Shaun, it's in a bottle in the dry goods. The brand I have right now is Sila Bay Brand. But I've used this brand too. Sweet Chili Sauce Michelle, I cooked up the rolls like I cook up Pot stickers, brown in a bit of oil..with these I browned on two sides, then pour in a bit of water and lid the pan..let steam until cooked.....First batch over steamed so the wrappersalmost disappeared and became very fragile. The dessert rolls though, I baked on 350F until they started to brown..I wished I could have left them to brown a bit more, but I had to leave quick..so needed to pull them out sooner..they were more chewy then crisp.

There's nothing wrong with being hesitant about raw foods. They aren't a major part of our culinary culture as they are in some countries/regions, so yes, it can be hard to wrap one's mind about a familiar food both looking and tasting different, with a different texture than you're accustomed to. It applies to many things, not just meat. Think about a raw carrot versus a cooked one. I know some folks that can't stand either one. I know others who adore raw carrots but loathe cooked ones. Much of it is a texture issue, and getting into a 'mindset' where expectations are very rigid. But as the OP points out, trying new things adds variety and interest to the diet. And BTW, the "sour rice" comment is unfounded. The vinegar/sugar syrup is equal parts rice vinegar (far milder than traditional white vinegar) and sugar. My DH loathes vinegar but he loves sushi rice! Note that the majority of restaurants use plain or salted rice, whereas home cooks almost always use the sugar/vinegar syrup. When I was growing up sushi restaurants made the rice the same way as at home, but that changed quickly as food and labor costs rose. I haven't encountered a restaurant using anything but a little salt, in literally decades. If you want to ease into sushi, I'd suggest some of the following. These might be more available at restaurants than from a deli, however: 1) Maki rolls (sheets of pressed toasted seaweed rolled around rice) filled with: - raw cucumber - tempura shrimp - avocado and crabmeat 2) Pressed sushi topped with: - cooked shrimp - cooked eel (always cooked teriyaki-style, very tasty) - tamago, the sweet rolled egg omelet. Tamago is a standard egg omelet with a small amount of sugar added. It's not intended to be super-sweet, just seasoned a little. I've never found anyone who dislikes it. 3) Inazarizushi. I will say that I NEVER eat this outside of what I make myself. Not because it's unsafe, but because I make a 'deluxe' version similar to what I grew up with, and it's so much tastier than the plain version sold commercially. Technically, inazari sushi is a fried tofu skin (aburaage) that's been cooked in a sugar and soy sauce mixture (think teriyaki - yum!), drained then stuffed with sushi rice. The aburaage is sold in cans, already seasoned. Like pita, you open the halves up with your fingers, and stuff it - in this case, with sushi rice. I add finely diced cooked carrots, baby peas, and finely diced shiitake mushrooms, to my version of inazarizushi. When I put these out, they go faster than anything else. Vegetarian, vegan, meat-eaters - people flip over this sushi. Anyway, hope that encourages the OP and inspires some others!

I learned to make sushimeshi (vinegar rice for sushi) at a Japanese restaurant where I worked for about 8 years. They always used an electric fan. It wasn't really about making the rice shiny, though it did, it was about helping the water in the vinegar evaporate so that the rice wouldn't be soggy, leaving only the flavor behind. You mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in with very hot rice, turning it over and over with the shamoji (rice paddle) or a wooden spoon so that the breeze from the fan blows the rising steam away from the rice and all the rice grains dry evenly. I cannot give you the proportions of rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar, because I've never measured them, we always just did it to taste, sprinkling them on individually (we didn't make a syrup) while we tossed. If you have made the rice correctly, the nori doesn't get soggy, although it does of course get soft fairly quickly after rolling. When making the rice, I wash it well after measuring. Yeah, I know they don't coat it with talc anymore, and you're meant to be able to skip washing it. But the flour (or whatever it is) that they coat it with now still absorbs water and keeps the rice from developing that perfect texture. My Japanese second Mom would have had a fit if she caught me not washing the rice until the water ran perfectly clear. I use equal portions of rice and water, usually adding just a little bit extra water. It's hard to say exactly how much...rice differs in moisture content, there's a "feel" to it. For example, if it is "new crop" rice, very little extra water is required, if it has been on the shelf for a while, it will need more. At a guess...say an extra 1/4 cup water per 2 cups rice? You end up with better rice if you let it sit in the pan soaking for at least an hour before you cook it, but it isn't essential. Cover the pot, bring to a rolling boil...do NOT leave to go do something else...it can go from a simmer to overflowing in less time than you think. Then turn it down to low, simmer 15 minutes, remove from heat. After 2 minutes or so, open the lid, quickly turn the rice over to fluff it a bit, return the lid and leave it be for 10 more minutes. Then make your sushimeshi. Inarizushi is easy to make and almost everyone likes it. We always made it buying the fried tofu puffs from the market, cutting them in half and simmering them in the sauce. I've never used the canned kind. I haven't made it since I moved here, as there is no Japanese market closer than 2 hours away. I'd forgotten about the canned kind, maybe I will pick up a few cans next time I go to Sac and try them! The filling was mostly just the vinegar rice, with any extra inside scraps from the tofu wrappers and a few simmered carrot slivers and maybe a bit of shiitake mushroom. I have played around a bit at times, adding some shredded chicken, katsuo boshi (dried bonito flakes) or some of the sweeter types of tsukemono (pickled veggies.) I don't know about the metal bowl...except that I generally avoid using metal with vinegar. It seems somehow to pick up the taste of metal. I've always used a large, rectangular tupperware or glass baking dish, 'cause that's what we used at the restaurant. Spreading the rice out as you fan, sprinkle and turn it helps the air to circulate so that it dries off more evenly.

I love Sushi! Hamachi is my favorite. In my city the restaurants must freeze if at a certain temp for a day or so, said to destroy potential parasites - that makes me feel safer, but don't know how much flavor and delictibiliity that might destroy, hmmm. We have occasionally tried it homemade, which is fun but nowadays just buy it for the professional results. We once made salmon carpaccio for a dinner party with fisheries biologist, they wouldn't touch it, haha. I have been sick from salmon ceviche from a local restaurant, I think they handled it badly, not fun. Recently (April 18) on salon.com there was an article talking about how to be smart....