First, a quick disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Kirin. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Okay, now for the review! When I was first approached about this opportunity I was immediately intrigued because I have definitely never tried Kirin before and I’m fairly certain I’ve never actually tried any Japanese beer. So I gave Kirin Ichiban and its Light counterpart a try and was very pleasantly surprised. It actually reminded me a lot of other pale lager beers I’ve tried and wasn’t overpowering or bitter at all.

Another bonus is that Kirin has partnered with chef Candice Kumai to share exclusive recipes and pairings on the company’s throughout the year.

I heard the beer was supposed to pair with seafood and sushi really well, so I decided to try out some recipes. I had never ever made sushi before, so this was another thing completely out of my comfort zone. But again, it turned out better than I was originally expecting. I made two different types of seafood/veggie rolls and one dessert type variety. Now keep in mind that I’m a beginner so these aren’t the most adventurous recipes. But if you have any tips or ideas please feel free to share them in the comments!

Sushi Rolls – ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 cups sushi rice
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 seaweed wrapper sheets
• 1 soy wrapper sheet
• various fillings (for the first roll I used: imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber; the second roll uses fried shrimp, sriracha, and cucumber; and the third uses strawberry, melon, and pineapple)

For all of these, start by simmering the rice in the water, covered, for about 20 minutes or until all of the moisture is absorbed. Then leave the cover on and let it sit for another 10 minutes. In  a separate bowl, mix your vinegar, sugar and salt. Pour the vinegar mixture over your rice and use a rice paddle to gently cut through the rice so that it evenly absorbs the mixture. Fan the rice to cool it slightly.

Lay down a bamboo sheet on a clean surface and cover it with a sheet of seaweed so the shiny side is facing down. Paddle the rice onto the seaweed and flatten it as much as possible. You really do not need a thick layer of rice at all. The first roll I made was overflowing with rice a bit and it made it a lot harder to cut. Once your rice is covering almost all of the seaweed (leave a little bit uncovered on each end), then it’s time to add the fillings.

For the first roll, I decided to go with a pretty classic set of ingredients. I sliced, cucumber, avocado, and imitation crab into thin slices. Add them to the middle of the rice so that they’re running in the same direction as the shoots on your bamboo sheet. Then roll it up and cut it into slices.

For the second one, all of the steps are the same except the fillings are different. I used tiny pieces of fried shrimp and thin slices of cucumber. Then i drizzled a bit of sriracha hot sauce over the top of them. Cut and serve.

For the final roll, I simply cut some fresh fruit into thin strips and arranged them in the same way as I did with the previous two rolls. But with this one, I used a sheet of soy for the outer wrapping instead of seaweed. I also hear that using coconut water for flavoring works really well for this type of dish, but it was still really good without.

So that’s it! My first sushi making experience was actually so much easier than I expected. And all of them went really well with Kirin beer. So now I have all kinds of new experiences under my belt and some leftover sushi ingredients so I can make even more this week.