Making sushi at home is really easy and it’s an ideal way of whiling away a rainy morning or afternoon with kids. The sushi making ingredients and equipment all came from a large branch of Sainsbury’s.
250g sushi (sticky) rice
Sushi nori roasted seaweed sheets (we used 3)
Rice vinegar
Sugar
Fillings of your choice eg prawns, tinned tuna, cucumber, carrots
Bamboo sushi rolling mat
Nigiri sushi maker (little plastic mould with lid)
Wasabi paste
Soy sauce
Pickled ginger
Makes loads of sushi
Following the instructions on the packet, prepare the sushi rice and allow to cool. Then dress with the rice vinegar and sugar. You don’t have to do this, but it does make the sushi taste more authentic.
While the rice is being prepared, thinly slice the cucumber and carrots into julienne style strips. Assemble the other ingredients and arrange on a table top or clear kitchen surface. Being able to sit at the table is a better option if children are involved.
When the rice is ready, lay a sheet of nori on the rolling mat and spread with a thin layer of rice, leaving a gap around the edge. About 5cm from the bottom arrange your filling in an attractive (ideally colourful) line across the sheet horizontally. Using the rolling mat, carefully roll up, pushing away from you and press firmly to form a long sausage. Remove the rolling mat, place the sushi sausage onto a chopping board and slice through with a sharp knife to form short lengths. You might need to wipe the blade of the knife as you go as that rice is sticky!
To make nigiri arrange some prawns or smoked salmon (or sushi grade raw fish) in the bottom of the mould and pack some rice on top. Press down firmly with the lid to compress the rice and then carefully turn out onto a plate or board. (We did this round the wrong way with the prawns on top, but it still worked fine.) For a more authentic result, you could smear some wasabi paste onto the prawns or fish before adding the rice and even place a little strip of nori into the mould at the very start and wrap it around the nigiri, folding it over the rice before compressing with the lid.
I can’t believe how much sushi we made and how much money you save by making it yourself (unless you’re using top end tuna). What’s more, it’s really satisfying. Highly recommended.
