If you’re a sushi lover, then you’ll know how pricey it can be to order it all the time… Why not try making your favourite sushi at home? You can go wild with the toppings and really make each roll your own, plus, it’s easier than you might think! Here’s Kelly Choi of Kelly Love‘s guide on how to make your favourite sushi ay home.

Tempura Sushi Rolls

Equipment:

• A small mixing bowl
• A cutting board
• A large pan
• A bamboo mat
• A large wooden spoon
• Chopsticks
• A very sharp knife

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups of sushi rice 
• 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of sugar 
• Nori sheets
• 1 cucumber
• 1 avocado 
• Fresh shrimp
• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of water
• Ice cubes to chill the water
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs 
• Extra plain flour for coating
• Frying oil
• Spicy mayo sauce

Method:

There are two main parts to the process of making tempura rolls: making the batter and making the roll. 

How to make the tempura batter:

1. Sift the flour into a small bowl and place to one side
2. In a different bowl, beat the egg (using both the yolk and whites)
3. Add the cup of ice-cold water into the bowl with the egg (making sure not to include the ice cubes)
4. Add the flour into the bowl with the egg and water and gently mix together using chopsticks
5. Take care not to mix the batter too much as it needs to stay a little lumpy
6. Lightly coat the shrimp pieces in a little flour before gently dipping them into the tempura batter
7. Dip the shrimp into a pan of hot oil until golden brown (the oil should be around 180°C)

How to make the roll: 

1. In a bowl, mix together the vinegar, sugar and salt
2. Pour in the rice and combine together
3. Lay a nori sheet shiny side down on a bamboo mat
4. Place a scoop of rice on the nori sheet and spread evenly, leaving around 2 inches at the top and bottom
5. Flip the nori upside down so the rice is underneath
6. Place your shrimp and other thinly-sliced ingredients on top of the rice near the edge closest to you
7. Lift the end of the mat and roll it away from you, using your thumbs to keep the filling inside
8. Slice into equal-sized sushi rolls with a sharp knife

Inside-out California roll

Ingredients: 

• 540g of sushi rice
• 255g of crab meat
• 42g of Japanese mayonnaise 
• A quarter of a cucumber
• 1 avocado 
• A quarter of a lemon
• 3 nori sheets
• 16g of toasted white sesame seeds
• Masago (for the topping)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the crab meat with Japanese mayonnaise
2. Peel the cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into strips that are the same length as the nori sheets
3. Peel the avocado, remove the pit, cut it into thick slices and then squeeze the lemon juice over them
4. Cut the nori sheet into two halves and place one on a bamboo mat with the shiny side facing down
5. Spread 135g of the rice evenly onto the sheet before sprinkling some of the sesame seeds on the rice
6. Turn the nori sheet over so the rice is laying on the bamboo mat and place the crab meat, cucumber and avocado across the bottom of the nori sheet
7. Holding the bottom of the bamboo mat, roll forward whilst keeping the filling tucked in
8. Cut the sushi into equally-sized pieces with a sharp knife
9. Use your hands to spread masago evenly across the top of each sushi piece

Spicy sashimi salmon snacks

Ingredients: 

• 150g of salmon fillet
• 8g of root ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of Sriracha
• 1 tsp of sesame oil
• 1 tsp of Kelly Loves Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp of spicy mayo
• 1/2 tsp of cane sugar 
• x1 small bowl of edamame beans 
• 10g of cucumber slices 
• Black and white sesame seeds
• Serrano pepper 
• x3 spring onions
• Seaweed rice crisps

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add the spicy mayo, cane sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce and a teaspoon of Sriracha. Use a mini whisk or a small spoon and stir the ingredients together. 
2. Chop the salmon fillet into small cubes and add to the bowl of your mixture.
3. On a chopping board, dice your spring onion and add the small rings into your bowl of salmon and mixture. Back to the chopping board, dice your serrano pepper. 
4. On a plate, add your seaweed crisps. In this recipe we use 7 crisps to add the filling to. 
5. Scoop the salmon filling on to each seaweed rice crisp. 
6. On top of each crisp, add 1-2 edamame beans, your cucumber slices and the diced pepper. 
7. Sprinkle with a generous amount of sesame seeds.
   

Futomaki sushi

Do you love sushi? Then how about a sushi roll that’s thick, colourful and packed full of vegetables? Well, that’s exactly what futomaki is. In fact, it literally translates to “fat rolled sushi”, which might give you an idea as to what this kind of sushi is all about.

Ingredients: 

• 225g uncooked Japanese short-grain rice
• Seasoned kanpyo and shiitake
• Tamagoyaki
• 1/2 unagi, grilled OR our pre-grilled unagi kabayaki 
• 1/2 bunch of rocket or watercress
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1/2 package sakura denbu or furikake as an alternative
• 2 sheets nori
• 10ml rice vinegar

Directions:

1. Cut Tamagoyaki into long, thin strips and store in the fridge for now.
2. Heat the Unagi in the oven for 6 minutes 
3. Cut the fresh rocket or watercress and cucumbers 
4. Put the nori sheet on your bamboo mat and add the rice, spreading it evenly over the sheet. Remember to leave a 2cm strip along the top of the nori
5. Add all of your ingredients including the unagi, kanpyo, and rocket or watercress. Place the cucumber at the bottom and the denbu and shiitake towards the top. 
6. Holding the bottom of the bamboo mat, roll forward whilst keeping the filling tucked in
7. Cut the sushi into equally-sized pieces with a sharp knife