I love sushi; Plain and simple. It could be because my Japanese heritage, my ability to eat tons without feeling gross or just how darn delicious it is! My husband and I don't go out for dinner much but when we do we mainly go to Japanese restaurants and have pretty high expectations - You could call us “sushi snobs”. With our favourite Japanese restaurants closed because of the pandemic we have to make our own (which is totally fine with me!). Homemade sushi is so much cheaper than buying it from a restaurant - if you spent $20 on homemade sushi ingredients you could literally feed your whole family or just eat it all yourself...Overall it’s pretty easy to make and you can put all your favourite ingredients into your perfect custom roll.
The main things you will need to have when making sushi at home is sushi rice, seaweed sheets (nori), sugar, salt, water and filling of your choice! If you can not access rice vinegar, you can substitute this with apple cider vinegar - I do this alot when I run out. In terms of equipment, you will need; a rice cooker, bamboo rolling mat and a rice paddle (shamoji). For the the filling, I usually like to make a variety of rolls including smoked salmon, imitation crab meat, egg (tamago) or a simple veggie roll.
Getting the rice just right is probably the most important piece of sushi making. I have found out a couple things to keep in mind to make the best sushi rice:
• Make sure the rice is hot when you pour the vinegar on top so that the rice turns out nice and shiny.
• Don’t stir and squish the rice while mixing in the vinegar, you need to “cut” it into the rice.
• Cool to room temperature and cover the rice with wet kitchen cloths to avoid the rice getting dry. Do not keep in the fridge.
And that’s how I roll!
Ingredients
- 2 cups sushi rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 5 Tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 Tbsp sugar
- 1.5 Tsp salt
- Filling of your choice – I chose cucumber, carrot, red pepper smoked salmon and imitation crab meat
- Nori sheets
- Wasbi
- Soy sauce
Instructions
- Wash the rice a few times or until the washing water becomes clear. Drain the washing water and place the rice in a rice cooker. Add the water to the rinsed rice and cook rice
- While the rice is cooking, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt together to make the sushi vinegar. Microwave for about 30 seconds until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once the rice is cooked, place the rice into a large bowl. While the rice is hot, pour the sushi vinegar mixture over the rice.
Turn and mix to flavour the rice with the rice paddle. - Allow the rice to cool at room temperature and place a moistened cloth over to avoid getting dry.
- In the meantime, cut the veggies and meat into thin strips.
- Now place the bamboo mat onto your worktop, top it with nori sheet so that the rough side is facing you. Spread the rice over the nori sheet, covering it evenly but leaving about 0.5 inch (1.5cm) of the sheet free. The rice-free end should be farther from you.
- Place a thin row of the filling of your choice.
- Wet the rice-free end with water and roll everything tightly (the mat helps you get a nice round shape and also by applying pressure when rolling, you are making sure the roll stays tight).
- Slice with sharp knife. Rinse knife every so often to ensure a consist clean cut.
- Serve with soy sauce, wasabi paste and/or pickled ginger.
