How to Roll Sushi

Sushi comes in all shapes and sizes, but there’s no denying that the roll is one of the most popular forms. You can make a roll with virtually any ingredient combination that you can think of. Besides the traditional maki roll with seaweed, or nori, on the outside, you can also make a roll with rice on the outside, or a cone-shaped roll called a hand roll. Follow this guide and seriously impress your next dinner party!

Edit Steps

Making Maki Sushi

Place a sheet of nori on your sushi mat. Sheets of nori have a rough side and a smooth side. Place the nori so that the rough side is facing up.
- You can find sushi mats and packages of nori at most Asian food markets. You can order both of them online as well (nori is dried and is easily shipped).

Spread a ball of sushi rice on top. It should evenly cover from the near edge to about an inch from the far edge of the sheet.
- Start by placing the ball in the middle of the sheet of nori, and spread it out evenly.
- Use your fingers to spread the rice onto the nori. Keep your hands wet with a mixture of water and rice vinegar.
- Do not press or mash the rice, or it will not stick properly when rolling.

Start placing your filling ingredients. Place your ingredients in a line, starting on the near edge of the rice layer. Each ingredient should be in its own line, with each row placed a small space from the one before.^[1] Some common maki ingredient combinations:
- Basic tuna or salmon roll: These rolls typically just have just tuna or salmon rolled up, without any other ingredients.
- Ahi roll: Yellowfin, cucumber, daikon, avocado.
- Shrimp tempura roll: shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber.
- Phoenix roll: salmon, tuna, crab sticks, avocado, tempura batter (fried).
- If raw fish is to be used, it is important to use only expertly prepared fish to avoid food poisoning and tapeworm parasites.

Hold the edge of the mat with your thumbs. Start with the edge that has your first ingredient next to it. Lift the nori and fold it over the first ingredient. Make sure to keep the ingredients in place and that the rice sticks together.

Continue to roll the sushi. Tuck the front edge of the nori into the roll, and remove the mat as you continue to roll the sushi. Roll slowly so that you ensure that the sushi is coming out even.

Tighten the roll. You will need to tighten the roll to keep ingredients from falling out when you cut it. Remember to tighten the roll with your sushi mat often, but not too tightly. Roll the sushi roll back and forth in the mat to tighten and seal it.

Allow the roll to sit for a minute before cutting it. You can use this time to make your next roll. This waiting period allows the nori to slightly moisten from the rice, which makes it less likely to tear.

Cut the roll into sixths or eighths using a sharp, wet knife. The thickness of the slices is determined by the number of ingredients. If you have more ingredients in the roll, the slices should be thinner.

Serve your sushi immediately. Sushi is best when eaten freshly-made. Avoid refrigerating it for a later date. Experiment with different ingredients until you find your favorite combinations.

Making Uramaki Sushi

Place a sheet of nori on the sushi mat. Nori should have a rough side and a smooth side. Place the nori so that the rough side is facing up.

Spread a ball of sushi rice on top. It should evenly cover from the near edge to about an inch from the far edge of the sheet. Remove the nori and rice from the mat temporarily.
- Start by placing the ball in the middle of the sheet of nori, and spread it out evenly.
- Use your fingers to spread the rice onto the nori. Keep your hands wet with a mixture of water and rice vinegar.

Prepare a sheet of plastic film about the size of your nori sheet. Lay it out on a flat surface and moisten it with a damp cloth.

Lay the prepared plastic film over the rice spread on your nori.

Flip the nori, rice, and plastic stack. Rest one hand on top of the plastic film and use your other hand to grab and flip the sushi mat from one edge. The stack should then rest on your palm. Lay the sushi mat back on your work surface and lay down the stack on top of it with the plastic side down.

Start placing your filling ingredients. Place the ingredients in a line, directly onto the bare nori starting at the nearest edge of the sheet. Each ingredient should be in its own line, with each row placed a small space from the one before. Some common California roll ingredient combinations:
- Classic California roll: cucumber, crab stick, avocado.
- Philadelphia roll: salmon or smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber.^[2]
- Butterfly roll: eel, crab stick, cucumber, topped with avocado.
- Sushi is a very visual food. Try experimenting with different colored ingredients to make a finished sushi that is as pleasing to look at as it is to eat.

Start rolling. Hold the edge of the mat with your thumbs. Start with the edge that has your first ingredient next to it. Lift the plastic film and fold it over the first ingredient. Make sure to keep the ingredients in place. Fold until the rice has folded over and stuck to the nori.

Start removing the plastic. Once the rice has stuck, gently pull the plastic out of the roll. Keep pulling the plastic out as you continue to fold the roll over.
- Keep tightening the roll as you fold it. This will keep the inside ingredients in place.

Top your roll. Depending on your recipe, you may want to top your roll. You can use avocado, sesame seeds, fish, tobiko (fish eggs) or anything else you can think of.

Cut the roll into sixths or eighths using a sharp, wet knife. The thickness of the slices is determined by the number of ingredients. If you have more ingredients in the roll, the slices should be thinner.

Serve immediately.

Making a Hand Roll

Cradle a sheet of nori in your hand. You should hold it in your non-dominant hand. Make sure to hold it with the shiny side down.
- One end of the sheet should be in your palm, with the opposite end extending up past your fingers.

Place a ball of sushi rice in the nori directly over your palm. Dip your hand in water mixed with rice vinegar to keep the rice from sticking. Spread the rice so that it covers the bottom third of the nori sheet.^[3]
- You should aim to use about 1/2 cup of rice per roll.

Make an indentation in the center of the rice. Place your ingredients into the indentation, and don’t overstuff it or you’ll have a difficult time rolling it up later. Some of the more popular combinations for hand rolls:
- Spicy tuna roll: Chopped tuna, mayonnaise, chili sauce, cucumber, carrot
- Rock ‘n Roll: eel, cream cheese, avocado
- Tamago roll: pan-fried rolled omelet, lettuce, avocado.

Start rolling. Lift the bottom corner of the nori, and fold it over the ingredients, creating a cone shape. Continue rolling, making sure that the roll is tight as possible.
- Press several single grains of rice into the bare end of the nori. These will act as "glue" as the sushi forms a roll.
- You do not need to cut hand rolls. Dip the corner that you are planning to eat in the soy sauce, instead of pouring soy sauce on the whole thing. This will keep it from falling apart.

Finished.

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Edit Tips

Be sure to use a sharp knife when you cut your sushi, or it may tear.

You may choose to use cooked fish or to avoid health hazards. Many types of cooked fish are popular in sushi, including shrimp, eel, and octopus. Smoked salmon is technically not raw.

A light Japanese soy sauce is preferable with sushi, such as Kikkoman, or Kikkoman low sodium. A heavy Chinese cooking soy sauce will overpower the delicate flavors of the sushi.

Do make sure you´re careful about the fish you buy, but remember that it´s not hard to find the right sort if you look, and ask, and don´t chicken out and use something cooked just because raw food sounds scary. Food hygiene is hugely important, but I think the litigation culture in the US has lead to paranoia over raw foods themselves, rather than remembering that it´s human error in handling food that causes most danger. Just buy properly prepared fish from someone reputable, take care in your preparation, and there should be nothing to worry about. But if you´ve read this far, maybe you´re chilled about that - good work! Enjoy the sushi!

Serve with Wasabi (Japanese horseradish), soy sauce, and pickled ginger.

For best results, use only a high grade sushi rice and cook according to instructions in a rice cooker.

If you wish to spread the rice with your hands, wet them with a tiny bit of rice vinegar to keep the Nori from sticking to them. You can alternatively use a non-stick rice paddle to spread the rice.

Wasabi is usually sold in powder form. Mix 1 Tbs. with a few drops of water, add drops and continue to mix until desired consistency is reached.

Experiment with ingredients, particularly fish. Use harder types of vegetables, nothing like tomatoes will do.

Edit Warnings

Sushi rice is a special kind of rice that is sticky when cooked. It is essential to use the right kind of rice! Sushi rice is available at most Japanese, Chinese and Korean markets.

When cooking your rice, make sure to use shorter grains of rice, and don't use oil, as the rice is supposed to be sticky.

Use caution when handling raw fish; wash your hands often.

Be careful when rolling and cutting.

Note that fresh raw fish for sushi should be read as "fresh fish that was properly prepared and quickly frozen." Deep freezing is one of a number of steps taken for food safety's sake. Deep freezing kills tapeworm spores.

Crab meat and other shellfish are very dangerous to eat raw. Raw fish used in sushi must be properly prepared to avoid dangers of parasites and bacteria. You can buy properly prepared sushi grade fish at Japanese markets, where it should be clearly marked "for sushi." Be safe, do your research.