Our guide to creating the perfect sushi roll

Sushi rolling is an art, and with due care and practise you can create beautifully ornate sushi treats for your indulgence. The eating process of sushi begins with a high level of visual aesthetics, so creating a perfect roll is important to the overall experience, and this can take many years of practise to master. Rolling sushi is a fun activity that leaves you with fruitful results, perfect for a healthy meal or to share with friends and family. Our guide is here to help you to master the art of the most basic sushi making techniques so that you can create your very own sushi masterpieces at home!

First off, the equipment you will need:

· A bamboo-rolling mat

· Wooden spoon

· Wooden bowl

· Sharp knife

· Serving plate or platter

· Saucepan

Then the ingredients:

· Shari (sushi rice)

· Rice vinegar

· Nori sheets

· Sugar

· Salt

· Sashimi (if desired)

· Other filling of your choosing (cucumber, avocado, pepper, spring onions etc)

· Soy sauce (light is recommended)

Cooking the rice

First off, you will need to make your sushi rice or shari. As a rule of thumb, 1 cup of rice will make approximately 3 rolls, so this can be used to gauge how much rice you will need to cook to feed all of your guests. Once you have the correct amount of shari, you’ll need to thoroughly wash the rice under a cold running tap for around 2 minutes to ensure that the majority of the starch is removed as this will make the rice too sticky and doughy to work with.

Pour enough water into a pan with the rice to just about cover over the grains and set onto a high heat until the water boils. You should stir this every minute or so to ensure that the rice does not stick to the pan. Once the water boils, turn the heat down to its lowest setting and leave for 6-8 minutes. There shouldn’t be any water remaining and the grains should have swelled in this time; this is an indication that the rice is ready.

Once the rice is cooked, you should use a wooden spoon to decant it into a wooden or plastic bowl to cool. If any rice is stuck to the bottom of the pan, leave it there and don’t stress over the loss, as scraping it off will likely ruin the delicate taste.

While the rice is cooling, add in ½ cup of rice vinegar, 2 tbs. sugar and 2 tsp. salt for every 3 cups of uncooked rice you added, and then carefully mix this in with a wooden spoon. This seasoning gives the rice its distinctive flavouring and is vital to the sushi making process. This should then be left to cool at room temperature.

Get ready to roll

Once the rice has sufficiently cooled, you are ready to roll! Place your bamboo mat on the surface in front of you so that the lines lie horizontally to you, and lie one nori sheet shiny side down. Then spread a thin layer of sushi rice over the nori sheet, leaving a half-inch margin at the top of the sheet. Be careful not to overfill the roll, as it will be very difficult to roll in the end.

Next, you should arrange your sashimi or vegetables of choice in a horizontal line in the centre of your rice, mix up the ingredients as much or as little as you like. The more you experiment, the more you’ll love sushi and want to make it time and time again!

Run a damp finger along the nori margin you left earlier on, as this well help the nori to stick when your roll in complete, then you can begin to roll. Starting from the bottom of the rice, begin rolling in a firm manner, but ensure to pull the bamboo mat away from the nori surface as it meets the rice until you have a completed circle. Once it is complete, hold the bamboo around the sushi roll firmly to ensure that the roll will stay in tact, then remove the bamboo mat and voila!

The rolls should be cut into slices the size of your choice with a sharp knife to ensure that the pretty pattern you’ve created is not damaged, Then you can enjoy the fruits of your work served on a beautiful platter! Don’t forget to pop a bowl of Japanese soy sauce on the side to dunk your beautiful treats into!