Nori-Maki

Sushi rolls are easy to prepare, but they do take a lot of practice to get right. It isn't necessary to be a great Sushi chef, just practise making simple sushi rolls to start with. Don't expect get it right the first time.

The three main varities of sushi rolls are 1. Slender (Hosomaki): these are slim rolls with 1-3 fillings, they should be small bite size rolls. 2. Thick (Futomaki): Futomaki contains 3 or more fillings, the filling is often cooked such as poached salmon or grilled tuna among other ingredients.. 3. Inside Out Rolls (Yukiwa-Maki): These are the most fidly of all the rolls with the rice on the outside and seaweed on the inside sucuring the filling.

The four main ingredients for sushi rolls are sushi rice (vinegared Japanese short grain rice), Nori (dried seaweed paper), wasabi, and filling of your choice eg. salmon, tuna, omlette, and cucumber. It is also important to have a bamboo rolling mat which are easily purchased from many supermarkets and cookery shops.

Hosomaki: Slender Sushi Rolls

These are the best rolls to start with. Begin with one simple filling before adding more. It isn't as difficult as some may think the most important thing is high quality ingredients, don't try sushi rolls without Japanes rice.

Thick Sushi Rolls: Futomaki

Futomaki are thick sushi rolls with 3 or more ingredients. The filling often contains cooked ingredients such as prawns or poached salmon as well as the famous raw fish.

Inside-Out Rolls: Yukiwa-Maki

These are most probably the hardest sushi rolls to prepare, with the rice on the outside sealing in the seaweed and filling. The qaulity of your sushi rice is crucial for the sucess of these rolls as well as lots of practice. Just as with the previous rolls you can choose your own fillings.

Hand Rolls

These rolls are easy to prepare and you don't need to have a bamboo mat. In Australia large versions of these are sold for an easy lunch or snack.

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4 to 6 Portions
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Prep: 20 minutes per type
Cook: 40 minutes for Sushi Rice

Ingredients

Hosomaki

  • 600g sushi rice
  • 6 nori sheets cut in half (seaweed)
  • wasabi
  • your choice of filling: to begin try cucumber batons, thin slices of salmon or tuna

Futomaki

  • 600g sushi rice
  • 2-3 nori sheets
  • wasabi
  • Three or more of your choice of fillings eg. tuna, avocado, spring onion and cucumber

Yukiwa-Maki:

  • 600g sushi rice
  • 2-3 nori sheets
  • 1 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
  • wasabi
  • fillings of your choice

You Will Need

  • bowl of water and vinegar for your hands
  • tall container with water and vinegar for your knife
  • cloth
  • a sharp knife
  • 2 bamboo rolling mats

Hand Rolls

  • 3 sheets of nori cut into quarters
  • 600g sushi rice
  • wasabi
  • filling of you choice

Method

Hosomaki
  1. Place the half nori sheets shiny side down on the bamboo roller, lengthwise.
  2. Wet your hands in vinegared water.Take a large handful of sushi rice and place it in the centre of the sheet. Spread the rice out with your hands to all th corners leaving around 1cm edge at the furthest side lengthwise to seal in the roll.
  3. With your index finger take a little of the wasabi and spread it in a straightline a third inwards from the edge lenghtwise.
  4. Place the filling along the length of the wasabi.
  5. Using the bamboo mat gently but firmly roll the seaweed once into a thin cylander. Sealing it in with the edge without the rice. Roll it with the help of the mat to make it round. Hold the roll for 30 seconds.
  6. To Cut: Dip a sharp knife in vinegared water and trim the each edge of the roll. Slice the roll into bite size pieces 2-2.5cm thick. Dip the knife in the water between each cut and wipe off the rice.
  7. To Serve: Arrange the rolls on a plate and serve them with Shoyu soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger (optional).
Futomaki
  1. Place the nori sheet shiny side down on the bamboo mat, lengthwise.
  2. Wet your hands in vinegared water. Take a large handful of sushi rice and place it in the centre of the sheet. Spread the rice out with your hands to all th corners leaving around 1cm edge at the furthest side lengthwise to seal in the roll (the rice should be around 1cm thick.
  3. With your index finger take a little of the wasabi and spread it in a straightline a third inwards from the edge lenghtwise.
  4. Place the filling along the length of the wasabi.
  5. Hold the line of ingredients firmly with your fingers and roll the bamboo mat gently but firmly roll the seaweed over so that you seal in the ingredients. Continue to roll and seal with the unfilled edge. Roll it with the help of the mat to make it round and it hold it down for 30 seconds.
  6. To Cut: Dip a sharp knife in vinegar water and trim the edges. Slice the roll in half and then cut each half into 4, cleaning your knife after each cut.
  7. To Serve: Serve the Futomaki with Shoyu soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Yukiwa-Maki
  1. Place a sheet of dull side down on a mat. Take around half the rice and spread it in an even layer to all the sides except for 1 cm of the furthest edge, the rice should be around 1cm thick.
  2. Take the sesame seeds and sprinkle them evenly over all the rice. Press them lightly into the rice with your hands.
  3. Place a sheet of cling film over your second bamboo rolling mat. Holding the cling film to the mat place it over the rice on the other mat and holding the two mats turn them over so that the mat with the cling film is at the bottom and the nori on top. Remove the mat from the nori, with your finger spread an even layer of the wasabi along the length of it around a third inwards to the edge near you. Then place your filling on along the wasabi.
  4. Hold the filling down with your finger tips and roll your mat so as to seal in the filling. Continue to roll to the end so that you have a cylandir, remove the mat and cling film.
  5. Slice the roll into 6 even pieces with a sharp knife dipped in the vinegared water each time and wiped clean.
  6. To Serve: Shoyu soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Hand Rolls
  1. Take a qaurter sheet of nori and place it in the palm of your hand (left if you are right handed and right if you are left handed).
  2. Take a small ball of rice (about the same size as a ping pong ball) and place it in the centre of the sheet.
  3. Place a dab of wasabi on the rice and then place small pieces of the filling on the rice.
  4. Roll the sushi so that the rice and filling are sealed in and you have a cone shape