Making Sushi at Home, part 6: simple rolls

Enough preparation – let’s make some sushi! Sushi rolls are the best way to get started because they’re fun and easy and can be shared by groups of people. In Japan, simple vegetable rolls like the venerable cucumber roll are very common. These are rolled up half-sheets of nori, with rice on the inside, and thin pieces of filling in the center.

Nori Sheet – You should usually place the nori sheet down such that the longer side is the horizontal one, so that you end up with a mid-sized roll that can be cut in eight pieces. For thicker rolls that you can cut into six pieces, for futomaki for example, you can rotate it, but be sure to apply a fairly thin layer of rice since it will be thick already.

Applying rice – with a wet hand, take a fistful of sushi rice and spread across the sheet of nori in a wide swath. Then gently push the grains of rice upward and downward onto the uncovered parts of the nori, filling all gaps. Whenever your fingers get sticky simply dip them into a small bowl of water.

Using the bamboo mat – recommended technique is to carefully wrap the sudare (bamboo mat) in plastic wrap before starting to use! Cleanup is a breeze this way. Another handy trick when making “inside-out” sushi rolls (rice on outside) is to place a second piece of plastic wrap on the upward facing side of the bamboo mat before placing a sheet of nori on it. After rolling your sushi roll, leave the plastic wrap on the roll, for easier handling and cutting.

Rolling technique – Place the fillings onto the rice about one inch away from the near edge. Begin to roll away from you by folding over the first portion. Take care to stop and cinch the roll toward you using your fingers; do this after each fold. After cinching the roll tight, lift the leading edge of the mat and fold again. Before making the final fold, wet the rice-less final section of nori with a dab of water so that it’ll stick to the rest of the nori. Practice until you know just what size nori sheet you want to use for simple, one-ingredient rolls. Also try to ascertain the right amount of rice to use – nobody likes a roll filled with way too much rice.

Cutting and serving – with a sharp, damp sushi knife cut right down the center of the roll. Now pull the two ends of the roll together so that you can cut through both halves. Typically you’ll cut the rolls into eight pieces, although six is also a common number and you may see four pieces served every now and then. Let’s stick to eight pieces, which means three more cuts (through both halves) instead of two more. You second cut should again be down the center, so that you’ll end up with evenly sized pieces.