- 3 cups cooked Japanese rice (you can add rice wine vinegar and sugar, but we don’t)
- Fresh fish, sauteed in olive oil and cut into strips (we used brown trout)
- Venison, marinated in teriyaki sauce and grilled for 5 minutes a side. Cut into strips.
- Cream cheese
- English cucumber, peeled and sliced into strips
- Avocado, peeled and sliced into strips
- Steamed asparagus, sliced into strips
- Carrots, peeled and sliced into strips
- Scallions, sliced into strips
- Nori (seaweed sheets)
- Low sodium soy sauce, fresh wasabi, and ginger
Place nori on clean work surface. Use a rice spatula to spoon rice on about half the sheet of nori. Smooth down, but be careful not to crush rice grains. Leave about a half inch of space at the edge of the nori closest to you. Spread a thin line of cream cheese over far edge of rice. Add fish, venison, and vegetables, trying not to add too much bulk or height. Keep hands moist to keep them from sticking to the rice as you add the vegetables. You may be tempted to try to work on several rolls at one time, but it will turn out better if you only work on one roll at a time.
Moisten seaweed with water to allow the roll to stick together better. Grab the edge of the sushi mat and fold over to edge of filling. Gently tighten, lift up mat and move to far edge of seaweed, and roll again. To make an inside-out roll, spread the rice on the nori, then flip over before adding fillings and rolling. Experiment with different fillings to find the ones you like best.
Let rolls sit for a few minutes before cutting to allow seaweed to soften slightly to make it easier to cut. Use a very sharp knife to make sure you do not tear the roll. Serve with fresh wasabi and ginger. Sashimi, miso soup, seaweed salad, and squid salad are all good accompaniments to sushi. Presentation is half the fun with sushi so buy some funky platters, sauce dishes, and chopsticks for a professional touch.