How To Make Maki Sushi Rolls Recipe - Famous Dishes Of Janpan

Sushi rolls, or ‘makizushi’ in Japanese, are what most non-Japanese people think of when they think of sushi. Makizushi is made by wrapping up fillings in rice and nori seaweed. This recipe shows you how to make a basic makizushi roll, which can then be filled with whatever fillings you desire. Master the technique and get creative.

Ingredients

• 100g sushi rice
• 1 sheet nori seaweed
• 2 tbsp sushi vinegar
• soy sauce
• wasabi
• sushi ginger
• roasted white sesame seeds (optional)
• possible fillings
• tuna – sashimi grade, raw
• salmon – sashimi grade, raw
• avocado
• cucumber
• crab sticks
• canned tuna mixed with mayo
• prawns

"I love to eat sushi, and, you know, those flavors and wasabi and really eating spoonfuls of it... I would just mix it and put it on everything, literally"

— David Chang from best life quotes

How To Prepare

1. To make sushi rice, Japanese white rice is mixed with a special sushi rice vinegar. 
2. Once you have your sushi rice prepared, you will need to begin by laying out a preparation area with your makisu rolling mat.
3. Place a sheet or nori on the mat and cover two thirds of one side of your nori seaweed with your sushi rice approximately 1cm high.
4. Add your ingredients in a line on top of the rice in the centre. You can choose any combination of ingredients that compliment each other well. We went for salmon, salad and mayonnaise for this one.
5. Now for the fun bit. Using the wooden rolling mat, start rolling up the ingredients away from you, while keeping the roll tight. The moisture from the rice will help it stick together.
6. You can then cut your roll into 6-8 pieces and serve with some soy sauce, wasabi, sushi ginger and cup of sencha green tea.

Tips and Information

- Try wrapping your sushi rolling mat with cling film before you start rolling at this will not only make the mat easier to clean after using, but helps the sticky rice from getting stuck on the mat.

- It is a good idea to have a bowl of water next to you when you are making makizushi as it is important to keep your fingers wet so that the rice doesn’t stick to them. It is also a good idea to keep the knife wet when you cut it to guarantee that you get a clean cut.

- You can make what’s called an Uramaki roll, or an inside out roll. This is made with the nori on the inside and the rice on the outside of the roll. Uramaki is great sprinkled with roasted white sesame seeds.

- Makizushi usually come in two types, futomaki and hosomaki. Futomaki is a thick roll like the one we are making in the photos above with a selection of ingredients inside. Hosomaki is a thinner version, usually containing just one ingredient such as tuna, salmon or cucumber.

- You can use any types of ingredients for sushi rolls. Many of the popular ones like California Roll (Crab Sticks, Avocado & Cucumber) and the Philadelphia Roll (Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Cucumber) were both invented outside Japan.