THE KANSAS ROLL WITH CATFISH TEMPURA

Jack Hennessy

By: Jack Hennessy

Photos by: Jack Hennessy

Making your own sushi with freshwater species may sound intimidating but it’s not as difficult as you might think. It’s also cheaper than a night out tossing back roll after roll of sushi, even if you include the cost of your annual license.

Yes, sushi chefs are next-level talent and their stuff may consistently turn out more perfect than yours, but trust me: you should give this one a try. In the end, if you follow these steps, you’ll end up with tasty, sticky rice, perfectly fried tempura, and some vegetables—all stuffed into nori seaweed sheets. Presentation and firmness of your sushi rolls may vary, but you’ll get better with practice. Consider involving a spouse or the kids—making sushi should be fun that’s shared.

The necessary ingredients are easily found at most large grocers. I found everything I needed at our local Walmart Supercenter. They also had a bamboo mat for $4. Yes, there are sushi bazookas on the market that allegedly make this all easier, but honestly, after watching a few videos on the sushi bazooka, it looked more complicated than using a sushi bamboo mat.

A note on raw sushi, which is what a lot of people think of when they think of sushi: Yes, you can make raw sushi with freshwater species, but you need to deep-freeze the fish for a minimum of 7 days to kill any potential parasites. Here, we are making catfish tempura, which is basically catfish fried using panko breadcrumbs. Yes, you can use any freshwater (or even saltwater) species here. This sushi roll is not complex and is basically a spin on the classic, basic California Roll.

Lastly, if you want to take sushi-making in baby steps, consider just making the tempura and drizzle and serving over the sushi rice. Or, try making a hand roll, which still uses all ingredients but rolls them up in a handheld cone versus a roll.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 pound catfish, fillets cut lengthwise into strips

Marinade:

1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pickle juice

Dip:

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Frank’s RedHot

Second Dredge:

2 cups panko bread crumbs
Peanut Oil
Cooking Spray
2 cups Sushi Rice
2 cups cold water
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of Kosher salt

One Cucumber, seeded and cut into strips
Two Avocados, cut into strips
Minimum of 10 sushi nori seaweed sheeps

Drizzle:

1 cup mayonnaise
2 large cloves of fresh garlic
1/4 cup of sushi ginger
2 tablespoons Sambal chili paste
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Optional roll Garnishes:

Black and white sesame seeds
Sliced scallions

Cooking Instructions:

Cut the catfish fillets lengthwise (against the grain) into, ideally, 1/4-inch-thick and 8-inch-long strips (or however long your nori sheet is). Goal here is to have uniform width with strips so you don’t have any gaps in sushi roll after rolling. Also, yes, you can stack strips one after another to fill length of nori sheet, but you do run slight risk of an empty pocket somewhere along the roll after cutting.

Marinate catfish strips overnight in marinade mix.

When ready to make sushi, set up three stations to fry catfish tempura: Dredge 1, dip, then dredge 2 prior to frying. Heat peanut oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make the sushi rice, using a sieve, rinse 2 cups of sushi rice under cold water for a couple minutes. Add the sushi rice to a medium saucepan with 2 cups cold water and cover. Bring to a boil then immediately drop to low heat. Keep covered for 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. In a separate pan, simmer the rice vinegar with sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolves. Turn off heat. After all water has been absorbed by the sushi rice, in a large mixing bowl, add both the sushi rice and the mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Mix thoroughly and leave out until ready to roll sushi.

To fry the catfish tempura, pull the strips from the marinade and dip in dredge 1, shake off any excess, then drop in dip, pull out and finally toss in panko bread crumbs. Shake off any excess and add to hot oil. Do not crowd pot or fryer. Pull the strips once golden brown and add to a grate to dry.

While making rice or frying catfish, or ahead of time, make the drizzle by adding the garlic, sushi ginger, and Sambal chili paste to a food processor. Blend thoroughly and add to a mixing bowl with mayonnaise and kosher salt. Mix thoroughly by hand then add to a squeeze bottle. You may wish to cut off tip of squeeze bottle nozzle so a thicker opening remains at top.

Prep vegetables ahead of time by seeding peeling and seeding cucumbers and cutting into thin strips. You may wish to cut avocados into strips until almost ready to rolling sushi, since avocado can turn brown.

To make a sushi roll, use either rough or shiny side of nori sheet—your choice—and add a 1/4 inch of sushi rice across the sheet. It may help to have a bowl of cold water nearby to quickly rinse off your fingertips as they may get sticky while adding the rice. Feel welcome to use a wooden spatula to help spread the rice. You can now either flip and add ingredients to nori sheet, which means rice will appear on the outside (feel welcome to garnish with sesame seeds if doing this so they appear on outside of rice). I do recommend spraying sushi rice on roll with a bit of cooking oil spray to avoid sticking to any surfaces when flipping. Or, add the ingredients directly to the rice (meaning the outside of the roll will be nori). Add your ingredients (catfish tempura, cucumber, and avocado strips) either vertical or horizontal. If making a fatter sushi roll, you’ll want your ingredients vertical with the shortest nori sheet side, meaning you’ll have more room to roll. If making a thinner roll, resulting in more pieces, add the ingredients parallel to the longest side of the nori sheet.

Roll the sushi roll tightly then place on bamboo mat and form tightly again a few times. (For tips on making and roll sushi, check out this video with Iron Chef Morimoto). To cut, use a very sharp knife and lightly wet with water or spray with cooking oil to avoid sticking. Cut roll in half, then each half in half, then each piece in half until you have 8 to 10 pieces. Garnish with drizzle and sliced scallions. Enjoy!

Reach out to me on Instagram (@WildGameJack) with any questions or comments.

Get Cooking!

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Jack Hennessy grew up south of Chicago, started hunting at the age of 26 when attending graduate school in Spokane, Washington. Since then he has combined his love of cooking with the outdoors. He lives in south-central Kansas where he hunts whitetails and chases roosters with his Wirehaired Vizsla, Dudley.