LOL at me. I never thought I was utter the words: “easy homemade sushi.” Most people don’t know (because it was before the age of social media) that I spent some time living in Japan. I grew up eating sushi like it was a regular food people eat, so I’ve always enjoyed sushi.
Despite eating thousands of dollars in my lifetime of sushi, I never thought easy homemade sushi was an option. Sushi looks “so fancy” and “so complicated.” But for some weird reason, I saw a sushi-making kit on amazon and decided to buy it.
So How About This “Easy Homemade Sushi”?
It seems overwhelming and like a lot of ingredients. Most of the sushi ingredients you can use often, and once you buy them, they shouldn’t go bad for a while.
So Why Make Homemade Sushi?
You’ll look super fancy, it’s fun, and you can impress your friends. Other benefits of homemade sushi include saving hundreds and not buying 12 rolls to satisfy your runner’s appetite.
Homemade Sushi Staples:
These homemade sushi staples are used for almost every roll, so you want to have enough.
- sushi rice (don’t use brown rice, it won’t work)
- Nori (seaweed)
- Vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Seeds
- Wasabi and Pickled Ginger
I found all of these things at our local Whole Foods. You can find them at an Asian Food Mart too.
Fun Homemade Sushi Ingredients:
As you know, rolls have toppings, and you can pretty much put anything you want in them. A few ideas include:
- avocado
- cream cheese
- cucumber (I don’t like cucumber, but maybe you do, it’s a sushi staple)
- jalapeño
- onion
- carrots
- pear
What about the Fish?
Finally, the fish. It’s important to buy the right kind of fish for your easy homemade sushi (or you’ll get sick). I recommend going to a local fish market to find it (my Whole Foods did not have sushi-grade tuna). If I give you any advice, it’s to buy sushi/sashimi-grade fish. You are eating the fish raw and don’t want to get sick. I found both salmon and tuna at my local fish market.
So How Do You Make Easy Homemade Sushi?
Step 1 Make the Rice
Prepare your rice as usual. For 3 full sushi rolls, I used 4 cups of rice, and it was more than filling. Cooking the rice is actually the longest part of easy homemade sushi.
Step 2 for Easy Homemade Sushi: Season the Rice
did you know people actually used rice vinegar?
You’ll need the following for your easy homemade sushi:
- 2/3 cup of vinegar
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Mix in a small bowl, mix together ingredients, then pour over your rice. Then remove rice from the heater, and it’s ready to go.
Step 3 for Easy Homemade Sushi: Julianne Your Vegetables and Fish
Okay, admittedly, I had no idea what it meant to Julianne anything, but it means slice your vegetables vertically and set them aside to go into sushi. You want your vegetables to be in thin trips, so they easily go into the sushi.
Step 4 for Easy Homemade Sushi: Lay Nori (seaweed)on Your Bamboo Mat:
If you’re like me, this is where you might start getting intimidated. But the recipe says “easy,” and my nonfancy self did it, so so can you.
Step 5: Line Your Nori With Rice
Once your Nori is on the mat, you’ll want to place a straight line of rice on it. After placing rice onto the nori, you’ll then add your toppings. My first sushi creation was imitation crab (yes, I love it), avocado, and carrot.
Step 6: Time to Roll
Roll about 1/4rth of the mat and gently squeeze. This ensures that the Nori sticks to the rice. Go slowly and repeat the process until you’re completely rolled up. The gentle squeezing allows the sushi to stick together. Once it’s all rolled up, set aside and repeat with other sushi rolls.
Step 7 for Easy Homemade Sushi: Slice
If you’ve ever seen sushi rolls, you know they are sliced into bite sliced pieces. Slide into evenly bite-sized pieces, and you are ready to go.
Conclusion:
Easy homemade sushi is a lot more simple than you might imagine! It was for me, and you can save a lot of money by simply rolling your own. Making homemade sushi is fun and rewarding. I have a new appreciation for sushi chefs!
You can see all recipes here.
Questions for you:
Have you made homemade sushi before?
What is your favorite type of sushi?