Sushi Maki Order Recipes

SUSHI ROLLS (MAKI SUSHI - HOSOMAKI)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients. Please note that cook time does not include time for cooking rice as it varies depending on device/method you use to cook rice. You will need a bamboo sushi mat.

FUTOMAKI (MAKI SUSHI / EHOMAKI)

Steps:

• Start cooking rice and follow my sushi rice recipe here. Cover the prepared sushi rice with a damp cloth at all times to prevent it from drying.
• In a bowl (or a measuring cup), add dried shiitake mushrooms and water and let them soak for 15 minutes. Place a smaller bowl on top so that mushrooms will stay submerged.
• In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Quickly rinse the kanpyo in running water and drain. Rub kanpyo with salt. Rinse and drain well.
• When the water is boiling cook kanpyo for 3 minutes. Transfer to iced water to stop the cooking process and squeeze water out.
• When the shiitake mushrooms are soft and tender, cut off and discard the stem. Strain the shiitake liquid through a fine sieve to get rid of small unwanted bits.
• If the reserved shiitake liquid is not 1 cup (240 ml), add water till you have 1 cup.
• In a medium saucepan, put the kanpyo and mushrooms, and the reserved shiitake liquid.
• Add sugar, mirin, and soy sauce to the saucepan.
• Bring it to boil and once boiling, lower the heat to medium and cook until most of liquid is gone, about 20-30 minutes.
• Cut the shiitake mushrooms to very thin slices and squeeze the water out.
• Squeeze the water out from kanpyo and cut it into 8 inches (20 cm) length, which is about the same size as the nori sheet.
• Now shiitake and kanpyo are ready to use. You can make this ahead of time and store them in the fridge for a couple of days.
• Make one tamagoyaki (I have two versions: tamagoyaki or sweeter atsuyaki tamago). You can make it ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator to save time.
• Cut tamagoyaki into long strips. Keep them in the fridge until they are ready to use.
• Unagi is typically already cooked/broiled when you purchase it. All you need to do is reheat in the oven. Set your oven to broil (high - 550ºF/290ºC) and preheat for 3 minutes. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray oil on the aluminum foil and place the unagi on top. Put the baking sheet in the middle rack of your oven and broil for 5-7 minutes (no need to flip). Cut into 4 long strips.
• Tie the stems with cooking twine to keep them from being untied while cooking. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp salt and blanch mitsuba or spinach just enough to tender. Do not overcook.
• Soak the blanched mitsuba in iced water and squeeze the water out. Set aside.
• Cut off the end and cut into quarter length-wise and remove the seeds. Set aside.
• Open the package and put it in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Gather all the ingredients. Prepare Tezu (finger dipping water) by combining ¼ cup water and 2 tsp rice vinegar.
• Place a bamboo sushi mat on the working surface or cutting board. Then place a sheet of nori on the bamboo mat, shiny side down. Divide sushi rice into quarters. Dip your fingers in Tezu, and put ¼ of sushi rice on nori and spread evenly with your fingers. Make sure to wet your fingers with Tezu when you do this. Spread the rice evenly; otherwise, your sushi roll won't look even when rolled.
• Leaving about a ½ inch (1.5 cm) strip along the top of nori farthest away from you. You don't put the rice till the end because after you roll, the white rice could come out from the seam and it won't look pretty.
• Place the cucumber toward the bottom of nori. Front ingredients will need to go over the other ingredients. Therefore I recommend putting easy-to-hold ingredients toward the front, and put Sakura Denbu and Shiitake toward the top so the pieces won't fall down when you roll.
• From the bottom end (of sushi rice), start rolling nori sheet over the filling tightly and firmly with bamboo mat until the bottom end reaches the end of sushi rice on top. Use your fingers to hold the ingredients when you roll.
• Hold the top of the bamboo mat with one hand and hold the rolled bamboo mat with the other hand and pull against each other to tighten the roll. Lift the bamboo mat and continue to roll. Place the bamboo mat over the roll and tightly squeeze. Continue to make the rest of the rolls.
• Using a very sharp knife, cut the Futomaki in half first. Every slice or every other slice, wipe the knife with a wet kitchen cloth so that you can cut nicely.
• Then cut each half into 3 pieces.

MAKI SUSHI RECIPE

Steps:

• Cook the rice according to the package instructions, or use our Instant Pot Rice recipe (use 2 cups sushi rice and 2 1/2 cups water). While the rice is cooking, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly while the rice continues to cook. Pour the sauce over the just-cooked rice, tossing, fanning, and fluffing it with a rice paddle. Be careful; the rice is hot. Let the rice cool to room temperature before using.
• In a small nonstick skillet, combine the sugar, soy sauce, and mirin and bring to a simmer over medium low heat. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves, then add the tuna and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the liquid evaporates. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and salt until well blended. In a small nonstick skillet, heat half of the neutral oil over medium low heat until shiny and shimmering. Pour the egg mixture in and let sit until the edges start to set, about 30 seconds. Push the edges in, toward the center of the pan, with a silicone spatula while tilting the pan to allow the uncooked egg to spread out. Turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 minutes, until almost all the egg has set, then carefully flip the entire omelet over, adding the remaining oil to the pan right before you flip. Cook for a minute or so, with the lid off, then remove from the heat and let cool before cutting into 1/2-inch-wide strips.
• Prepare an ice-water bath by filling a bowl with a handful of ice cubes and water, and set aside. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer over medium heat and quickly blanch the carrots by cooking them in the simmering water for 1 minute, then plunging them into the ice-water bath. Remove the carrots from the bath after a minute or two, reserving the ice-water bath for the watercress. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, and rice vinegar and add to the carrots. Let sit for 15 minutes; drain the pickling liquid before using.
• Bring the water in the saucepan back to a simmer over medium heat and blanch the watercress by cooking it in the simmering water until it's wilted, about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer it to the ice bath and let sit until cooled, a minute or two. Drain the watercress and soak up any extra water from the watercress with a couple of paper towels.
• Place a sushi rolling mat or other flat roll-able item (we used a place mat) on a clean work surface, with the bamboo running horizontal. Add a sheet of nori, shiny side face-down, and align the bottom edge with the edge of the rolling mat. Spread the sushi rice in a thin layer, about 1/2-inch thick, leaving a 1 1/2-inch margin on the end farthest from you. Leave a 1/2-inch margin of rice on the end closest to you, and arrange your fillings in a row in this order: omelet, carrots, watercress, and tun, with each row touching the previous row. (See the photo above.) Carefully roll the sushi away from you, using the mat to apply pressure. Use one hand to keep the filling in place until you get to the point when the mat touches the rice. At this point, lift the mat away from the rice so that you can continue until the sushi is completely rolled. Repeat this process until all the rice has been used.
• Cut the rolls into 1/2-inch-thick slices, fan them out on a platter, and serve. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and Spicy Mayo (optional).

COOKED SWEET POTATO SUSHI ROLL RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash the rice and add it to the rice maker together with water. Cook according to the instruction.
• Once cooked, transfer the hot rice to a large bowl and let it cool down slightly. When it's still very warm, stir in the sushi vinegar.
• Lay out the bamboo mat with an optional piece of plastic wrap on top sticking.
• Cut off 1/3 of the nori seaweed sheet using kitchen scissors. Then place the remaining nori sheet towards the bottom of the mat, shinning side facing down.
• Take 3/4 cup of cooked rice and evenly spread over nori while leaving 1/2 inch at the top of the sheet. Wet your fingers in the vinegar water to spread the rice in a thin layer.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the rice, and then place sweet potato strips and avocado slices on top.
• Place the thumbs underneath the bamboo mat and lift the edge up and over the filling.
• Roll the bamboo mat away from you and press the rice and filling together. Use the bamboo mat to continue rolling until reaching the blank nori on the edge.
• Peeling the mat back away as you continue to roll, so that the nori can be rolled into a cylinder. Press the mat gently so that the roll won't fall apart when you cut it.
• Place the roll on a cutting board and use a long sharp knife to cut off the edges on each side. Then cut each roll into 8 pieces. Serve and enjoy!

SIMPLE SUSHI

Steps:

• KIDS the writing in bold is for you. ADULTS the rest is for you. TO MAKE SUSHI ROLLS: Pat out some rice. Lay a nori sheet on the mat, shiny-side down. Dip your hands in the vinegared water, then pat handfuls of rice on top in a 1cm thick layer, leaving the furthest edge from you clear.
• Spread over some Japanese mayonnaise. Use a spoon to spread out a thin layer of mayonnaise down the middle of the rice.
• Add the filling. Get your child to top the mayonnaise with a line of their favourite fillings - here we've used tuna and cucumber.
• Roll it up. Lift the edge of the mat over the rice, applying a little pressure to keep everything in a tight roll.
• Stick down the sides like a stamp. When you get to the edge without any rice, brush with a little water and continue to roll into a tight roll.
• Wrap in cling film. Remove the mat and roll tightly in cling film before a grown-up cuts the sushi into thick slices, then unravel the cling film.
• TO MAKE PRESSED SUSHI: Layer over some smoked salmon. Line a loaf tin with cling film, then place a thin layer of smoked salmon inside on top of the cling film.
• Cover with rice and press down. Press about 3cm of rice over the fish, fold the cling film over and press down as much as you can, using another tin if you have one.
• Tip it out like a sandcastle. Turn block of sushi onto a chopping board. Get a grown-up to cut into fingers, then remove the cling film.
• TO MAKE SUSHI BALLS: Choose your topping. Get a small square of cling film and place a topping, like half a prawn or a small piece of smoked salmon, on it. Use damp hands to roll walnut-sized balls of rice and place on the topping.
• Make into tight balls. Bring the corners of the cling film together and tighten into balls by twisting it up, then unwrap and serve.

SPICY SNAPPER MAKI ROLL (SUSHI)

Steps:

• Remove all skin, pin bones, blood lines and sinew from the snapper fillet. Slice the fillet lengthwise into long strips about 1/2-inch wide and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Whisk together 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise with the sriracha in a small bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise with the wasabi paste and a splash of water if needed to loosen the mixture. In a medium bowl, gently combine the cooked sushi rice with the vinegar.
• Lay a piece of plastic that is bigger than the nori sheet on a clean work surface. Lay a nori sheet on top of the plastic in the center. Dip your fingers in water as needed to keep them from sticking to the rice, then use your fingers to spread 1/2 cup of the sushi rice evenly on the nori sheet and gently press down. Flip the nori sheet over so the rice is face down.
• Spoon about 2 teaspoons of the sriracha mayonnaise horizontally across the center of the nori sheet. Place 2 strips of snapper on top of the mayonnaise, then top with a strip of cucumber and 4 to 5 slices of avocado. Using the plastic wrap as a guide, roll the sushi as tight as possible into a log. Trim any excess nori as needed. Remove the plastic and use a sushi mat to form the sushi into a uniform round roll with a flat bottom. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to assemble three more rolls.
• Cut each roll into 6 to 9 pieces. Use a spoon to smear about 1 tablespoon of the wasabi mayonnaise on one side of the serving plate. Place the sushi on the other side of the plate, then sprinkle with some of the furikake. Place about 1 tablespoon salmon roe on top of the wasabi mayonnaise and garnish the plate with a splash of toasted sesame oil. Serve immediately with pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi paste.