Temaki Sushi
Standard · 50 min · Serves 2 · Japanese
Dietary: pescatarian, dairy-free, nut-free
Cones of crisp nori filled with seasoned sushi rice, sashimi-grade tuna and salmon, avocado, and cucumber — rolled by hand at the table.
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Sushi rice
- 300 g sushi rice, Japanese short-grain
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Fillings
- 100 g sushi-grade tuna, cut into finger-length sticks
- 100 g sushi-grade salmon, cut into finger-length sticks
- 1 avocado, cut into long strips
- 0.5 cucumber, seeded and cut into 7.5 cm (3 inch) sticks
- 30 g daikon sprouts, roots trimmed, rinsed (optional)
- 6 shiso leaf, stems removed (optional)
Rolling
- 3 sheet nori
To serve
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 30 g pickled ginger (optional)
- 1 tsp wasabi (optional)
Steps
Sushi rice
- Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water, swishing it with your hand and pouring off the cloudy water, 3 to 4 times, until the water runs almost clear. Drain well, then cook it according to the packet or in a rice cooker.
- While the rice cooks, stir the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together until the sugar and salt dissolve. Spread the hot rice in a large, wide bowl, pour the seasoning over, and fold it through with a rice paddle using a slicing motion, so the grains stay whole rather than mashing.
- Cover the rice with a damp towel and let it cool to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. Season it hot, so it soaks up the vinegar, but roll it cool, or it softens the nori.
Fillings
- Use only sashimi-grade tuna and salmon, sold for eating raw. Pat the fish dry with paper towels before cutting, arrange it on a platter, and keep it in the fridge until you sit down.
- Arrange the cucumber, daikon sprouts and shiso on a tray, adding the avocado last, just before serving, so it doesn't brown.
Rolling
- Right before eating, cut each nori sheet in half to make six half-sheets, and keep them in their bag until the moment you roll: they lose their crispness quickly in the air.
- Set everything out on the table (the rice in a bowl, the fish, the vegetables, the nori and the condiments) so everyone builds their own.
- With dry hands, so the nori stays crisp, hold a half-sheet shiny side down across your palm and spread a thin layer of rice over the left third, leaving the rest bare.
- Lay a few fillings along the middle of the rice, then fold the bottom-left corner up over them and roll the sheet into a snug cone. Press a grain of rice onto the last corner to glue it shut.
To serve
- Eat each one straight away, while the nori is still crisp, with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger. Raw fish should be eaten within 24 hours; keep any leftover fish covered in the fridge for no more than a day.