Red is one of the five main colors in the Magic: The Gathering trading card game. Players often build red Constructed decks full of aggressive creatures and direct damage spells. In Commander, red is commonly associated with Goblins, Artifacts, Burn, and other themes. In recent years, Wizards of the Coast designed red cards with new mechanics and abilities, expanding red's playability.

My latest TCGplayer Infinite article, 5 More Red Commander Cards You Should Be Playing, highlights five red cards from recent set releases worth considering for the 99 of Commander decks. Urabrask's Forge and Unruly Catapult are two notable red cards that synergize with a number of Commander strategies. Have you tried one or more of the recommended cards yet?

Murders at Karlov Manor is Magic: The Gathering's first set release for 2024. Murders of Karlov Manor takes place Ravnica's plane where murders occur to well-known characters. An investigative team consisting of Kaya, Cassir, Alquist Proft and other allies assemble to find the killer and solve the mystery. 

In my recent article for TCGplayer titled, 4 MTG Cards Players Want from Murders at Karlov Manor, I highlight four MTG cards players hope to see in Muders of Karlov Manor. Will the set include new Clue cards or exciting clue-synergizing reprints? Players will have to wait a little longer for the full set to get spoiled by the end of January 2024.
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Making sushi in your own home can be a daunting process. There are many steps in making sushi that require attention to detail, cutlery skills, planning, and timing appropriately. However, this series of articles is designed to teach anyone how to create a homemade sushi meal for friends and family.
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Planning is Critical to Success
The most important lesson I have learned making sushi is how critical planning is to the overall success. The entire process can take three to four hours to complete a sushi roll platter for six individuals. It is important to understand the timeline and order of operations. Even planning what kind of rolls you want to make and how much rice to cook is important. Before I get into too many details, there is a critical step at the beginning of the process. The first step to making great sushi is purchasing the correct ingredients.

What to Buy and Where to Find It
​The basic ingredients for making sushi are typically available at your local grocery store. These items consist of seasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, short-grain rice, soy sauce, and seaweed sheets. You can make your own seasoned rice vinegar at home, but I find it easier to purchase in a bottle. It is very important you purchase the correct kind of rice. Short-grain rice is ideal, but medium-grain will work as well. I always buy the same brand to avoid this issue. For seaweed sheets, I generally use one sheet per roll. If you want to make hand rolls, you will cut a sheet into smaller pieces. Two packs of ten sheets is usually enough. I have seen these ingredients for sale at grocery stores such as Harris Teeter, Kroger, and Bi-Lo. If you are fortunate enough to have a local oriental market, I recommend going there to purchase the necessary ingredients. From my experience, oriental markets offer more selection and lower prices than large grocery stores. Here is a list of the basic ingredients and my favorite brands:

Seasoned Rice Vinegar - Kikkoman. 
Soy Sauce - Kikkoman's reduced salt version.
Short-grain Rice - Kokuho Rose's 5 lb. bag of California rice.
Wasabi Paste - Any brand that has wasabi paste pre-made in a tube.
Seaweed Sheets - Any brand with normal sized sheets.
Pickled Ginger: Harder to find at large supermarkets.
Siracha Mayo (optional): Lee Kum Kee. You can make your own mixture too. 

Beyond buying the basic ingredients, you need to consider what kind of fillings to put inside your sushi rolls. The staple fillings I always consider buying are imitation crab, cooked shrimp, smoked salmon, cucumbers, cream cheese, and avocados. This will allow you to create California Rolls (imitation crab, cucumber, avocado), Philadelphia Rolls (smoked salmon and cream cheese), and other combinations with cooked seafood. If you are planning to purchase sashimi grade tuna or salmon, I highly recommend visiting a fresh seafood market. I suggest a combined total of 1.5 to 2.0 pounds of sashimi grade tuna and salmon from a seafood market for six individuals, in addition to other filling ingredients. 

To view the more blog posts in this multi-part series on making sushi at home, click the links below:

• Homemade Sushi Part 2: Essential Tools
• Homemade Sushi Part 3: Making Sushi Rice
• Homemade Sushi Part 4: Preparation 
• Homemade Sushi Part 5: How to Roll Sushi
• Homemade Sushi Part 6: Sushi Roll Recipes
• Homemade Sushi Part 7: Hand Rolls

 

For any home project, you need the right tools for a specific job. Making sushi at home is not much different. It is important to have the appropriate tools for creating beautiful sushi rolls. This article will cover the supplies required for making sushi rolls at home. 

​Essential Tools You May Already Own
Some of the required instruments for making sushi may already be in your kitchen. If you own any large wooden bowls or utensils, then you are one step in the right direction. Sushi rice gets very sticky after adding rice vinegar to it. The rice is less likely to stick to wood-made products than other materials. I highly recommend using a large wooden bowl and wooden spatula or rice paddle for cooling and seasoning sushi rice. A wooden spoon can be used instead of a spatula, but it is not preferable for spreading rice on a seaweed sheet. 

Another common tool required for making sushi is a sharp knife. You need a sharp knife to cut rolls, pieces of fish, and other fillings. You will need a large bowl with water and a splash of seasoned rice vinegar to wash the knife periodically. Any kitchen bowl will work as long as the blade of the knife can be submerged.

Essential Tools to Buy
The worst thing that can happen to sushi rice is burning it while cooking. Any burnt rice is not edible. To help avoid this issue, I recommend using an electric rice cooker or Instant Pot. These machines will cook the rice perfectly. If I had to purchase one, I would buy the Instant Pot due to its versatility. While you can cook the rice in a pot on the stove, I would avoid this method. Another essential tool for making sushi is a bamboo mat. This tool is used to create sushi rolls. I recommend buying two of them so another person can help roll. These are inexpensive items available at an oriental market or in a sushi essentials kit.  

Inexpensive Sushi Kits to Buy
I recommend purchasing an inexpensive sushi making kit. There are many kits available at multiple price points. Amazon.com has a few affordable kits that have everything you need to get started. You can buy items individually, but I believe the following sushi kit is a great value for around $10:

Delamu Sushi Making Kit - comes with two bamboo mats, rice paddle, rice spreader, and five pairs of chopsticks. This one also comes with a link to a Beginner's Guide PDF document.  

The Essential Tools List
​Here is a quick reference list of the tools highlighted:

• Large wooden bowl for rice
• Wooden spatula or rice paddle
• Sharp Knife
• Large bowl for holding water
• Electric Rice Cooker or Instant Pot
• Two Bamboo mats

To view the more blog posts in this multi-part series on making sushi at home, click the links below:

• Homemade Sushi Part 1: Purchasing the Ingredients​
• Homemade Sushi Part 3: Making Sushi Rice
• Homemade Sushi Part 4: Preparation 
• Homemade Sushi Part 5: How to Roll Sushi
• Homemade Sushi Part 6: Sushi Roll Recipes
• Homemade Sushi Part 7: Hand Rolls