Red Rice Sushi

When Mr NQN and I were recently in Thailand, we played a game in which we had to solve a mystery and find our way out of a puzzle room in under 60 minutes. I have always thought of myself as relatively well rounded in terms of general knowledge - having Chinese parents will do that to you as your childhood is made up of quiz after quiz. But then we came to a mystery clue that had us both stumped. They asked us to read semaphore flags.

With the clock ticking, I turned to Mr NQN and said "OMG what on earth have semaphore flags have to do with this? And why do we need it? We don't live on a ship! I'm not an air traffic controller!" I started to panic and not make any sense. Unfortunately Mr NQN wasn't any the wiser and both of us looked wide eyed at the legend explaining semaphore signs. All of the flags looked the same and I stared at them futilely.

In my panic I started babbling as I'm hopeless in times of stress. "What IS this? That flag looks the same as that flag! Why can't they test us on something that we know. I know how to read Miranda rights. Do you? You have the right to remain silent when questioned, anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law..." and somewhere in between then I segued into the beginning of Law and Order "In the criminal justice system..." On I went like a record on a loopy loop. Mr NQN shushed me insistently and I stood there panicking in silence while silently wording out the rest of the miranda speech. And yes I know, we don't even live in America for goodness sakes!

So whilst I was absolutely no help with semaphore flags I can offer a little help with other life skills. Like making sushi for dinner. The friendly folk at SunRice asked me to develop a recipe for them using their new Thai red rice which is part of their new gourmet range. Sushi is my favourite shopping snack and I tend to go for brown or red rice sushi because it is lower in GI and I like wholegrain rice. Red rice is a naturally red coloured rice harvested in Thailand. It has a nutty flavour and is high in nutrients because the rice germ and bran layer is left on the grain and only the outer husk is removed. It's also cholesterol and gluten free.

It does take longer to cook than white rice but less time than brown rice. And while it isn't sticky like koshihikari or sushi rice, I must admit that I really like the extra nutty flavour and texture from the red rice. And I've given a recipe for three types of easy sushi: one vegetarian version and two of our favourite types of sushi rolls with salmon and avocado and prawn and seaweed salad. You can start preparing the fillings while the rice is boiling and if none of these fillings appeal, you can fill this with your favourite sushi filling be it chicken, tuna or tofu. The egg omelette is a quick version of the slightly sweet layered egg omelette that you can make but requires a special pan to create the layers. The recipe below makes about 12-14 half rolls so feel free to halve the amount.

So tell me Dear Reader, what's your favourite kind of rice? And are you good with reading semaphore? And can you recite the miranda rights speech? ;)

Red Rice Sushi

• 3 cups red rice
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt

Step 1: rinse rice two to three times, add salt and water and cook according to directions on the packet on a stovetop or in a rice cooker. Cool until warm but not cold.

Sushi fillings

Quick Egg Omelette Sushi

Makes 2 large sushi rolls, 4 cut in half

• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons oil for frying
• 2 sheets nori seaweed
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

Step 1: Lay out the cooked and cooled rice on the bottom half of the nori sheet.

Step 2: Beat the eggs with the soy sauce and sugar. Heat a frypan on low to medium heat and add the oil and spread so that it covers the whole pan. Fry the thin omelette and slice in half horizontally and roll up one half in the sushi. You will make one omelette which makes enough for two large sushi rolls (four rolls if you cut it in half). Slice in half horizontally and roll one end in the sesame seeds.

Prawn, Cucumber and Seaweed Sushi

Makes 2 large sushi rolls, 4 cut in half

• 6-8 large king prawns, cooked and peeled
• 1/2 Lebanese cucumber, halved horizontally and then sliced into thirds vertically
• 1/4 cup seaweed salad
• 2 sheets nori seaweed
• 1 tablepoon shichimi tōgarashi powder (chilli powder)

Step 1: Lay out the cooked and cooled rice on the bottom half of the nori sheet. Lay the prawns, cucumber batons and seaweed salad on top and roll up. Slice in half horizontally and roll one end in shichimi tōgarashi.

Salmon and Avocado Sushi

Makes 2 large sushi rolls, 4 cut in half

• 100g/3.5ozs sashimi grade salmon
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 long stems of spring onion
• 2 sheets nori seaweed
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

Step 1: Lay out the cooked and cooled rice on the bottom half of the nori sheet. Lay the salmon, avocado slices and spring onion and roll up. Slice in half horizontally and dip the end in sesame seeds.