The Best Homemade Sushi Rolls
Prep
35m
Cook
20m
Total
55m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. We're rolling sushi today. Homemade sushi. The BEST homemade sushi. And I know what you're thinking — 'Bigly, sushi is HARD, sushi takes ten years of training, you have to apprentice to a master, you have to sweep floors, you have to cry into your rice cooker for half a decade.' And to those people I say: relax. RELAX. Sushi is rice and a piece of fish wrapped in a piece of seaweed. We're not splitting atoms. We're not building a bridge. We're rolling food. It's fine. It's going to be fine.
Now, here's what nobody tells you. Most so-called sushi experts will swear you need a 'sushi rice cooker' and a 'special vinegar from a small village in Japan blessed by a sushi monk.' That is FAKE NEWS. Total fabrication. A scam. You need short-grain rice. You need rice vinegar. You need a piece of nori. You need a bamboo mat that costs three dollars at any Asian market. That is IT. End of list. End of discussion. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something — probably the cooker.
And these rolls — I've had sushi in Tokyo, in LA, in Houston of all places, Houston has unbelievable sushi, NOBODY talks about it, the food media won't cover it because it doesn't fit the narrative — these rolls are going to blow you away. They're going to make you cancel your sushi delivery subscription. They're going to make you walk past your local sushi restaurant with your nose in the air. Big strong men come up to me — tough guys, men who never cry — and they say, 'Bigly, the rolls. The ROLLS. What did you do.' I tell them I rolled sushi. I rolled it tight. I rolled it RIGHT. And so will you.
Ingredients
- 2 cupsshort-grain sushi rice(short-grain, not long-grain, not jasmine, this matters)
- 2 1/4 cupswater
- 1/4 cuprice vinegar
- 2 tbspgranulated sugar
- 1 tspkosher salt
- 6nori sheets (full size)
- 8 ozsushi-grade tuna or salmon, OR smoked salmon(sushi-grade or smoked, never just regular raw)
- 1/2cucumber, seeded and cut into thin strips
- 1 ripeavocado, sliced thin
- 2 oz, cut into stripscream cheese (optional)
- 2 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
- to tastesoy sauce (for serving)
- to tastepickled ginger (for serving)
- to tastewasabi (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold water, swishing with your hand, until the water runs nearly clear (about 90 seconds). Drain well.
- 2
Combine the rinsed rice and 2 1/4 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce to the lowest heat, and cook 18 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, another 10 minutes.
- 3
Meanwhile, warm the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat just until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil.
- 4
Transfer the cooked rice to a wide bowl or sheet pan. Drizzle the vinegar mixture over and gently fold with a spatula using a slicing motion (do not mash). Fan the rice to cool to body temperature.
- 5
Lay a bamboo sushi mat on the counter and wrap it in plastic wrap (this keeps it clean). Place a sheet of nori shiny-side down on the mat.
- 6
With wet fingers, spread about 3/4 cup of rice over the nori in a thin, even layer, leaving a 1-inch strip uncovered at the top edge.
- 7
Lay strips of fish, cucumber, avocado, and (if using) cream cheese in a horizontal line across the center of the rice.
- 8
Lift the bottom edge of the mat and roll it up and over the filling, tucking it in tightly. Continue rolling, using the mat to compress the roll, until you reach the bare strip of nori. Wet the bare strip lightly with water to seal.
- 9
Transfer the roll to a cutting board. Wipe a very sharp knife with a damp cloth, then slice the roll into 8 pieces, wiping the blade between cuts.
- 10
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining nori and fillings. Serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi.
One more thing
And there you have it. SUSHI. In your own kitchen. You didn't sweep floors for ten years, you didn't apprentice to anybody, you didn't fly to Japan, you just used a bamboo mat and some rice and you DID it. Your friends are going to think you're a magician. Your kids are going to think you've been holding out on them. You can take credit for all of it. I won't tell anybody. Now go eat.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Homemade Sushi Rolls.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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