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How to Make Sushi at Home

5 from 6 reviews

Ingredients

Scale

For quinoa sushi ‘rice’

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa, tricolor is a pretty option!
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons salt

For brown rice sushi rice:

  • 1 cup short grain brown rice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
  • Toasted nori seaweed sheets
  • Seasoned sushi rice (recipe above, one cup makes about 4 rolls)
  • Bamboo mats (available at Whole Foods or online here)
  • Sushi rice paddle
  • Plastic cling wrap
  • Sushi ingredients of your choosing (see shopping list for suggestions), cut into long thin strips
  • Ex: sweet potato, colored peppers, kale, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, mango, asparagus, smoked salmon, tofu
  • Spicy sauce (optional)
  • Caviar (optional)
  • Soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger for serving

Instructions

To make quinoa sushi rice:

  1. Rinse quinoa several times with cold water in a colander. Combine quinoa and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook about 20 minutes until soft and translucent and water is absorbed.
  2. Mix rice vinegar, honey, and salt together and pour over quinoa rice. Stir and set aside to cool.

To make brown sushi rice:

  1. Rinse rice several times with cold water in a colander. Let dry for 15 minutes.
  2. Combine rice and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Cook about 30-35 minutes over medium-low heat until soft.
  3. Stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together until combined. Microwave at 30-second intervals to help mixture dissolve. Stir into sushi rice. Set aside to cool.
  4. Wrap your bamboo mat in plastic cling wrap. Place a nori mat with the shiny side down on top of your mat.
  5. Spread the rice in a thin layer, leaving a 3/4″ gap on the side furthest from where you will start rolling (see photos). To make working with the rice easier, frequently moisten your paddle or spoon in a cup of water.
  6. Place the sushi ingredients of your choosing about 3/4″ from the side with rice. See below for special instructions for sweet potatoes and kale.
  7. Start rolling sushi by lifting the mat up and over the rice. Continue to roll, lifting the mat away from the roll as you go so it doesn’t get incorporated in the roll. When you reach the end, the bare edge of the nori roll should stick to itself and act as a seal. If it doesn’t, moisten it with a few drops of water.
  8. To finish the process wrap the entire roll in the bamboo mat and give it a few good squeezes. Cut the roll into 3/4″ pieces with a sharp knife. To make cleaner cuts, clean the knife off and moisten it between each cut.
  9. If desired, sprinkle sushi with caviar (fish roe), top with thinly sliced lemon or mango

Notes

Tips: Spread the rice as thinly as you can. You can use more ingredients we did in the photos. The one that Pat put the thickest amount of ingredients it was by far our favorite.

To make ‘inside out’ or uramaki rolls, start with the rice spread directly on the sushi mat. Place the nori sheet on top of the rice with the shiny side up. Uramaki rolls are great topped with thinly sliced (paper thin) mango, avocado or lemon.

To make kale for sushi: De-stem 2-3 kale leaves and cut them in one-inch strips. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large skillet. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently until kale is tender. Transfer kale to a plate covered with paper towel and blot to remove extra water.

To make sweet potato for sushi: Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork. Microwave sweet potato until tender when pierced with a fork, about 5-7 minutes.

Please note: The nutritional facts are made only for the “rice” and do not include the wide range of ingredients that you can choose to put into your sushi rolls!

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