-first-blush logistically simple act of carrying a cured pig leg into the U.S. in one's hand luggage is quite impossible) and of all the things S. and I might pine for, certain gastronomic delicacies top the list. Through both importation and immigration restrictions, Madrid just does not have the gastronomic offerings and diversity of most U.S. cities (hell, even of Florence, Texas, with 1 blinking stoplight and a population of 1,148).

I don't mean to belittle Spanish fare- this is, after all, the land of 24-month-cured, black-hoofed, acorn-fed and mountain-grazed jamón; Ferran Adriá, the gastronomic deconstructivist chef genuis whom Anthony Bordain refers to as “the most important and controversial chef on the planet”; and gulas, tiny, translucent, linguine-thin baby eels that swim from the Sargasso Sea, north of Spain, for just a few precious weeks a year, considered a delicacy and valued at more than $750/pound.

I relish the simple deliciousness of a plate of Spanish olives, a crusty bread dunked in olive oil, accompanied by a manchego cheese and a razor-thin sliced jamón, not to say anything about the delight of living in a country where you can buy a complex Spanish red wine, aged in oak and bottled over 3 years ago, for a mere $3 a bottle in the grocery store.

But, as they say, variety is the proverbial spice of life, and my spice shelf has been a bit bare lately- proverbially and literally. Our request list for the first care package from the States included Salt Lick BBQ sauce (Lauren's Spicy, Habanero and the Original), crushed red pepper and vanilla extract. While it is understandable that the first of the three would not be available here, crushed red pepper was a bit surprising (aren't pizzas made to go with crushed red pepper?!?) and, while vanilla can be sporadically found on store shelves, it literally costs more than saffron.

Having come from Houston, S. and I have enjoyed the diversity that the Houston restaurant scene has to offer- from buttery bone marrow served on English toast (Feast), to crispy fried Gulf oysters on fried wantons (Max's Wine Dive), to a complex campechana topped with fresh jalapeños (Goode Company Seafood) to the most amazing Flamin' Hot Cheeto Roll (Crave Sushi). I have been doing my best to recreate these tastes of my Texas in the kitchen, but sushi, at least for me, was something that I always kind of assumed was better left to the experts. However, with limited sushi options available on the Madrid restaurant scene, all of which would have exhausted our daily budget at least 3 times over and none of which would have satisfied our ever-growing craving for the Flamin' Hot Cheeto Roll, I forced myself over this mental hurdle (it's really only the blowfish that can kill you, right?) and began planning a sushi party.

I know that there are sushi snobs out there that react to the concept of fusion sushi as if someone had the audacity to break wind at the dinner table, but I am not one of them. Deep fried rolls? Love it! Ingredients that could have come from a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge? Sign me up! Texas meets Spain meets sushi? Well, that would be my sushi fusion brainchild!

I began by brainstorming my favorite flavors I associate with Texas (the aforementioned BBQ sauces, jalapeños, cilantro, guacamole, Tabasco), my new country of residence (paella, fake gulas, fresh figs, jamón, chorizo) and the more typical sushi rolls (tempura shrimp, roe, cream cheese, salmon, tuna, sesame seeds). Based on these varied flavor profiles, I paired ingredients for some authentic fusion sushi. Long story short, after a busy day including multiple trips to grocery markets, about 5 hours of assembling in the kitchen and a fun foray into sake cocktail making, our dinner party was a success by all metrics- no one got sick, the sushi was demolished and we finally got our fill of the Cheeto Roll. I am including below a list of lessons worth passing on.

1. Sushi is relatively easy and inexpensive- and super fun- to make. It's like pizza- once you know how easy and cheap it is to make a delicious pizza, you will wonder why you ever paid a premium for someone else to make you a mediocre pizza.
2. There really is no such thing as sushi grade or sashimi grade- at least as denoted by the FDA. It all comes down to whether the little parasitic f*ckers that can make you sick (and die) have been killed off by appropriate treatment and handling, typically by flash freezing. I went to a trusted store here in Madrid (read: the preferred grocery store of “millos”- as my future Cuban steptmother-in-law would say, referring to the Richie Riches of the world) and asked them whether I could serve the fish without cooking it, to which they answered in the affirmative. While this approach was good enough for me, feel free to research on the internet local providers or the treatment process in order to get comfortable.
3. Don't overbuy your fillings- you will be surprised how far a little of 1 ingredient goes. For example, I bought 2 salmon steak for use in enough rolls to fill up 10 people (we calculated 12 rolls, and that seemed to be the perfect amount), and we only ended up using 1 salmon steak. This is because it doesn't take much to make a roll, and also because we were also making rolls with tempura shrimp, tuna, chorizo, etc.
4. Because it doesn't take much, I would splurge on real crab (as opposed to “k”rab). I know S. would disagree, but I found myself trying to disguise the texture of the krab with fillers like tabasco mayo.
5. Come up with just a few rolls you want to make and stick to those rolls, making cards that indicate the ingredients.
6. Don't be afraid make unconventional rolls! The most popular rolls we served were the Cheeto Roll, a roll with goat cheese and chorizo, rolled in crushed roasted pumpkin seeds and topped with a fig reduction and a roll made with paella rice and topped with fake baby eels.
7. Roll the rolls in something. After applying the rice to the seaweed paper (see any youtube video for instruction), flip the paper, rice side down, on a plastic or aluminum foil covered rolling mat. After filling and rolling the sushi roll, lay down something to roll the outside of the roll in- crushed red pepper, roasted and crushed pumpkin seeds, pulverized Cheetos and black and white sesame seeds worked well for us.
8. Make sure to use sushi rice (shorter grain so it gets stickier) but feel free to play with seasoning it! For our Spanish-influenced rolls, we used sushi rice boiled in chicken consomme and flavored with saffron (same treatment for making a paella). It worked out wonderfully.

Our Favorite Sushi Roll Recipes:

Crave Flamin' Cheetos Sushi Roll: http://www.houstontexasfood.com/?tag=cheetos

Viva España Roll: paella rice (see tip #8 above), tempura fried shrimp, chorizo and cream cheese rolled in teeny baby shrimp

Texas Glutton Roll: deep-fried and cormeal-breaded oysters, guacamole, jalapeño, and cream cheese, rolled in chopped cilantro and topped with Salt Lick BBQ sauce

The Ryan Roll: goat cheese, salmon and cucumber, rolled in crushed and roasted pumpkin seeds topped with a fig reduction

The Cuchiraptor Roll: tuna, cilantro, cream cheese and jalapeño, rolled in white and black sesame seeds and topped with a mango reduction