How to: Make Sushi from Home

There is a real misconception that sushi must be made with raw fish.  This is not the case.  Sushi in Japan is party food and can be filled with any fillings from avocado, cucumber to chicken and salmon or a combination of fillings.  In our house the favourite filling is chicken and avocado or plain and simple cucumber.

Find out how to make sushi in our step by step guide below. 

Make it Yourself!

Making sushi really is very easy and once you’ve made your own and perfected your technique you’ll think twice about buying it, as homemade sushi is so fresh and far superior to shop bought sushi.  Buy a rolling mat from most supermarkets or you can use a damp tea towel (although this is a much harder way to roll your sushi roll).  Not all supermarkets stock wasabi and pickled ginger so you may need to order them online or purchase elsewhere.

 

You’ll Need:

400g of sushi rice

420ml of boiling water

6 tablespoons of rice vinegar

4 teaspoons of salt

4 teaspoons of sugar

2 x packs of Nori Sheets

fillings of your choice (see below)

wasabi paste

pickled ginger

soy sauce

Makes 6 rolls (enough for 3 people)

Step 1: Make the Rice First

Weight the rice and wash well with cold water.  This gets rid of all the starch that makes rice stodgy!  Add to a pot.

Boil the kettle and measure out 420ml of boiled water and add to the rice.

Bring the rice to the boil and then lower the temperature to the lowest setting on the hob (1 or 2) and then leave the rice to gently steam cook for 40 minutes.

 

Step 2: Add Flavour to the Rice

In a jug mix up the rice vinegar, salt and sugar.  Take the rice off the heat and pour the vinegar mix onto the rice.  Using a fork mix the vinegar mix into the rice.

 

Step 3: The Fun Part: Make Sushi

Wet a rolling mat to make it damp.  Lay a Nori sheet on the mat.  Add 2-3 heaped tablespoon of rice over the sheet and spread it out evenly to the edges, except the furthest away edge to you leaving, a 5cm gap to allow the sheet to join to itself when rolled.  Don’t put too much rice on the sheet, as it does make it hard to roll.

Then along the edge of the nori sheet closest to you place your filling in a line (right to left).  True sushi making would see you place a line of wasabi along the top of the rice first however this is a personal taste and depends on who your making sushi for.  Kids for example may not be too keen on wasabi!

 

Fillings: choose your own

As mentioned above, fillings are your own personal choice.  You could keep it simple with some grated carrot or make it fancy with some pre cooked chicken stripes that have been precooked in soy, garlic and ginger (so good).  I recommend keeping it simple and the following fillings work really well: cucumber, avocado, chicken and avocado, carrot.

 

Step 4: Roll, Roll, Roll

Lifting the mat edge that is closest to you, fold it into the rice and begin to roll as tightly as you can until you meet the end of the Nori Sheet.

 

Step 5: Cut n’ Eat

Cut your Nori (now a sausage) into 7- 8 little bite size pieces. 

Dip into wasabi, smother in soy sauce, add pickled ginger and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Words | Recipe | Images  Laura Thomas for LTCO

 

Love Laura’s Recipes?  Check out more here

More about Sushi inspo here via BBC Good Food.