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By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, February 16, 2000

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
D.K. Kodama demonstrates the assembly of his Tempura
Shrimp Handroll, left. For the prettiest presentation,
shape it in a cone, below.

---

Give shrimp
tempura sushi a roll

The nice thing about sushi -- besides taste, tradition and all that -- is portability.

Provided you can walk and chew at the same time, a handroll in the hand is an easy snack. Make it three and you have an easy meal.

This makes the Tempura Shrimp Handroll a popular and practical item when D.K. Kodama takes his Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar on the road to events such as the Sony Open. "It's just perfect for walking around and eating," Kodama says.

Kodama's food station at the Sony Open is where Jerald Satake tried the specialty -- "a delicious dish," he proclaims.

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin

Sansei is among Maui's most popular restaurants, and in a couple of months Kodama will stake out his place on Oahu with a new eatery in Restaurant Row. The handroll comes with him.

The combination of fried shrimp and sushi rice is a sushi bar standard. Kodama's version includes a mayonnaise flavored with fish eggs and a glaze typically served over broiled eel. The combination yields a creamy and sweet mark of distinction.

His tip for assembling the handroll: If you're going for looks, roll into a cone shape, which puts all the ingredients on display. But if you're going for ease of eating, roll into an even log, so you get good distribution of rice and flavors in each bite.

Also included here is Sansei's house specialty, an inside-out roll made with spicy snow crab.

TEMPURA SHRIMP HANDROLL

Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar

2 cups cooked rice
1/6 cup Sushi Su (recipe follows)
2 sheets nori, cut in half
1/2 cup radish sprouts
4 3-inch sticks cucumber
4 3-inch pieces green onion
1 pinch white sesame seeds

Shrimp:

4 shrimp, 21-25 size, peeled and flattened
1/2 cup flour
1 cup prepared (store-bought) tempura batter
1 quart oil for frying

Masago mayonnaise

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2-1/2 teaspoons masago (smelt roe)
Pinch garlic, chopped

Unagi glaze

1 cup each sugar, shoyu, water, mirin and sake
1 tablespoon dashi

Coat shrimp in flour and tempura batter and fry until golden brown.

To make mayonnaise: Combine all ingredients and set aside.

To make glaze: Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and reduce to 2 cups.

Pour Sushi Su over hot rice and mix with a wooden spoon until cool. Air dry.

To assemble: Flatten rice on a half-sheet of nori; spread masago mayonnaise on rice. At one end of the nori, place radish sprouts, top with cucumber stick, green onion and one shrimp. Brush shrimp with unagi glaze, sprinkle with white sesame seeds. Roll tightly into a cylinder or a cone shape, beginning at the end with the shrimp. Serve with remaining glaze as a dip. Makes 4 rolls.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, using 2 tablespoons glaze per roll: 470 calories, 16 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium.*

SUSHI SU

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 piece kombu

Bring vinegar to a boil; add remaining ingredients and make sure all ingredients infuse. Add to hot rice (1/3 cup to 4 cups of rice). Leftover Sushi Su may be saved in the refrigerator for several months.

SANSEI SPECIAL ROLL

Slightly rounded 1/3 cup rice
1 teaspoon Sushi Su (above)
1/2 sheet nori
Dash furikake
1 stick cucumber
1 tablespoon Maui onion, thinly sliced
1 slice avocado
1/2 cup daikon sprouts
2 tablespoons sweet Thai chile sauce

Spicy crab

Rounded 1/3 cup snow crab
1 tablespoon masago (smelt roe)
3/4 to 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Dash sambal (Asian chile sauce)

Pour Sushi Su over hot rice; mix with wooden spoon until cool. Air dry.

Meanwhile, combine crab ingredients and set aside.

Spread sushi rice evenly over nori, about 2 grains high. Sprinkle furikake over rice and turn sheet over. Arrange crab, cucumber, onion, avocado and sprouts on lower one-third of nori.

Roll nori, enclosing the ingredients and sealing the edge. Shape into a triangular roll. Slice in 6 pieces. Serve on a plate with sweet Thai chile sauce.

Approximate nutritional analysis per piece, using all crab mixture: 80 calories, 3.5 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium.*

Food Events: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.