Making sushi at home is arguably one of the best ways to enjoy this healthy and shareable food. You get to decide what’s in your rolls and will pay a fraction of what you would at a restaurant. In this blog, we’ll go over how to make sushi at home, covering the tools you’ll need for sushi rolls, recipe ideas, and tips.
Benefits of Homemade Sushi
Making your own rolls is a lot of fun, so you’ll enjoy the fishy fruits of your labor and the process of creating them. Below are some of the perks of making sushi at home. Once you become a DIY sushi expert, you might never go to another sushi restaurant again.
Customize Your Ingredients
Making sushi at home means you have the freedom to control the ingredients and the ratios. So if you love an avocado-heavy roll or an all-shrimp one, nobody can stop you from enjoying your sushi — your way.
Less Expensive
Half of the fun of eating sushi is trying different varieties, but ordering several rolls at a restaurant can result in a hefty bill — especially in culinary capitals like New York or Los Angeles. When you make sushi at home, you can sample tons of recipes for a fraction of the price you’d pay at a restaurant.
Full Quality Control
When it comes to anything involving raw fish, having the finest ingredients doesn’t only impact flavor — it’s also a matter of safety. Once you learn how to make sushi at home, you are in charge of sourcing the ingredients, so make sure to get high-quality, fresh fish from a market you trust.
Fun Activity for Dinner Parties
Making sushi is interactive enough to be the main activity for the evening, but it’s not so involved that you can’t still enjoy a conversation. Plus, it reduces work for you as the host while allowing your guests to decide what goes in their rolls. To learn from the experts, sign up for sushi making classes in NYC, sushi making classes in San Francisco or sushi making classes in DC!
What You’ll Need for Making Sushi At Home
There are some supplies you’ll need to make restaurant-quality sushi at home. Below, we’ll review the equipment you need for your sushi recipe, easy tips for prepping your sushi station, and product recommendations.
A Sharp Knife
If you want precise cuts of fish like you’d get at a sushi restaurant, you’ll need a very sharp knife. Make sure to use a blade that cuts smoothly and quickly through your fish without resistance.
A Bamboo Mat
This essential tool is what you’ll use to roll your sushi up once you’ve placed all of the ingredients inside of it. You can use parchment paper, but only a bamboo mat will provide that clean, tight shape you find at restaurants.
Sushi Rice
You’ll need rice made explicitly for sushi. It has the sticky consistency you need to hold your ingredients and a slightly sweet flavor that compliments the salty fillings of sushi. To save you time, we recommend using ready-made sushi rice.
Nori (aka Seaweed)
Quality seaweed is integral to making terrific homemade sushi. While there are several varieties of seaweed, make sure the one you buy says that it’s made for sushi on the package. If it’s called “Nori,” then it’s the right type for sushi.
A Cutting Board
The best cutting board for making sushi is a hardwood one. Rubber and plastic cutting boards can dull the edge of your knife over time, but the soft nature of a wood board won’t impact your knife’s sharpness.
A Bowl of Water
You’ll want this to dip your fingers into while making rolls. When making sushi, your hands get sticky quickly, making it hard to properly handle your knife. Dunk them in water between roles. Dunk the knife in the water when slicing the rolls to ensure clean cuts.
Plastic Wrap
Place this on your bamboo mat and put your nori sheet on the plastic wrap. That keeps the nori from sticking to your bamboo mat.
6 Easy Homemade Sushi Recipes for Beginners
Now you’re ready to make your sushi rolls! Assuming you’re a sushi-making novice, we’ll begin by teaching you how to make sushi at home that doesn’t call for complicated ingredients. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably want to be more innovative and create your own combinations.
Below are six delicious sushi recipes for beginners. We recommend keeping fresh pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce on hand to serve with these recipes.
1. California Roll
A California Roll is the perfect starter roll if you are still determining how you feel about raw fish. It uses cooked crab and the classic California ingredients of avocado and cucumbers.
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 1 peeled and deseeded cucumber cut into thin strips
- 1 sliced avocado
- 8 ounces shredded real or imitation crab meat
- 4 nori sheets
- Soy sauce
- Pickled ginger
- Wasabi
Instructions
- Place a sheet of plastic wrap over your bamboo mat
- Put a sheet of seaweed on your plastic wrap
- Scoop about one cup of rice onto your nori
- Gently flatten and spread the rice, creating a thin layer
- Leave approximately ½ of nori exposed (riceless) at the top
- Lift your nori sheet and flip it over, placing the rice side onto the plastic wrap
- Put a layer of avocado, cucumber, and crab strips at the bottom of your nori
- Begin rolling your bamboo mat up, starting at the edge where your fillings are
- Gently pull the plastic wrap out while you’re rolling
- Give your roll one more tightening pass, pressing on the mat to make a nice shape
- Slice your roll into six to eight pieces (pro tip: wet your knife between slices for cleaner cuts)
2. Spicy Tuna Roll
Turn up the heat with a spicy tuna roll! If you like a little kick in your sushi and are ready to enjoy raw fish, spicy tuna rolls are one of the most popular menu choices at sushi restaurants, and you can easily make them at home.
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 8 ounces finely-chopped, sushi-grade (high-quality, super-fresh) tuna
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoons sriracha sauce
- 1 finely chopped green onion
- 4 nori sheets
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (for garnish)
Instructions
- Combine the tuna, mayonnaise, green onion, sriracha, and sesame oil in a bowl
- Place one sheet of plastic wrap on your bamboo mat
- Lay one nori sheet on top of your plastic wrap
- Scoop approximately one cup of cooked rice onto your nori
- Gently spread out your rice to create a thin layer. Leave ½ an inch of nori exposed
- If you like a crunchy texture, sprinkle sesame seeds across the rice
- Put a line of your tuna mixture at the bottom edge of your nori
- Use your mat to roll your nori, starting from the bottom where the tuna is
- Gently remove the plastic wrap while you roll
- Firmly press on your rolled-up mat to create a nice, round shape
- Slice our roll into six to eight pieces, wetting the knife between cuts to create clean slices
3. Sushi Rice Bowl
Sushi bowls are a tasty alternative to rolls when you prefer to eat your ingredients with a fork, don’t enjoy the taste of seaweed, or just want the freedom to get more toppings on your rice.
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 8 ounces sashimi-grade fish of your choosing (like raw salmon, tuna, or yellowtail), thinly sliced
- 1 sliced avocado
- Seaweed salad (optional)
- ½ cucumber, thinly sliced or diced
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 sliced radish
- Soy sauce
- Sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
- 4 ounces shredded crab meat (optional)
Instructions
- Put roughly two cups of rice in a bowl
- Add as many toppings as you like on top of your rice
- Garnish with sesame seeds
- Drizzle with soy sauce
- Top off with seaweed salad (if using) and sliced radishes
4. Spicy Crab Roll
Diners who want to stick to cooked seafood and want a bit of kick will love a spicy crab roll. It’s creamy, spicy, and a little crunchy (if you add the sesame seeds) for a dynamic flavor experience.
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 8 ounces real or imitation crab meat, shredded
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sriracha (can adjust to desired spice level)
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 4 sheets nori
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Combine your crab meat with your mayonnaise, sesame oil, sriracha, and green onion in a bowl.
- Line your bamboo mat with a sheet of plastic wrap
- Place a sheet of nori on top of your plastic wrap
- Spread about one cup of rice on top of your nori, leaving ½ an inch exposed
- Add a layer of sesame seeds to your rice if desired
- Scoop some of your crab mixture onto the bottom edge of your nori, creating a line
- Use your bamboo mat to roll up your nori, starting at the bottom
- Gently remove the plastic wrap while you roll
- Slice your roll into six to eight pieces
5. Shrimp Nigiri
Sushi minimalists will love this simple recipe. Shrimp Nigiri relies on little more than its namesake seafood and rice, letting the shrimp shine.
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 16 to 20 large shrimp (peeled, deveined)
- Salt
- Wasabi
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water large enough to hold your shrimp (add a dash of salt)
- Boil your shrimp until they turn pink (this should only take two to three minutes)
- Transfer your shrimp to a bowl of ice water
- Once your shrimp become cool and firm, put them on a cutting board
- If your shrimp curled in the cooking process, straighten them by slicing through their underside
- Place a tablespoon of rice in your hands and form it into an oblong shape (like a small rectangle with rounded edges)
- Spread a tiny amount of wasabi on the underside of the shrimp
- Place the shrimp, wasabi side down, onto the rice, pressing down so it sticks to the shrimp
- Enjoy with soy sauce or pickled ginger
6. Shrimp Tempura Roll
Combine your love of deep-fried food with sushi in a shrimp tempura roll. This roll has a satisfyingly crunchy texture mixed with vegetables and yummy shrimp. (Note: you will need a deep fryer for this recipe).
Ingredients
- 6 cups ready-made sushi rice
- 8 to 10 large shrimp (peeled, deveined)
- Cooking oil of your choice (vegetable or canola oil are great options)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup ice water
- 4 sheets nori
- 1 sliced avocado
- 1 thinly sliced cucumber
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Straighten your shrimp by making small cuts in the underside
- Lightly sprinkle flour on your shrimp
- Combine your cornstarch, remaining flour, and baking powder in a bowl
- Pour ice water into your dry mixture and gently mix (leave it lumpy)
- Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Using tongs, dip each piece of shrimp into your batter
- Put your battered shrimp into the hot oil and cook until golden brown
- Place your cooked shrimp on a plate lined with paper towels
- Put a sheet of plastic wrap on your bamboo mat
- Put a nori sheet over your plastic wrap
- Gently press about one cup of rice onto your nori, spreading it out into a thin layer
- Leave ½ an inch of exposed nori at the top
- Put a line of your veggies at the bottom of the nori
- Add two or three pieces of shrimp to your veggie pile
- Use your bamboo mat to begin rolling your nori, starting at the bottom
- Gently remove the plastic wrap while rolling your nori
- Cut your roll into six to eight pieces
Learn How To Make Sushi with CocuSocial
Become an expert sushi chef with CocuSocial’s online cooking classes and cooking classes in your areas. We offer fun and engaging courses taught by professional chefs at unique venues in major US cities, like cooking classes in NYC, cooking classes in DC and cooking classes in San Francisco.
So whether you’re looking to socialize while improving your culinary skills or want to learn from the comfort of your home, you can learn how to make all your favorite cuisines from trained professionals with CocuSocial. Sign up for a class today and fall in love with the art of cooking.