Making sushi?

Mention sushi, and most of us might think of fish.

We'd be wrong.

The word sushi more precisely means rice, with a special preparation to keep it sticky, moist and tender.

"It's not just about having a guy drop a raw fish on your plate, it's all about the rice," says Christopher "Panda" Chung, executive chef at Bonsai Bistro restaurant in Coeur d'Alene.

His chefs select short grain rice with higher starch content. The rice is washed and left to hydrate for at least half an hour. It's then cooked with sake and water and unloaded into a wooden tub. The rice is tossed in the tub until cooled to room temperature, then plumped in sweetened vinegar.

"It gives it this fresh, light, fluffy texture that almost melts in your mouth," Chung says.

Once prepared, this rice becomes a staple of Bonsai's sushi bar, and a key ingredient in items such as the spicy tuna roll, the No. 1 seller which also includes house-made chili oil, green onions and Japanese chili powder.

For something a bit more unusual, there's the salmon skin handroll, or temaki - crunchy bits of grilled salmon skin with a smoky, bacon-like flavor, combined with a touch of mayo, cucumber and radish sprouts, all wrapped in a roll of green seaweed, or nori.

Chung recommends using freshly cooked rice only. When it's refrigerated and reheated, the rice tends to lose both flavor and consistency. Another critical detail is using real wasabi, he says. His staff brings in wasabi root from Japan, which is then ground on a special shredding plate.

"Fresh wasabi is less hot, and much more flavorful than the powder," he says. "The fresh stuff is intense at first taste, then quickly dissipates, leaving a sweet, almost fruity essence."

Fish are imported twice a week from San Francisco and Seattle. They arrive fresh and whole and are cut only when they reach Bonsai's prep kitchen.

Another Bonsai classic is the sashimi platter, with up to eight different kinds of fish - the best of what's available. It might include yellowfin, bluefin, salmon and escolar (also called white tuna or butterfish), served with a side of seaweed or squid salad.

Ask Chung what type of sushi he personally prefers, and he gives this answer:

"If it's me, and I'm going out, I will ask the sushi chef for omi kase," he says. "You're telling the chef, 'Whatever you want to serve me, go ahead. Wow me. I'll eat whatever you put down in front of me. The chef gets his chance to shine, to be creative, and that's when you get the weird little roll, the freshest cut, the thing nobody else is eating. Maybe it's a soup stock with fish bones he's got in the back. It's all about respecting his abilities. You're saying, 'I know you're a great sushi chef, now I want to see you really do your thing.'"

Information: www.bonsaibistro.com or (208) 765-4321