Learning to Make Sushi Rolls

One Day in My Own Kitchen, this Happened…

Making Sushi is Surprisingly Easy – Here are Easy Steps to Make Sushi Rolls

Making sushi at home.

When Tom and I were in Thailand for Christmas last year, we went our separate ways in Ko Phi Phi on New Year’s Eve to buy each other Christmas presents. We had a $15 budget, which luckily goes a long way in Thailand. Along with a necklace transcribed with “Good Luck” (a common saying in

“Santa” came to Ko Phi Phi.

Thai) and t-shirt, I got him a chopstick and saucer kit for sushi.

The next morning when he opened them on our balcony overlooking the ocean and Ko Phi Phi Leh, he excitedly said he loved it and we’d have to learn to make sushi.

“Oh, I’m definitely going to learn how to make sushi rolls,” I assured him. “It’ll be fun!”

As this was coming from a non-chef (me) and a fully employed MBA student (him), making sushi was quickly forgotten upon arriving home.

But then, a trip to Boston and staying with my very handy in the kitchen sister resulted in me learning how to make sushi.

And surprise! Making sushi is surprisingly easy. Thus, upon returning, Tom’s and my Thai souvenir finally got to be opened and put to use.

Here’s the thing with sushi. It looks and sounds ridiculously complicated. Sushi recipes always make it sounds like there’s so many steps, that it must be prone to end in disaster. Looking at one makes my head swirl.

But watching my sister, Coley, made it look so easy! All you do is make rice, pour some rice vinegar over the rice, spread it out on a piece of nori seaweed (which is on a bamboo sushi roller), add some ingredients in a line in the center. Roll it up, being sure to keep it tight, and voila! A sushi roll is born.

Putting the rice onto the seaweed.

With Coley, whose practically a vegetarian, we made sushi with beets, avocados, and carrots. I was very dubious that those ingredients mixed with rice and seaweed dipped in soy sauce was going to be any good. It was fantastic! My sister is a genius.

Beet, carrot, and avocado sushi roll – surprisingly AWESOME. My cutting of the roll was a little sloppy; Coley’s roll was much prettier.

I knew Tom would want fish, so when I made sushi on my own back at home, I had to research where to get it. Quality fish is an important part of making great sushi. It needs to be sushi grade and come from a reputable fish market. If you’re eating raw fish, you don’t want to skimp on quality.

The hardest part of making sushi was the rice. It needs to be sushi rice so it’s sticky and the right consistency. The only sushi rice I could find in the grocery store (which has its own Asian food section – who knew? Ok, probably lots of people who cook with actual ingredients) had to be rinsed several times, then drained for thirty minutes, then cooked on medium-high until boiling, followed by two minutes on high, then 5 minutes on medium, then let it sit for 15 minutes, then sit for another 15 minutes with the lid covered in a damp cloth.

Uh…is that all seriously necessary? But I followed the directions to a T anyway – and still burned some of the rice on the edge. But the rest of it was fine so all wasn’t lost.

Then I did what Coley taught me to make the roll, cooked up some edamame, and dinner was served. The only thing missing was some sake.

Sushi dinner at Chez One Day in a City

My sushi rolls – make sure you have a sharp knife when cutting the roll into pieces. I also added a Ponzo sauce on top – also surprisingly easy to make.

Also – and perhaps most importantly – no food poisoning occurred, so I consider my first bout of sushi making on my own to be a success.

Have you ever tried making sushi?

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