Sushi is one of my easy go to dishes when I don’t know what to eat. There is very little cooking involved and there are many combos for fillings. Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
The main ingredients needed for sushi are rice, seaweed paper, and vinegar (I use white wine vinegar). For this roll, I used avocado, imitation crab and cucumber. My rule of 3 for sushi is 1 protein, something crunchy and something creamy.
The first step is going to be preparing the rice. I find that for one roll I need about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of dried rice. Because this is a small amount I generally use a small pot and then follow the instructions on the rice container.
While the rice is cooking, its good to get the remaining ingredients ready. Now, I know some people will be question my tastes because I use imitation crab. For one, I do like the flavor of it but it’s also a great inexpensive option and requires no extra preparation.
One the rice is finished cooking, it should be placed into a non-metal bowl and a small amount vinegar should be folded into the rice. The rice is then placed on the seaweed sheet. As a rule, I generally only cover 3/4ths of the sheet.
This gives some extra room for the ingredients to move. Also, the seaweed should overlap on the edge to give the sushi a nice close. The rest of the ingredients for inside the sushi about 1/3 of the way in.
Now all you have to do is roll and squeeze. A bamboo mat is necessary for this step. This will help guide the sushi to get an even roll. The bamboo mat will fold over the sushi and give it that iconic shape!
This part is a little hard to explain but it’s fairly simple to do! And don’t be afraid of mistakes! They all taste delicious. When cutting the sushi, it’s best to do a split method. The first cut should be cutting the entire roll in half.
Continue cutting the pieces in half until 8 rolls are produced. I always have a difficult time with cutting the ends and they always turn out a little funny looking.
There are many fun ingredients that you can put in sushi:
- cream cheese
- carrots
- cucumbers
- avocados
- bean sprouts
- lettuce
- bell peppers
- green onions
- jalapenos
- shrimp (cooked)
- imitation crab
- smoked salmon
- tofu
- chicken (cooked)
Don’t be afraid to get creative! Sushi is a great way to enjoy many food and flavors. The possibilities are endless! Also don’t forget to add any toppings you might want. I like yum yum sauce but there is also soy sauce, eel sauce and so much more.
Homemade Sushi
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Sushi Rice
- 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 1 Sheet Seaweed or Nori
- 4 Sticks Cucumber
- 2 Sticks Avocado
- 2 Sticks Imitation Crab
Instructions
- Cook the sushi rice as per specification on packaging
- Chop avocado and cucumber into strips. A julienne cut works well for ingredients going into sushi but they can be a little larger in size as well
- Put rice into a non-metal bowl and gently fold in vinegar
- Make a thin layer of rice on top of the seaweed sheet that covers approximately 3/4ths of the sheet. Using the back of a spoon can help make this more even.
- Place filling veggies and protein (in this case, cucumber, avocado and imitation crab)
- Roll, squeeze, repeat until you have a long sushi roll.
- Cut sushi into pieces by splitting the long roll in halves until 8 pieces are made.
- Enjoy!