National Sushi Day just got better with a recipe from Chef Morimoto you can make at home

National Sushi Day is June 18, and in honor of all the deliciousness, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto shares some tips on making great sushi along with his recipe for Spicy Tuna Maki.

Visitors to Disney Springs at Walt Disney World can celebrate all things sushi with hand-made maki, nigiri, and sashimi Japanese delicacies at Morimoto Asia resaturant.

National Sushi Day sushi-eating facts and tips

Dive deep into sushi culture with these insights from Iron Chef Morimoto:

• Sushi restaurants in Japan – especially high-end ones – typically don’t put prices on their menu.
• At some sushi restaurants, diners’ selections are left entirely up to the chef.
• Sushi in the U.S. is different to sushi in Japan due to culture and culinary evolutions.
• Sushi is traditionally eaten with the hands, not with chopsticks, though eating it with chopsticks has become acceptable.
• Sushi should never be eaten with cold rice, which makes it lose its sweetness and kills the layers of sushi. Chef Morimoto says, “Goodbye grocery store sushi case!”
• Chef Morimoto advises enjoying the sushi’s full flavor on its own before dipping it in soy sauce.
• He also insists mixing wasabi and soy sauce together into “a murky, soup mess” is a no-no!
• Making sushi takes many years of learning the craft. Traditionally, an apprentice might study for 10 years, and during the first two years the apprentice may not even be allowed to touch the fish.
• Sushi was originally considered a street food, eaten as Americans eat tacos or pretzels from street vendors. After the 1920 Tokyo earthquake, which brought down the cost of land, more sushi chefs opened store fronts.

Celebrate National Sushi Day with Chef Morimoto’s own recipe

Spicy Tuna Maki Recipe

Ingredients:
Bamboo rolling mat
½ sheet sushi nori
2 T black and white sesame seeds, toasted
1/3 C seasoned sushi rice
1 tsp spicy mayo
1 ½ tsp thinly sliced green onion
2 strips bigeye tuna cut into pieces

Recipe:
Place sushi rice on nori in a thin even layer.
Sprinkle sesame evenly onto rice and flip over rice side down. Put spicy mayo in a thin line in the middle of the nori.
Place tuna onto the line of mayo and spread scallions evenly alongside tuna. Using slightly wet hands, roll nori around ingredients.
Place the bamboo rolling mat centered on top of the roll and apply gentle pressure on the sides and the top. Using a wet knife cut the roll into 6 even pieces.

Chef Morimoto’s spicy mayo recipe:
(From Chef’s book, Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon tobanjan (chili bean sauce), preferably a Japanese brand 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Recipe:
Combine the mayonnaise, tobanjan, sesame oil, lemon juice, and lime juice in a small bowl and stir well. It keeps covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Find the full menu for Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs here.