A housewarming party was the perfect excuse for sushi chef *Makiko Sano* to welcome her guests with an array of inventive and traditional dishes
• To have your get-together featured, email cook@theguardian.com with "get-togethers" in the subject line and tell us what you've got planned. For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a tin of delicious, gluten-free cakes from Honeybuns and a copy of Honeybuns Gluten-Free Baking by Emma Goss-Custard
*What was the occasion?*
I offered to cater for my friend's housewarming and decided a DIY sushi lunch would be a great way to celebrate. Some of the guests were regular customers from my restaurant, Suzu in London; others were close friends from around the world.
*What was on the menu?*
Japanese sushi rice, platters of sashimi, some serrano ham for a twist on the maki roll, a steamed salad, which is really popular with my western customers, and all sorts of vegetables. We had yellowtail and sea bream, which are my favourite fish for sashimi, as well as salmon, scallops, prawns, mackerel and shellfish. We also had green shiso leaves – a fragrant Japanese herb – along with sliced cucumber, spring onion, daikon radish and carrot.
It didn't take too long to prepare, but we did stay at the table for ages. People arrived at about 12 noon and didn't leave until around 7pm. You can really take your time with sushi – it's the perfect meal for sharing with friends. The door was open to the garden, because it was such a lovely day, so people would go out with a drink then come back inside and have some more to eat. We had quite a lot to drink – Japanese wine from the Koshu area and cold Tanabata sake – so no need for any dessert.
*What did you talk about?*
First I explained how to make sushi yourself, and how we prepare and eat it at home in Japan. Then we tackled the weather and the differences between the British summer and the Japanese summer. I think the most interesting and animated discussion was about how relationships differ between Asia and the west. There were so many different cultures around the table – French, British, Indian, Japanese, Italian – and affection and love are expressed in such different ways. Some of the western people thought Japanese people just aren't interested in relationships, but that's not the case. We just don't talk about love and affection in the same way! It was quite interesting: we touched on jealousy and expectations and it got quite serious at times; funny at others. It was a really nice afternoon. The time passed so quickly and nobody wanted to leave!
*Treasure in a box*
I love to make these little Japanese-style wraps for dinner parties.
Makes 4 pieces
For the egg crepe
*2 eggs, beaten*
*½ tsp caster sugar*
*A pinch of salt*
*½ tsp flavourless oil*
* *For the filling
*10g very fresh skinless salmon fillet*
*5g green beans, trimmed*
*20g cucumber, deseeded*
*20g avocado, peeled and stoned*
*20g bamboo shoot, trimmed*
*20g shiitake mushrooms, trimmed*
*70g prepared and seasoned sushi rice*
* *To finish
*4 prawns, cooked and halved lengthways*
*Eight 6cm lengths of chive*
*1* To make the egg crepes, mix together the eggs, sugar and salt. Heat the oil in a 30cm-diameter frying pan and add the egg mixture. Swirl the pan to coat the base. When it has set, flip the crepe and cook the other side for 30 seconds.
*2* Cut the filling ingredients into 5mm cubes and mix them with the rice.
*3 *Cut each crepe into quarters. Place a quarter of the rice mix in the centre of each crepe piece. Wrap, to enclose the filling in a neat "treasure box".
*4* Arrange on a platter, adding two prawn halves and two chive lengths to each.
*Perfect sushi rice
*
You can make brown sushi rice with exactly the same quantities and method, but you'll need to soak it in the cooking water for at least 4 hours.
Makes 1.4kg
*600ml short-grain sushi rice*
*660ml water*
*120ml sushi rice seasoning vinegar*
*1 *Wash the rice, then leave it in a sieve to dry for at least 30 minutes.
*2 *Pour the water into a large pan with a tight-fitting lid and add the rice. Place over a medium heat, cover and leave for 10-13 minutes, until it boils – listen for the bubbles. Do not remove the lid.
*3 *Reduce the heat to low for 30 seconds, then turn it off. Leave it for 15 minutes with the lid on.
*4* Put the rice in a large, shallow bowl or plate. Sprinkle with vinegar and mix in gently but thoroughly.
*5* Cool down with a handheld fan, turning the rice carefully, to let every grain of rice soak up all the vinegar.
*6 *Leave for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is cool, but not too cold.
*Maki in Spain
*
The addition of air-dried ham to these rolls in place of nori seaweed gives them a toothsome twist.
Makes 6
*1 slice of serrano ham*
*2-3 shiso or rocket leaves*
*5 chives*
*2 avocado slices*
*130g prepared and seasoned sushi rice*
*1* Place the ham near the bottom of a sushi rolling mat, shiny-side down. Place the rice in the middle of the ham. Spread it out to form an even covering, leaving a 1cm strip empty at the top.
*2* Place the shiso or rocket leaves, chives and avocado in a horizontal line across the middle of the rice.
*3* Slide both thumbs under the mat and rest your middle fingers on the filling. Lift the edge of the mat and ham nearest to you over the filling.
*4* Lift up the leading edge of the mat with your right hand. Roll, with your left hand supporting the roll. Pull gently on the mat with your right hand to form a tight roll. Remove the mat, then cut the roll in half. Put the halves together and cut into six pieces in total, wiping the blade between cuts.
Makiko Sano runs the Japanese tapas bar, Suzu in Hammersmith, London; suzuonline.co.uk. Sushi Slim by Makiko Sano is published by Quadrille (£12.99). To order a copy for £9.49 visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846 Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.
• To have your get-together featured, email cook@theguardian.com with "get-togethers" in the subject line and tell us what you've got planned. For each get-together we feature, the host will receive a tin of delicious, gluten-free cakes from Honeybuns and a copy of Honeybuns Gluten-Free Baking by Emma Goss-Custard
*What was the occasion?*
I offered to cater for my friend's housewarming and decided a DIY sushi lunch would be a great way to celebrate. Some of the guests were regular customers from my restaurant, Suzu in London; others were close friends from around the world.
*What was on the menu?*
Japanese sushi rice, platters of sashimi, some serrano ham for a twist on the maki roll, a steamed salad, which is really popular with my western customers, and all sorts of vegetables. We had yellowtail and sea bream, which are my favourite fish for sashimi, as well as salmon, scallops, prawns, mackerel and shellfish. We also had green shiso leaves – a fragrant Japanese herb – along with sliced cucumber, spring onion, daikon radish and carrot.
It didn't take too long to prepare, but we did stay at the table for ages. People arrived at about 12 noon and didn't leave until around 7pm. You can really take your time with sushi – it's the perfect meal for sharing with friends. The door was open to the garden, because it was such a lovely day, so people would go out with a drink then come back inside and have some more to eat. We had quite a lot to drink – Japanese wine from the Koshu area and cold Tanabata sake – so no need for any dessert.
*What did you talk about?*
First I explained how to make sushi yourself, and how we prepare and eat it at home in Japan. Then we tackled the weather and the differences between the British summer and the Japanese summer. I think the most interesting and animated discussion was about how relationships differ between Asia and the west. There were so many different cultures around the table – French, British, Indian, Japanese, Italian – and affection and love are expressed in such different ways. Some of the western people thought Japanese people just aren't interested in relationships, but that's not the case. We just don't talk about love and affection in the same way! It was quite interesting: we touched on jealousy and expectations and it got quite serious at times; funny at others. It was a really nice afternoon. The time passed so quickly and nobody wanted to leave!
*Treasure in a box*
I love to make these little Japanese-style wraps for dinner parties.
Makes 4 pieces
For the egg crepe
*2 eggs, beaten*
*½ tsp caster sugar*
*A pinch of salt*
*½ tsp flavourless oil*
* *For the filling
*10g very fresh skinless salmon fillet*
*5g green beans, trimmed*
*20g cucumber, deseeded*
*20g avocado, peeled and stoned*
*20g bamboo shoot, trimmed*
*20g shiitake mushrooms, trimmed*
*70g prepared and seasoned sushi rice*
* *To finish
*4 prawns, cooked and halved lengthways*
*Eight 6cm lengths of chive*
*1* To make the egg crepes, mix together the eggs, sugar and salt. Heat the oil in a 30cm-diameter frying pan and add the egg mixture. Swirl the pan to coat the base. When it has set, flip the crepe and cook the other side for 30 seconds.
*2* Cut the filling ingredients into 5mm cubes and mix them with the rice.
*3 *Cut each crepe into quarters. Place a quarter of the rice mix in the centre of each crepe piece. Wrap, to enclose the filling in a neat "treasure box".
*4* Arrange on a platter, adding two prawn halves and two chive lengths to each.
*Perfect sushi rice
*
You can make brown sushi rice with exactly the same quantities and method, but you'll need to soak it in the cooking water for at least 4 hours.
Makes 1.4kg
*600ml short-grain sushi rice*
*660ml water*
*120ml sushi rice seasoning vinegar*
*1 *Wash the rice, then leave it in a sieve to dry for at least 30 minutes.
*2 *Pour the water into a large pan with a tight-fitting lid and add the rice. Place over a medium heat, cover and leave for 10-13 minutes, until it boils – listen for the bubbles. Do not remove the lid.
*3 *Reduce the heat to low for 30 seconds, then turn it off. Leave it for 15 minutes with the lid on.
*4* Put the rice in a large, shallow bowl or plate. Sprinkle with vinegar and mix in gently but thoroughly.
*5* Cool down with a handheld fan, turning the rice carefully, to let every grain of rice soak up all the vinegar.
*6 *Leave for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is cool, but not too cold.
*Maki in Spain
*
The addition of air-dried ham to these rolls in place of nori seaweed gives them a toothsome twist.
Makes 6
*1 slice of serrano ham*
*2-3 shiso or rocket leaves*
*5 chives*
*2 avocado slices*
*130g prepared and seasoned sushi rice*
*1* Place the ham near the bottom of a sushi rolling mat, shiny-side down. Place the rice in the middle of the ham. Spread it out to form an even covering, leaving a 1cm strip empty at the top.
*2* Place the shiso or rocket leaves, chives and avocado in a horizontal line across the middle of the rice.
*3* Slide both thumbs under the mat and rest your middle fingers on the filling. Lift the edge of the mat and ham nearest to you over the filling.
*4* Lift up the leading edge of the mat with your right hand. Roll, with your left hand supporting the roll. Pull gently on the mat with your right hand to form a tight roll. Remove the mat, then cut the roll in half. Put the halves together and cut into six pieces in total, wiping the blade between cuts.
Makiko Sano runs the Japanese tapas bar, Suzu in Hammersmith, London; suzuonline.co.uk. Sushi Slim by Makiko Sano is published by Quadrille (£12.99). To order a copy for £9.49 visit guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846 Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.