Sushi and rolls at home: restaurant-style rice, fillings and safe fish
Which rice to use and how to rinse it, the water ratio and seasoned vinegar, how to cool rice properly. How to roll maki and inside-out rolls that don't fall apart, which fish is safe raw, fillings without raw fish, baked rolls and storage.
Rice is 80% of sushi
In Japan a sushi chef spends years learning to cook rice before being trusted with fish. Good sushi holds together thanks to sticky rice, yet the grains stay separate, springy and slightly warm.
You need Japanese short- or medium-grain rice — sold as "sushi rice". Long-grain rice (jasmine, basmati) and parboiled rice won't work: they lack amylopectin starch and the rolls fall apart. Ordinary pudding rice is a last resort: it turns too mushy.
Rinsing and cooking
- Rinse the rice in cold water, gently rubbing the grains with your hands, 4–6 times until the water is almost clear. This removes surface starch that makes rice gluey.
- Drain in a sieve and leave for 15–30 minutes — the grains absorb the remaining water evenly.
- Ratio: 1 part rice to 1.1–1.2 parts water by volume (for example 300 g rice and 330–360 ml water).
- Bring to the boil over high heat, covered, then turn to the lowest heat and cook 12–15 minutes. Don't lift the lid.
- Take off the heat and leave covered for another 10–15 minutes — the rice finishes in the steam.
Seasoned vinegar (sushi-zu)
Sushi rice is always seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. It gives the characteristic sweet-sour flavour and lightly preserves the rice.
- Per 300 g dry rice: 45–60 ml rice vinegar, 1–1.5 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt.
- Warm gently until the sugar and salt dissolve — don't boil, or the acidity evaporates.
- No rice vinegar? Use 6% cider vinegar diluted 3:1 with water and a little more sugar. 9% white vinegar is too harsh.
- Ready-made "sushi seasoning" already contains sugar and salt — use it without extra seasoning.
Mixing and cooling the rice
Tip the hot rice into a wide wooden, glass or plastic bowl — not metal, which reacts with the vinegar. Pour the seasoning over a spatula to spread it across the surface.
Mix with slicing motions of the spatula, as if cutting the rice rather than stirring porridge. At the same time fan the rice with a fan or lid — fast cooling makes the grains glossy and drives off excess moisture.
Cool the rice to body temperature — just slightly warm. Hot rice makes the nori soggy; cold rice hardens and loses its stickiness. Cover the bowl with a damp towel so the rice doesn't dry out.
Which fish is safe raw
This is the most important question. Raw fish can carry parasite larvae and bacteria. Restaurants use fish that has been blast-frozen to kill parasites.
- Buy fish labelled "sushi grade" or "sashimi grade" from a trusted fishmonger.
- If fish you'll eat raw was sold chilled, freeze it at home at −18 °C or colder for at least 7 days.
- Salmon, tuna, scallops and yellowtail are the best choices. Never use freshwater fish raw.
- The fish should smell of the sea, not fishy, with firm, glossy flesh and bright colour.
- Pregnant women, children and people with weakened immunity are better off choosing rolls without raw fish.
Fillings without raw fish
Excellent rolls need no raw fish at all — and they're safer and easier for a home kitchen.
- Lightly cured or smoked salmon (see our article on curing fish).
- Cooked shrimp, crab sticks or crab meat, shrimp tempura.
- Smoked eel with unagi sauce.
- Japanese tamago omelette.
- Cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, carrot matchsticks, lettuce.
- Cream cheese (Philadelphia) — a classic with salmon and cucumber.
- Teriyaki chicken or tofu for those who don't eat fish.
How to roll maki
Maki is the classic roll with nori outside. You need a bamboo mat (makisu), a bowl of water with vinegar (1 tbsp vinegar per 200 ml water) to wet your hands, and a very sharp knife.
- Lay half a sheet of nori on the mat, shiny side down.
- Wet your hands, take 80–100 g rice and spread it in a thin even layer, 0.5–1 cm, leaving a 1–1.5 cm strip bare at the far edge.
- Lay the filling in a line across the middle. Don't overload it — 1–2 ingredients, or the roll won't close.
- Lift the near edge of the mat and roll, holding the filling in with your fingers. Firm the roll gently with the mat along its length.
- Dampen the bare edge of nori with water so it sticks. Leave the roll seam-side down for a minute.
Inside-out rolls and slicing
Uramaki have the rice outside — Philadelphia and California rolls, for example. Wrap the mat in cling film, or the rice sticks to the bamboo. Spread rice over a whole sheet of nori, sprinkle with sesame seeds or roe, flip the sheet rice-side down, lay the filling on the nori and roll. For a Philadelphia roll, drape thin slices of salmon over the top and press firmly with the mat through the film.
Slice with a very sharp long knife dipped in water, in one pulling stroke — don't saw. Wipe the knife with a damp cloth after each cut. Halve the roll first, lay the halves side by side and cut each into 3 — six even pieces.
Serving and storage
Sushi is served with soy sauce, pickled ginger (gari) to refresh the palate between rolls, and wasabi. Traditionally wasabi isn't stirred into the soy sauce but dabbed onto the fish.
Sushi and rolls are best eaten straight away. Rolls with raw fish shouldn't be kept more than a few hours, even in the fridge. Rolls without raw fish can be refrigerated under cling film for up to 24 hours, but the rice firms up. Leave them at room temperature for 15–20 minutes before serving.
Questions and answers
Why do my rolls fall apart?＋
The wrong rice, rice not rinsed or too cold, too much filling, or the roll wasn't firmed with the mat. Use sushi rice and cool it only until warm.
Why is my nori tough and won't cut?＋
The nori dried out or sat in the air too long. Roll straight after spreading the rice and slice with a very sharp wet knife. If the nori is soggy and tears, the rice was too hot or wet.
What can replace a bamboo mat?＋
A thick napkin or tea towel wrapped in cling film, or a sheet of baking paper. The mat is easier, but you can roll your first rolls without one.
How much rice per roll?＋
80–100 g cooked rice for a maki on half a sheet of nori, 150–180 g for uramaki on a whole sheet. 300 g dry rice makes 5–6 rolls.
Can I use ordinary rice?＋
Short-grain pudding rice will do at a pinch — rinse it especially well. Long-grain and parboiled rice won't work: the rolls won't hold.
Try it in practice
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