Maki Sushi made easy

It's easy to make your own sushi rolls at home. A delicious, healthy and easy snack to make with kids.  Freshly made sushi is the best hands down.

This is such a great recipe for kids in the kitchen. We love encouraging children with food allergies and special diets to be involved in the kitchen, great for confidence building and helping your child make positive connections with food.

We are making vegetarian sushi here, perfect for a light lunch or afternoon snack.

Ingredients:

• Quality sushi rice (shop around for a brand you love) x 1 cup
• Vegetables – your choice, but we are using:
• Carrot
• Small Lebanese cucumber
• Avacado
• Pickled ginger (optional) 
• Japanese rice vinegar
• Caster sugar 
• Nori – seaweed sheets of your choice

You will also need a bamboo sushi mat.

Directions: 

Cooking the sushi rice

Wash the rice thoroughly under cold water, until it runs clear - about 5 or six times. If you have time, soak it first covered in water for half an hour, and then rinse again.

Equal parts rice to water for sushi rice. Add a small pinch of salt to the pot.  We are using one cup of rice, so add one cup of water.

Bring to the boil with the lid on, as soon as it starts bubbling up turn the heat down to the absolute minimum. When the liquid is almost absorbed, turn the heat off and allow to sit for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your sushi seasoning – you can buy it, but we like to make it. It’s easy!

Two parts caster sugar to one part Japanese rice vinegar, is a good guide, but you can definitely add less sugar if you find it too sweet for your taste.

Heat and mix 2 x tbsp of rice vinegar and 1 x tbsp fine caster sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved.

Next, take the lid off your rice and add your sushi seasoning, use a bamboo chopstick or wooden spoon to gently stir through the seasoning evenly, and start the cooling process of the rice. 

Cooling the sushi rice

Turn your rice onto a large plate or wooden bowl ideally.

Cooling the rice is an important step as you want to get your rice to cool quickly, so that it will glisten and become a little sticky, and shiny as sushi rice should be! We don't want gluggy rice. 

To make our sushi rolls, aim for slightly cooled rice – not hot or cold. If your rice is too hot when assembling it may make the nori rubbery. Your rice should be cooled to around warm-room temperature, cool enough to handle but not chilled.

You can also aerate the rice with a wooden spoon, and make holes in the rice to help it cool down quickly.

Fan the rice. If you are making sushi with kids, you can ask them to fan the rice while you prepare the other ingredients. 

Assemble your chosen ingredients

We have chosen:

Julliene carrots

Match stick small cucumber (without the centre seeded pieces)

Slices of Pickled ginger 

Avacadoes sliced, also work really well

Rolling the rolls

Optional – pre-cover your sushi mat with plastic film or wrap to avoid sticking.

>Place the bamboo rolling mat on a cutting board so the bamboo strips are running horizontally to you. Then place a sheet of nori on top.


>Prepare a bowl of water, mixed with a good splash of the rice vinegar ready to hand, for working with the rice. (rice can be sticky to handle). Dip your fingers in the vinegar water before you begin, and as needed.

>Spread the rice over your nori sheet evenly, pressing your rice down as you go, gently, leaving a space at the top edge of the nori so you can seal up the roll.

>Assemble your ingredients over the middle of the rice. If you are working with children, allow them to have a go at assembling their own rolls. 

>Wet the edges with the water/vinegar, prepared earlier, to ensure the nori roll will stick together nicely.

>Starting with the bottom edge of the mat, roll up and away from you, pressing lightly while you roll. Roll carefully over the filling and join the edges - sealing like an envelope seal. (wet fingers with vinegar water). Press and shape the ingredients into a tube. Roll with some light pressure so you get a firm roll.

> Please remember that it takes a little practice. It's definitely something fun and easy for children to learn to do to! Here are two examples of what kids can make! 

Slice in to 2-3 cm rounds – with a clean, sharp chef or kitchen knife.  

You may need to re-wet you knife as you cut each roll.  

Eat immediately! Maki Sushi should be eaten as soon as possible as the nori can easily become soggy or chewy.

Fresh Maki Sushi is the best, hands down! 

Serve with soy sauce or tamari, or on it’s own. Salt reduced soy is a good choice. Most children like it without! Pickled ginger is a great accompaniment too.

MAKES 2 rolls -  a light afternoon tea for two, or simply double the recipe for extra friends. 

Enjoy!