A beginner's guide to making sushi. We love sushi, as do our kids and it's easy to make. Homemade sushi makes a great weekend dinner and is always a crowd pleaser. You can make a variety of fillings to meet a range of tastes and dietary requirements. Sushi chefs in Japan take decades to learn their trade, perfecting rice and slicing raw fish. While we can aspire to produce Japanese dishes like the masters, let's start at the beginning, with simple yet tasty homemade sushi.
Follow our how to make sushi guide and let us walk you through the process.
What you need
- A bamboo sushi mat, these are inexpensive and easy to find.
- Nori sheets, these are sheets of seaweed for making sushi and can be found in most supermarkets.
- Sushi seasoning (vinegar), you can make this at home and it's fairly easy to do. But for a beginner's guide to making sushi, let's keep it simple and use store bought sushi seasoning / vinegar.
- Rice, you can buy sushi rice but you can use medium grain rice which is normally cheaper and easier to find.
Instructions
Making the rice
Good homemade sushi starts with well made rice, to do this use the absorption method to cook it.
- Take 1 cup of your rice, rinse well in cold water.
- The rice needs to be cooked 1 part rice to 1.5 part water. So place the cup of rice in a pot and add 1.5 cups of water, add the lid and bring to the boil.
- Once its boiling reduce to simmer for around 8-10 minutes but keep an eye on it. You want the rice to absorb all the water but not burn or stick to the bottom on the pot!
- Once the rice is cooked, cool it quickly by spreading it out on a tray, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sushi seasoning and mix well. Taste and adjust to your preference.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE:
How to make a maki roll.
Lets start with a maki roll, as they are the easiest to make. Maki is basically rice and filling wrapped in seaweed.
- Place your nori sheet longest edge at the bottom, shiny side facing down. You can place this on the sushi mat to help you roll it but you don't have to at this stage. Wet your hands to prevent the rice from sticking, then place a thin layer across the sheet leaving about an inch gap at the top.
- Add your filling of choice, we love tuna, teriyaki chicken or salmon with avocado and/or cucumber. Or a vegetarian roll with capsicum (peppers), avocado and carrots.
- Make sure your ingredients are thinly sliced and a similar length, so they can be lined up on the rice. Place your filling half way up the rice and let it hang over the sides, to make sure the whole roll is filled.
How to roll
- Make sure you have some water to hand. Take the bottom of the sheet and roll it up so that the bottom meets the top line of the rice.
- Try to make one full roll of the rice keeping it tight, hold the roll in place. Then wet your fingers with the water and slightly dampen the remaining edge of the nori sheet then continue to roll the sheet, sealing the roll.
- Place the roll on the sushi mat, roll the mat around the sushi giving it a gentle yet firm squeeze. You want to compact the roll keeping it round but not squash it.
- Once you have made up all your rolls, make sure your knife is sharp and run the edge of the knife under a running tap. Cut the roll in half then keep cutting the pieces in half again until you have 8 pieces. Keep running the knife under a little water in between cuts to prevent the rice from sticking to it.
How to make sushi with rice on the outside
Sushi with rice on the outside is called Uramaki sushi aka California roll. Similar to a maki roll but the rice is on the outside and seaweed wraps around the filling.
Instructions
- Follow the process as above but start by cutting your nori sheet in half. This will give you one whole circle when you roll the sushi. Then layer on the rice covering the whole surface.
- Flip the roll over and add your fillings of choice to the middle of the roll.
- Roll the bottom the sheet over once to meet the top and make one whole roll.
- Place on sushi mat and gently roll to tighten it up and seal it. But don't over squeeze.
- Once you are ready to serve use a sharp knife and cut the roll in half then keep cutting the pieces in half again until you have 8 equal piece. As with a maki roll keep dipping the edge of the knife under running water to stop the rice from sticking.
We love to serve sushi with soy sauce, pickled ginger, wasabi, Japanese mayo, edamame and miso soup. You can also top the rolls with toasted sesame seeds, tobiko, togarashi, check out your local Asian supermarket!
The beauty of making sushi is you can serve it exactly how you like, adding all your favourite ingredients.
We hope our beginner's guide to making sushi has given you the inspiration to get rolling!
Love this dish? Please leave us a review below. And come join us on social, tag us in your delicious photos Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Hungry for more deliciousness? Sign up to our newsletter, to receive our latest e-recipe book and never miss another ATK recipe!
Our goal is to share simple, tasty dishes created by Chef Shane. Using his understanding of flavours and knowledge of food, to teach and inspire you to create delicious food, cooked perfectly and gain a new level of confidence in the kitchen.
Happy cooking!
Recipe
How To Make Sushi: A Beginner's Guide
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Take 1 cup of your rice, rinse well in cold water.
- The rice needs to be cooked 1 part rice to 1.5 part water. So place the cup of rice in a pot and add 1.5 cups of water, add the lid and bring to the boil.
- Once its boiling reduce to simmer for around 8-10 minutes but keep an eye on it. You want the rice to absorb all the water but not burn or stick to the bottom on the pot!
- Once the rice is cooked, cool it quickly by spreading it out on a tray, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sushi seasoning and mix well. Taste and adjust to your preference.
- Place your nori sheet longest edge at the bottom, shiny side facing down. You can place this on the sushi mat to help you roll it but you don’t have to at this stage. Wet your hands to prevent the rice from sticking, then place a thin layer across the sheet leaving about an inch gap at the top.
- Add your filling of choice.
- Make sure your ingredients are thinly sliced and a similar length, so they can be lined up on the rice. Place your filling half way up the rice and let it hang over the sides, to make sure the whole roll is filled.
- Make sure you have some water to hand. Take the bottom of the sheet and roll it up so that the bottom meets the top line of the rice.
- Try to make one full roll of the rice keeping it tight, hold the roll in place. Then wet your fingers with the water and slightly dampen the remaining edge of the nori sheet then continue to roll the sheet, sealing the roll.
- Place the roll on the sushi mat, roll the mat around the sushi giving it a gentle yet firm squeeze. You want to compact the roll keeping it round but not squash it.
- Once you have made up all your rolls, make sure your knife is sharp and run the edge of the knife under a running tap. Cut the roll in half then keep cutting the pieces in half again until you have 8 pieces. (Keep running the knife under a little water in between cuts to prevent the rice from sticking to it).
Notes
- Follow the process as above but start by cutting your nori sheet in half. This will give you one whole circle when you roll the sushi. Then layer on the rice covering the whole surface.
- Flip the roll over and add your fillings of choice to the middle of the roll.
- Roll the bottom the sheet over once to meet the top and make one whole roll.
- Place on sushi mat and gently roll to tighten it up and seal it. But don’t over squeeze. Once you are ready to serve use a sharp knife and cut the roll in half then keep cutting the pieces in half again until you have 8 equal piece. As with a maki roll keep dipping the edge of the knife under running water to stop the rice from sticking.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
I love sushi too so it’s great to have some step by step as it looks quite daunting otherwisae. Great tips too!
Angela Krauze says
It looks delicious. I am going to try to make sushi.Thank you
Maria San Juan says
Yuum! Perfect for the holidays! Will surely add this to my menu!
Michelle says
Making sushi is so relaxing. I love how simple and easy these tips are. Level up!
Artney says
I love how you’ve made this so easy to follow. I’ve been wanting to make sushi and I’ll be using this guide! Thank you!
Danielle Wolter says
Great tip! I have always wanted to make my own sushi. I have a mat and everything, just haven't tried it. This came at the perfect time!
Agnieszka says
Made sushi last night using these directions and it turned out perfect! My kids were very excited. Thank you for the tutorial.
Kristen Wood says
This was a super helpful post, thank you! And so tasty, too!
Anjali says
I have always been really intimidated to make sushi from scratch at home, but your helpful guide has motivated me to try it out!! Thank you so much for all of the helpful tips!
Mahy says
I am so excited to give it a try! It looks like a very easy guide to follow!
The Matthew’s Family says
I have always been overwhelmed at the thought of making Sushi. When I found this guide you made it look so simple so I made it and my family love it. Love this site and its content!
Sara-Jane Bowness says
Thank you and so glad you gave it a try. It really is easier than it looks and a great dish to be able to whip up, especially when the whole family loves it (that's always a win)!
Danielle Wolter says
So many great tips here! One of the things I plan to do for 2022 is learn how to make sushi. Now I have a place to start!
Alex says
You made making sushi a lot less intimidating! I will feel confident when I follow your easy steps. I can't wait to make some awesome yummy sushi!!!! Thank you so much!!!
Jan Hopper says
Great explanation and easy steps
My grandchildren and their Mum love sushi so thought I’d make them some.
Sara-Jane Bowness says
Well done for giving it a try and thank you glad our steps helped! It's an awesome thing to learn to make at home especially when you have sushi lovers in the family 🙂 Sara
name* says
thank you
Gabi says
I've always been too scared to make my own sushi until now. It's actually quite simple and quick to make. Totally delicious! Thank you for the easy to follow instructions!!
Sara-Jane Bowness says
That's awesome, we are so glad you gave it a go and found our guide helpful! You may find yourself a little addicted to making sushi now haha, enjoy!
Robyn says
Since using your recipe I have not bought shop Sushi, it is quick, cheap and you can make varieties to suit you. I love it, I found all I needed in Woolworths Asian section. Yum.
Guillem says
It is a really good recipe, and it worked for me, but I still sometimes buy sushi when I don't have time... Anyway, this recipe made me start sushi Saturdays!
Stephen Follant says
Looks so easy, thank you.
My daughter only eats the cucumber maki and buying it from a shop is not cheap!!
Will give it a go.
Guillem says
It did work
Lorenzo says
wow i loved it,its perfect for my whole family and really love sushi.
Gemma says
Worked perfectly!