For the Japanese, sushi making is an art form. But that’s not to say it can’t also be a fun and accessible activity for home cooks.
On saying that, if you’re not well prepared making sushi at home can be hard to master. Even before you try your hand at rolling sushi, you have to stock up on the basic sushi ingredients and tools. Sushi mats, sushi vinegar, and nori sheets are among the essential items you might not already have lying around in the kitchen cupboards.
If you’re keen to try making sushi but don’t know where to start or don’t have the necessary equipment and ingredients sushi kits are a brilliant way to get you rolling.
Follow our guide below for answers to the most frequently asked sushi making questions. Get sushi-savvy, avoid the usual beginner pitfalls and create delicious sushi every time.
Why Make Sushi at Home:
- Making sushi at home allows you to enjoy the entire process and have fun experimenting with different ingredients and techniques. It’s a creative culinary adventure that offers a chance to customize your rolls to your liking.
- Preparing sushi at home can save you time and money. Once you’ve stocked up on the basic ingredients and tools, you can satisfy sushi cravings from the comfort of your home. Save those sushi restaurant bills for special occasions.
- Sushi making at home allows plenty of room for creativity and variety. You can experiment by swapping out traditional fillings and customising with your favorite flavours. Why not play around with the shape and form too? Once you’ve tried rolls with rice on the inside and outside, you can explore other dishes like temaki, sushi bowls, or even poke bowls.
- Sushi making is a fantastic activity for friends or family. Planning a date night? Kids getting bored of the usual mid-week meals? Sushi making is a great way to have fun in the kitchen and suits a variety of everyday and special occasions.
What You Need To Make Sushi:
To make sushi rolls with rice on the inside (maki) or outside (uramaki), you’ll need sushi mats, Japanese rice (you cannot make sushi with other types of rice), sushi vinegar, and nori seaweed sheets.
Sushi is traditionally served with sides of soy sauce and ginger. You can include three full-size Soy Sauces from Fused’s award-winning collection in three flavours: Clever Classic, Cheeky Chilli, Glorious Ginger. Add Fused Chopped Ginger to give your sushi an authentic finish.
Wasabi is another traditional (optional – and fiery!) sushi garnish. If you prefer a milder kick, Fused Cheeky Chilli Soy Sauce is a great replacement, adding a spicy kick to your sushi experience.
What Sushi Roll Fillings To Use:
Traditional sushi roll fillings include sashimi-grade tuna and salmon, eel, prawns, and crab. In sushi bars and restaurants you’ll also often see sushi rolls made with smoked salmon, cucumber, canned tuna, bell pepper, and avocado.
One of the biggest advantages of making sushi at home however is that you can explore using a range of fillings to suit your palate and preferences. Why not experiment with your choice of fish (cooked or raw), meat, vegetables, or even fruit.
Where To Buy Fish For Sushi Making:
If you do decide to use raw fish as a sushi roll filling we would always advise people to seek out the best quality fish they can afford, ideally fish that’s ‘sashimi-grade.’ Sashimi grade fish is essentially fish that is fresh and safe enough to be eaten raw.
Head to a reliable fishmonger and ask for ‘sashimi-grade’ fish, or explain to the fishmonger that you want fish that can be eaten raw.
If you’re nervous of preparing raw fish at home but love the great raw texture, you can easily make ‘ceviche.’ To prepare ceviche simply bathe raw fish in a little citrus juice or another cooking acid. While not a traditional option, this process ‘cooks’ the fish very lightly while also preserving the raw texture and adding another layer of flavour.
How To Tell If Fish Is Fresh:
Fresh fish should smell of the sea and not fishy or unpleasant. The eyes of the fish should be clear not cloudy. The skin of the fish should be firm and shiny. If you lift the gills and look under them they should be bright red. Whole fish will always stay fresher for longer. If you don’t fancy cleaning and filleting the fish at home, ask your fishmonger to do it for you.
What Is Nori:
Nori is a type of seaweed that is made into dry roasted seaweed sheets to make sushi rolls. It’s also sold milled and this is used to sprinkle on dishes just before serving. When you open a pack of nori sheets they should be dry and crispy. Once nori is exposed to air it will become damp and soft so it’s important to store it in an airtight container.
How To Make Sushi Rice:
Plain boiled rice just won’t work for sushi unfortunately. To make authentic-tasting sushi rolls that roll up and hold their fillings correctly, you will need to prepare sushi rice.
Sushi rice is simply short grain Japanese rice cooked and seasoned with sushi vinegar. Sushi rice was traditionally made to preserve the rice and is now used to make all types of sushi. Both Fused Sushi Kits contain Japanese rice and sushi vinegar.
Follow our step-by-step recipe to perfect sushi rice here.
How To Get Started With Sushi Making:
You’re almost ready to roll! Now you have all the essential ingredients and tools, it’s time to start making your sushi. Set up your sushi-making station with your ingredients, invite friends and family to join you, and follow our step-by-step sushi-making recipe here.
What Else To Make With Sushi Ingredients:
Your sushi ingredients have everything you need to make sushi rolls with rice on the inside (maki) or outside (uramaki). Once you get the swing of the basics, there are endless sushi roll variations you can make by playing around with your favorite ingredients.
You can also use the same ingredients to make Temaki sushi. Temaki is a cone-shaped hand-rolled type of sushi with nori on the outside. Try our simple Temaki recipe.
Looking beyond traditional sushi entirely, the same ingredients can be used to create a variety of creative dishes. Why not experiment with our recipes for Sushi Bowl (Chirashi Sushi) recipe or Poke Bowl recipe. Both recipes are quick and easy to make but just as declious.
Meshiagare!
