By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

Growing up in Burma, Hein Han ate mostly Thai food and dishes flavored with red curry.

Today, he is a master chef at creating sushi rolls that are not only delectables, but works of art.

Han, 29, held a class at The Vinery, 120 S. Main St., on Saturday for about a half dozen students who were interested in making sushi rolls.

Han said he came to the United States from Guam and settled in San Jose, Calif., after receiving political asylum. His foray into crafting scrumptious sushi rolls began in California, when a friend taught him how to make the rolls.

He made his way to the Joplin area after gaining a contract with Price Cutter supermarket to provide them with fresh sushi rolls.

Before the demonstration and hands-on training, participants dined on miso soup prepared by Han along with some wine. Miso soup is popular in Japanese cuisine and can be prepared with dashi soup stock, miso paste, green vegetables or tofu.

During the class, participants watched as Han explained the preparation of making sushi rice and slicing various ingredients — such as uncooked thinly-sliced salmon, crab meat and ground tuna — for the inside of the sushi rolls.

Han makes his sticky rice with combinations of rice vinegar, white vinegar, corn syrup and salt. Before cooking, the rice should be rinsed twice with water, then add the vinegar mix. Many sushi rice recipes call for water to be added to the vinegar mix, but Han replaced that with 3 1/2 cups of vinegar.

Before adding 5 cups of rice, the class rubbed avocado on their hands to prevent the rice from sticking to them.

First, he said, you wrap clear film wrap around small bamboo sushi-roll mats, then spread a seaweed wrap on the mat. The smooth side of the seaweed is placed facedown, he said.

“When you make sushi, I don’t recommend a lot of meat because it will fall out,” Han said.

Second, he said, you make a baseball-size mound of sushi rice, placing it on the seaweed.