Easy Sushi

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Sushi is not hard to make. If I can do it, anyone can. I make the easy sushi, not so fancy, but very tasty. You can make it too, but feel free to experiment with ingredients. There is no wrong way.

Here are the ingredients I use. You can see them on the island, ready to be put together. The rice is Arborio, a short grain (sticky) rice named after the town in Italy where it is grown. It’s usually used for risotto, but it works well in sushi, too. There are several other brands of sticky rice (look for short grain). I add a tablespoon of rice vinegar and stir it around after the rice is cooked. The rice should be made ahead and then chilled. One generous cup of raw rice grains, once cooked, will yield about five rolls of sushi.

The blue dish next to the rice has cold water for dipping very clean or gloved hands in so the (sticky) rice won’t stick to the hands.

I have a dish of mayo on hand and a spatula for spreading it on the Sushi Nori (seaweed sheets).

You’ll see some asparagus and carrot strips that I heated in a tiny bit of water in the microwave for about 2 minutes. They are now drained and chilled.

And most importantly, we have cold-smoked salmon (coho in this case) which will give the ultimate flavour thrill to the sushi. The salmon needs to be sliced into strips before putting into the sushi, of course.

So here we go.

Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the sheet of dried seaweed. I have it sitting on a bamboo mat for rolling it up later.

Put a generous (HUGE) tablespoonful of rice onto the seaweed and with wetted hands, pat it into a thin layer.

My layer of rice is not yet evenly spread. I don’t go right to the top end, wanting some seaweed for sealing the roll. Make the rice layer as thin as possible.

At the end closest to you, make a little ditch in the rice and place the carrot sticks, asparagus, and salmon strips in it. Then, using the end of the mat to help start a firm roll, fold over the seaweed, press it down gently and roll it up. You can drape the mat over it loosely and then press the roll together evenly if you like.

Put the finished roll aside on a small cutting board and get the next sheet of seaweed ready for loading up.

 With a VERY sharp knife, cut the roll in the middle, as shown below. Then place the two halves side by side and cut each in half again.

 

You should have eight pieces when you’re finished.

Eating the sushi…. There are as many ways as there are mouths in the world. I like to put a tiny dab of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) on a piece of sushi, spoon over some soya sauce, and top it with a thin slice of pickled ginger. Not shown in the photo is my favourite “condiment,” which I remembered to put on the table later, black roasted sesame seeds. Sprinkle these on and it adds a nutty crunch to the already fabulous variety of textures and flavours.

You can vary the foods you put in the sushi rolls. I’ve heard of cantaloupe being used, as well as mushrooms,  avocado, and lettuce. I just googled sushi ingredients and was bowled over by the huge list of possibilities. Just pick some of your favourite foods and give it a try.

46 thoughts on “Easy Sushi”

    • No. Not raw. I don’t like the idea of eating raw fish. I think it’s sashimi that has raw fish. We use smoked salmon which has been deep frozen (sushi grade) to make sure there is nothing in it to make a person sick. I don’t care for the idea of eating raw fish either.

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        • I don’t eat raw fish. Pickled or smoked fish is always processed in a way that breaks down the cell structure so it’s no longer raw. You could always ask at the store if the fish is raw, or if it’s pickled or smoked. I think it’s sashimi that uses raw fish, but there may be some crossovers so ask to be sure. That’s the beauty of making it at home. You know what’s in it.

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  7. My favourite type of sushi is “dynamite rolls”. Instead of the smoked Salmon, use tempura dipped prawns. And I love love LOVE inside out sushi rolls too, with all of the above condiments, and including a bit of sweet red chili sauce or chipolte aioli lightly spread on top. YUM! So next time I come for a visit, it will be sushi making and EATING night! 😀 Woo hoo!

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  8. Making sushi looks so easy but I’ve never tried it. Our son-in-law and grandson are awesome sushi makers. Someday I’ll give it a try. Thanks for the encouragement.

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    • A lot of the books and TV instructions say to use a special mayo with fish flavour in it but I’ve found that plain mayo works well, and I don’t care for the old fish juice fermenting my mayo anyway. Beyond that, you can use a lot of different foods to make the sushi be just what you like. It sure was good.

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  14. I never made sushi because my husband wouldn´t touch it. But yours would probably water his mouth too. Love it how you demonstrated the “how to do” – should be easy enough too do – even for myself. Thanks for sharing.

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    • I think a lot of people think it is always with raw fish and they are afraid of parasites in the fish. I don’t eat it raw for that reason, but deep frozen and then smoked and cured is a different thing altogether. If you love smoked fish, you’ll love sushi – at least this one with these ingredients. You could make it without the smoked fish too and maybe put in some crab meat or some other cooked fish – tuna flakes – or just forget about the fish altogether.

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  17. You make me laugh. You’re like my friend who is an artist and she says “you can do this, it’s easy to paint a watercolor.” Haha. Looks like quite a process to make that delicious looking sushi. And I do enjoy sushi and like you I like the kick of the wasabi.

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