• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

Chasing God's glory down life's unexpected trails

  • About Dorina
  • Speaking
    • Events
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Running
  • Culture + Travel
  • Blog
    • Freebies

Traveling the world from the comfort of home: Can you sushi roll?

This week our family is traveling the world from the comfort of home. We are sharing stories, recipes, and resources in case you would like to join us and explore a country and culture along with us. The goal is simply to make memories and explore the world through food, books, music, and movies. You have freedom to make this experience your own!

Our New Year’s Eve this year looked a little bit different than in past years. We usually host a big New Year’s Eve party with gobs of food and friends or drive down to my brother’s house and have a party with cousins. This year we chose to stay home due to the pandemic.

We wanted to do something fun and different to pass the time until midnight. We decided to try out one of my oldest daughter’s Christmas gifts – a sushi-making kit.

My girl is a big fan of sushi. In recent years, we have frequented different sushi restaurants as a family for special occasions. One of our favorite local places is called Butterfish that serves up build-your-own poké bowls. Think deconstructed sushi in a bowl.

But we’ve never made our own sushi.

Honestly, it felt a little daunting. One of our favorite parts of eating at sushi restaurants is seeing the artful ways the sushi chefs display the rolls and the combinations of seafood, veggies, and sauces they employ.

Meilani made a list of necessary ingredients. I sent a few texts to my Auntie Doris, who is Japanese-American, and has some experience with sushi and Japanese foods. (When in doubt, phone an experienced friend or family member!)

Meilani put the sushi rice in our Instant Pot. We wanted to make sure it was cooked and cooled before assembling the rolls.

Meanwhile, we took a little field trip to R-N Market, our local Asian food market. We frequent this market often for ingredients for our favorite Filipino dishes, but this was our first time buying sushi grade fish. I was grateful for an experienced butcher to help us along. We decided to purchase some fresh salmon, avocados, cucumber, and pineapple for our first rolls.

We returned home with our bounty and set to work. I sliced the ingredients thinly while Meilani prepped the sheets of nori and sushi rice.

We started rolling.

The process of putting together the rolls was actually more fun than we anticipated. We got to choose the combinations and play with the colors. In Japanese culture, sushi is an art form. Appearance and taste are paramount, combining colors, flavors, and textures.

We are not experts, of course, but we watched some videos to help us and savored the outcome. I also made a grilled salmon dish with pineapple chunks. We put some shrimp tempura from Trader Joe’s in our air fryer, and the meal was complete.

Making sushi is not something I would attempt on a normal day or a school night, but this experience helped remind me that God’s glory is often discovered in the kitchen and through the exploration of culture through food. This is a value I long to instill in my daughters and embrace myself. We are each created in God’s image. We belong to each other. There is much we can learn from each other that will give us a fuller picture of our creative God.

Grilled Soy Ginger-glazed Salmon

2 tablespoons avocado oil (if using a grill pan or griddle)

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon ginger, minced

1 teaspoons salt

4 (5-6 oz.) salmon filets

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

2 green onions, chopped

Directions:

  1. Brush oil on grill or grill pan.
  2. Heat grill or grill pan.
  3. Whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes.
  4. Sprinkle salmon filets with salt.
  5. Brush glaze on salmon filets.
  6. Reserve extra glaze for finished salmon.
  7. Grill approximately 5 minutes on each side. (You will begin to see the white fat push through the top or sides of the fish. Be careful not to overcook.)
  8. Transfer salmon to a plate and pour remaining glaze on top.
  9. Sprinkle sesame seeds and green onions on top.
  10. Serve with rice and other vegetables.

Ideas from our night in Japan:

  1. Order sushi from a local restaurant or try out some Japanese recipes.

Easy sushi rolls

Teriyaki Chicken

Other Japanese meals, including Miso Soup and Chicken Katsu

2. Learn more about Japan’s landscape and culture through these videos:

The Bucket List Family in Tokyo

The Bucket List Family in Kyoto

National Geographic Japan: Between Earth and Sky (available on Disney Plus)

3. Read a book together. A few of our favorites include:

Suki’s Kimono by Chieri Uegaki (ages 4-8)

Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by (ages 6-9)

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki (ages 6-12)

4. Listen and watch some Japanese taiko drum performances.

*We would love to hear from you. Which ideas did you try? What ideas did you incorporate in your exploration of Japan? Leave us a comment.

*In case you missed them, check out our adventures in the Polynesians Islands, England, and Spain.

My family has developed a new membership experience for families and individuals who long to travel the world, but might not have the budget for it. We have curated a robust monthly exploration of books, recipes, music, dances, games, and video recommendations for you to learn about countries and cultures you might not be able to visit in today’s circumstances. Global Glory Chasers was created in partnership with Dr. Lucretia Berry, founder of Brownicity. Global Glory Chasers will be a monthly membership program housed in the Brownicity learning community for learners of all ages.

Join the monthly membership program to travel the world from the comfort of your home! 

Share
Tweet
Share
Pin4
4 Shares

January 8, 2021 Categories: General, RecipesTagged: world travel

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Meet Dorina

Aloha, friend! If you love stories, you are in the right place. I write about grief, glory, running, food, and more. I hope these words inspire you to chase after God’s glory in your life today!

Find me on Social Media

Categories

  • Book Reviews
  • Culture
  • Featured
  • General
  • Guest Blogger
  • Navigating Grief
  • Podcast
  • Recipes
  • Running

Recent Posts

  • We Can Bear Witness to the Glory of God in Each Other December 21, 2022
  • Rejoice Advent Devotional: How strength rises when we wait December 19, 2022
  • Learning to trust the Potter and the process November 11, 2022
  • Fall has fallen! It’s time for Pumpkin Chili October 22, 2022
  • Unexpected branches: An invitation into God’s family tree September 21, 2022

Popular Posts

  • Celebrating a Heaveniversary: 10 ways to honor a loved one’s death
  • 10 meaningful sympathy gift ideas for widows and families
  • My refuge: Resting under the shadow of His wings
  • 10 creative ways to honor a loved one’s memory (and clean out the garage)

Tags

abundance behold brave christian blog christianity christmas community compassion cooking courage creativity culture death dorina lazo gilmore family life fear finishing well flourishing food stories friendship gifts Grief haiti hope identity Incourage essays inspirational kids laughter Main dish margin marriage parenting passion relationships rest self-care serve sharing faith social justice struggle transitions wonder world travel writing

Before Footer

🏃🏽‍♀️As you are settling into the new year, are you looking for a way to incorporate more movement in your daily habits? Walk Run Soar is ...

View

Jan 26

Open
🏃🏽‍♀️As you are settling into the new year, are you looking for a way to incorporate more movement in your daily habits? Walk Run Soar is a devotional journal I wrote with my husband with daily encouragement, scripture, and coaching tips to help you walk or run. We care about physical health and spiritual growth. Find the 📖 anywhere books are sold!
26 6

One of my fave things about this season of ministry is getting to plan and speak at gatherings for women of all ages. Today I got some time with ...

View

Jan 26

Open
One of my fave things about this season of ministry is getting to plan and speak at gatherings for women of all ages. Today I got some time with @brynnmcilhatton planning for the Spring Thrive event for middle school and high school girls in Fresno-Clovis. 
Thrive is one of my favorite events hosted by our church for the city. This unique event is designed for young women by women. There’s teaching, worship, food, and all kinds of creative ways to connect!  I won’t give too much away quite yet, but if you’re a local young woman in the Valley save the date April 22. Details to come! 
👋🏽TAG a FRIEND who might like to join us and follow @wellchurchstudents 
☕️ by @yavabakery ♥️
72 18

Do you ever struggle with imposter syndrome? Feeling inadequate, ill-equipped, or too ordinary for your calling? Do you ever wonder why God didn’t ...

View

Jan 24

Open
Do you ever struggle with imposter syndrome? Feeling inadequate, ill-equipped, or too ordinary for your calling? Do you ever wonder why God didn’t choose that woman or that guy for the job? I’m with you. That’s why I’m sinking into these words from Galatians again. I’m remembering folks like Gideon, Esther, Moses, and Mary, who struggled with the same questions and thoughts.
70 11

🎊Part of living in a mixed-race family is bringing together new and old traditions from our different cultures. Since Shawn and I married, we have ...

View

Jan 23

Open
🎊Part of living in a mixed-race family is bringing together new and old traditions from our different cultures. Since Shawn and I married, we have been intentional to share our mix of cultures with our girls. 
🎏Today is the start of Lunar New Year celebrated in different ways by Asians from many different cultures. Shawn and I both have Chinese American heritage. My family is also Filipino and Polynesian. My dad remembers celebrating Chinese New Year growing up in a diverse neighborhood in Hawaii.
For lunch in Fresno, we supported our favorite local Chinese restaurant - Little Peking. We savored the heat of Spicy Eggplant, the tangy-sweetness of the Orange Chicken, the rich marinade Mongolian Tofu and Veggie Fried Rice for my Meilani. My Giada had her favorite potstickers 🥟 rolled by experienced hands. Zayla can hardly wait for the finisher: fortune cookies!
For family dinner tonight with my parents, I made Adobo chicken with bok choy & edamame. We gather and savor traditional foods to celebrate, to remember, and as a peaceful protest when violence still rages against Asian American brothers and sisters who are image bearers of God too. We eat, we laugh, we pray, we grieve. 
👉🏾How do you celebrate Lunar New Year? Is there a friend you could invite, a local restaurant you could support, or a book you could read to learn more? 🧧
#lunarnewyear2023 #veryasian #montereypark #aapi #chinesenewyear #foodiegram #familydinner #haveyoueaten #filpino #hapa #mixedrace
120 18

☕️ This marks year 12 of gathering with my “chai sisters” for our annual Word Party. This year, my dear amiga Yasmin hosted. Her mama is ...

View

Jan 21

Open
☕️ This marks year 12 of gathering with my “chai sisters” for our annual Word Party. This year, my dear amiga Yasmin hosted. Her mama is visiting and cooked up a traditional Salvadoran breakfast for us - complete with pupusa, tamales, fried platanos, chai and mimosas. 
Terry blessed us with her hubby’s melt-in-your-mouth arroz con lèche. I brought the mint chocolate cheesecake, and it was a party! 🍰 
Beyond the excuse for delectable food and heavenly chai, our Word parties are a chance to reflect on the past year and to look into the future with eager eyes. We each choose One Word to embody our year. We commit to studying, cradling, following, contemplating, dwelling on that word until we meet again. Some of us journal our discoveries. Others peck out late-night text messages to the group with discoveries throughout the year.
At the party, we each have the assignment of tracing what God has taught us about that word theme in the past year. With great anticipation, we also reveal our word for the coming year and pray over them together. This gathering has become sacred through the years.
Today I exhaled with these friends as we reflected on 2022 and embraced a new journey set before us for 2023. I love how our word themes always intertwine and echo each other’s. God is leading me back to His HESED, his grace, mercy, and loving kindness. ♥️ 
👉🏾Do you have people who help you reflect and point you back to the Spirit?! 
#hesed2023 #wordoftheyear
113 18
FOLLOW @DorinaGilmore

After Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 • Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young • Privacy Policy

Breathing Through Grief Resources