Sushi

The first time I made sushi at home, I worked together with my husband – he handled most of it, and I helped with the details and preparations. I didn’t have much experience, but the result was very good, and we managed more easily than we thought. We kept things simple and followed the steps as closely as possible.

Quick Info

Total time: about 2 hours
Effective preparation time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes (rice + ginger)
Servings: 4-5
Difficulty: medium (requires a bit of patience when rolling)
Recipe type: homemade sushi, suitable for family meals or with friends

Ingredients

5 sheets of dried Nori seaweed
400 g sushi rice (short grain)
3-4 tablespoons sushi vinegar (I used the version with sugar already included)
1 piece of fresh ginger (about 4-5 cm)
1 medium fresh cucumber
half a carrot
4 surimi sticks
1 slice of fresh pineapple
75 g smoked salmon
6 cooked shrimp
4-5 tablespoons salt
5 tablespoons vinegar (for preparing the ginger)
soy sauce for serving

Preparation method

1. Preparing the ginger
Peel the ginger and slice it thinly, then cut it into very fine sticks. Place the sticks in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Add 5 tablespoons of salt and stir until dissolved. Let the ginger sit in the brine for at least an hour – if you have time, you can leave it overnight for a more balanced taste. After sitting in the salt, wash the ginger very well under cold running water to remove the salt. Then boil it with 5 tablespoons of vinegar for 20 minutes. If you’re not in a hurry, you can boil the ginger only in water and leave it in vinegar overnight – it changes the taste and texture.
2. Preparing the sushi rice
Wash the rice in several cold waters until the water runs clear. Place the rice in a pot. Use a ratio of 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water (for example, for one cup of rice, use one and a half cups of water). Bring the rice to a boil. When the water starts to boil, let the rice cook on high heat for one minute, then reduce the heat to the minimum, cover, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Do not stir during cooking. After 15 minutes, turn the rice out onto a tray, without scraping the layer stuck to the bottom of the pot. Spread the rice with a spoon, then add the sushi vinegar. Gently mix with a spatula or spoon to distribute the vinegar evenly.
3. Preparing the filling ingredients
Cut the cucumber, carrot, and pineapple into thin sticks. The carrot should be cut thinner than the cucumber and pineapple, so it doesn’t stand out too much in texture. Slice the salmon into thin strips suitable for rolling. The shrimp should already be cooked and peeled.
4. Assembling the sushi
On a bamboo mat (or, if you don’t have one, on a piece of plastic wrap), place a sheet of Nori with the shiny side down. Take 2-3 tablespoons of rice and spread it over 2/3 of the seaweed surface, leaving about a 2 cm space at one end. The rice is sticky, so keep a small bowl of cold water nearby and frequently wet your fingers to work more easily. On the rice edge, place 3 shrimp, then two sticks of cucumber and a bit of ginger. You can vary the filling to your taste: for example, you can use salmon, cucumber, carrot, and ginger, or surimi, cucumber, and pineapple. Use the mat to roll the sushi. Hold the mat and the Nori sheet, and start rolling tightly, pressing gently at first so the ingredients stay in place. Continue rolling until you reach the end. Moisten the end of the rice-free edge slightly with water to seal it at the end. Cut the sushi roll with a very sharp, wet knife into suitable pieces (usually 6-8 pieces from a roll, depending on preference). Repeat for each sheet of Nori and remaining ingredients. Serve the rolls with soy sauce on the side.
Why I make this recipe often
Homemade sushi gives me the freedom to combine ingredients, and I love seeing exactly what I put in. It’s more economical than at a restaurant, you can use leftover vegetables or fish from the fridge, and everyone can choose their preferred combination at the table.
Tips and variations
Tips
Don’t force the rice – if it sticks too much, wet your fingers more often.
Don’t overfill the sushi, or it will be hard to roll.
Use a very sharp knife, wetting it with each cut.
If you don’t have a bamboo mat, you can use plastic wrap, but you won’t achieve rolls as compact.
Substitutions
Smoked salmon can be replaced with canned tuna or any other cooked fish.
Surimi can be replaced with cooked crab or small shrimp pieces.
If you don’t have sushi vinegar with sugar, add a teaspoon of sugar to regular vinegar.
Carrot and pineapple can be omitted or replaced with bell pepper or avocado, depending on what you have on hand.
Variations
You can also try vegetarian versions using only vegetables.
You can sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the rice before rolling for a different texture.
The filling mixture can include other vegetables: asparagus, radishes, etc.
Serving ideas
Sushi is served cold, with simple soy sauce. It also goes well with a bit of wasabi or pickled ginger (prepared using the above method). It can be placed on a platter for communal meals or for snacks at a party.
Frequently asked questions
1. Can I use regular rice for sushi?
Ideally, you should use short-grain rice specifically for sushi, which becomes sticky and has the right texture. You won’t get the same result with regular rice, but you can try if you have nothing else.
2. What should I do if the rolls come undone at the end?
Usually, the end without rice needs to be moistened slightly with water to stick the Nori sheet well. If it still comes undone, press gently and let the roll sit for a few minutes before cutting it.
3. Can I prepare the ingredients in advance?
The sushi rice should be used fresh, but the fillings (vegetables, fish, ginger) can be prepared a few hours in advance and kept in the fridge.
4. Do I have to use shrimp?
It’s not mandatory; you can use only vegetables, surimi, or salmon, depending on your preference and what you have on hand.
5. Can I omit the pickled ginger?
Yes, you can skip it if you don’t like the taste or don’t have time to prepare it; the sushi will still be good.
Nutritional values
Estimation per serving (for 1/5 of the recipe): about 320 kcal, 7-8 g protein (more if you use more fish), 65 g carbohydrates, 1.5 g fat. Values may vary depending on the filling ingredients used and the amount of fish or seafood. Soy sauce is not included in the calculation.
Storage and reheating
Sushi is usually consumed fresh, on the day it is prepared. If there are leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge covered with plastic wrap, but the texture of the rice will suffer, and the Nori sheet will become soggy. Reheating is not recommended. Consume leftovers within 24 hours.

We start by preparing the ginger as follows: we peel the skin, slice it thinly, and then cut the slices into thin sticks. We add just enough water to cover it and the 5 tablespoons of salt, then mix until the salt dissolves and set it aside for at least an hour (ideally overnight, but I didn't have that time). We wash it well to remove all the salt and boil it for 20 minutes with the 5 tablespoons of vinegar (if you have more time, boil the ginger in plain water first and then keep it in vinegar overnight). At the same time, we can prepare the rice: wash it well and put it in a pot with water, using one and a half measures of water for each measure of rice (my measure was a cup). We put it on the heat, and when it starts to boil, we leave it on high heat for one minute, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice while it is cooking. After 15 minutes, we turn the rice onto a tray, being careful not to scrape the bottom of the pot (there will be a layer of rice stuck to the bottom that we won’t use), spread it out with a spoon, and add the sushi vinegar, mixing well. The cucumber, carrot, and pineapple are cut into thin sticks (the carrot thinner than the cucumber and pineapple) and the salmon into pieces. We start assembling as follows: on a bamboo mat used for rolling sushi, we spread a sheet of Nori, then 2-3 tablespoons of rice, which we press and spread with our fingers to form a layer that is neither too thin nor too thick, leaving one edge of the seaweed, about 2 centimeters, without rice. Since the rice is very sticky, we will need a bowl of water nearby to occasionally wet our fingers. Along the edge of the seaweed with rice, not the one that will remain without, we line up 3 shrimp, then 2 sticks of cucumber, and a little ginger. We hold the mat and the seaweed at the same time and start rolling, pressing the ingredients inside at first with our fingers to keep them from moving, then continue rolling to the end, using the mat and gently tightening along the sushi roll. When we reach the end of the seaweed, the edge without rice, we wet it a little with water and finish rolling. You can combine the ingredients inside according to your preference. I also used salmon, cucumber, carrot, and ginger or surimi, cucumber, and pineapple. It is served with soy sauce.

 Ingredients: 5 sheets of dried Nori seaweed, 400g sushi rice (round grain), 3-4 tablespoons sushi vinegar (already contains sugar), 1 piece of fresh ginger about 4-5cm, 1 medium fresh cucumber, half a carrot, 4 surimi sticks, 1 slice of fresh pineapple, 75g smoked salmon, 6 cooked shrimp, 4-5 tablespoons of salt, 5 tablespoons vinegar, soy sauce.

 Tags:  sushi