Brown Rice & Tofu Maki

Equipment: Bamboo sushi rolling mat (a.k.a. maki rolling mat)

Shopping tips: Mirin is a low-alcohol rice wine essential to Japanese cooking. Toasted nori seaweed sheets are thin, dried seaweed wrappers used for maki rolls. Be sure to choose nori that is labeled “toasted” when making maki--untoasted nori is too chewy. Look for both ingredients in the Asian section of the supermarket.

Test Kitchen Note: ?Perfectly cooked rice is not simple. In fact, it's something that we struggle with occasionally in the Test Kitchen. To have the most success cooking whole-grain rice, we recommend using a pan with a tight-fitting lid, cooking on your coolest (or simmer) burner and making sure the rice is simmering at the “lowest bubble.” While testing the recipes that use less than 1 cup of dry rice, we found that the cooking time varied greatly depending on what stove we used. Although whole-grain rice usually requires 50 minutes of cooking, we found smaller volumes of rice were sometimes done in as little as 30 minutes (and burned at 50 minutes). So, when cooking a small batch of rice, start checking it after 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.

Cut Down on Dishes: A rimmed baking sheet is great for everything from roasting to catching accidental drips and spills. For effortless cleanup and to keep your baking sheets in tip-top shape, line them with a layer of foil before each use.

People with celiac disease or gluten-sensitivity should use soy sauces that are labeled "gluten-free," as soy sauce may contain wheat or other gluten-containing sweeteners and flavors.