Sushi Made Simple

Sushi is popular all around the world. It’s classic Japanese comfort food consisting of sweet, vinegared  rice combined with fish, seafood, vegetables, egg and anything else.

Sushi comes in many shapes and forms. The most common is the maki, which is rolled with bamboo mat, with the nori sheet often on the outside but also sometimes on the inside like in a California maki. Futomaki are big rolls, while hosomaki are thinner rolls. Nigiri is when rice molded into an oblong mound and a thin slice of fish, seafood, egg or vegetables is layered on top of it, sometimes with a this seaweed wrap. The cone shaped rolls, usually eaten with your hand, are called temaki. Gunkan, or battleship sushi, is an oval clump of rice topped usually with fish roe and sometimes uni, then wrapped with a strip.

Not to be confused with sashimi, which is just the raw fish and no rice, sushi is actually fun and easy to make at home. With the right tools and some practice, you’ll be a sushi expert in no time. And with some creativity, you won’t always have to use raw fish and the usual ingredients!

1.       Rolling The Sushi

Roll up the sushi slowly and carefully. Then sqeeze (but not too hard!) to make sure rice and filling are compressed before completing the roll, if you’re making a roll with rice on the outside, spread the rice on the smooth side of the nori sheet and the filling on the rougher side to help hold the filling together.

2.       Slicing The Sushi

Slice the sushi roll using a sharp knife that’s not too wide. Dip the knife is hot water before the first slice and again whenever the roll threatens to stick.

3.       Sushi Tools

To roll the sushi, you’ll need a bamboo mat. Usually available at Japanese groceries and select department stores. You can also use plastic wrap if you don’t have a sushi mat. Or else, you can try those plastic rolling contraptions from Japanese budget stores that might help make rolling easy.

4.       Shaping The Sushi

To shape nigiri or gunkan sushi, make sure to keep your hands wet and cool so the rice doesn’t stick to your fingers. Have a bowl of iced water handy. When shaping the rice, try not to squeeze it too tightly, but not too loose as to fall apart, if you want uniform-sized sushi, you can always use plastic sushi molder available at Japanese budget or specialty stores.