Patterns in our food?

We had absolutely the best fun on Friday afternoon.  It began with an assembling of some intriguing ingredients in the classroom.....

as well as some alarming-looking weaponry!

We were going to have a go at making sushi.  Sushi?  What's that?

Meghna: 'It's like a rectangle wrapped around.  Some green stuff with rice inside.'

Virginia: 'It's made with rice inside and seaweed round the edges.'

Sivert: 'You can put different things inside.'

Viivi: 'You can put fish inside it.'

Sharukh: 'Salmon.'

Quentin: 'A lot of rice.'

Martin: 'Meat.'

Thomas: 'Carrot.'

Shahrbano: 'Cucumber.'

Raamy: 'On top of the rice, spices.'

Clearly these are children who know a thing or two!  Some sophisticated palates we have in Class 2i!

Aabis: 'Ketchup.....'

Hmm.  Well yes; I guess you can put ketchup on pretty much anything.  But when you do that, what do you taste?  The food you put it on?  Or the ketchup?

Point taken.  There will be no ketchup with our sushi.

But first.  What does the word sushi mean?

Thomas again: 'Seaweed?'

Owen: 'Food?'

Harrison: 'Something to eat?'

Martin: 'A plant?'

It means rice with vinegar.  'Eeugh!'  No really; you mix sticky rice (see quite how sticky in a while!) with just enough vinegar for a particular taste.  But we are getting ahead of ourselves here.

In the background the room is slowly filling up with steam and a bubbling noise becomes apparent.  The (sticky) rice is almost done.  Lid off and tea-towels to cover it.

Next, a square of cling-film for everyone.  (Now I wonder what that's for.....)

Plonk a square of seaweed on top of the cling-film(yes, sure; sniff it first to make sure).

Spoon 'a lot of rice' on top.

No!  Don't touch; it really is sticky!  And still quite hot!

And now, choose your toppings.  Fancy dried salmon eggs?  Sprinkle on a spoonful.  Herbs and spices?

Carrot?  Cucumber? Omelette strips? 

 

Lay on a few.  Choose what you fancy!

Just take a look at our amazing patterns.....

And here comes the clever part.  Carefully pick up the cling-film with the sushi and all the toppings.....

 

and roll it up!

 

The best bit?  Unpeel the cling-film and open wide!

Miam!  'squisito!  おいしい!  очень вкусный!  Smakelijk!  Delicious!

Certainly judging by the number of cling-film rolls.....

that went home afterwards in hot little hands ('for my mum, my brother, my dad'; probably even 'for my auntie Mabel'!) making them was pretty good fun.

Eating them was good too; between us we devoured a kilo bag of rice.  Not to mention sheets and sheets of seaweed.....

and even the odd crust of bread when everything else had gone (possibly to fill the tiniest of holes!)

With heartfelt thanks to three incredibly generous (and patient) mums; those belonging to Leon, Ryoma and Kazuya (who isn't even in our class!)

本当にありがとう!

Oh PS.  The weaponry?  Well, we didn't get to use either the tricky-looking chopstick machines (fingers were so much more effective!) or the fearsome sharp knife (no need to slice them into delicate pieces when one can shovel them in!)