Temaki sushi is a popular type of sushi in Japanese cuisine. It is known as “hand roll” because it is made by hand without special tools or molds. The term “temaki” translates to “hand-rolled” in Japanese. Use this temaki sushi recipe for a sushi party at home!
In the United States, Temaki sushi is also commonly known as cone sushi because a sheet of nori (seaweed) wraps sushi rice and various seafood and vegetables in a cone shape. This dish is perfect for events or gatherings because the filling can vary widely depending on personal preferences. Typical fillings are tuna, salmon, albacore, crab, avocado, kaiware (radish sprouts), cucumber, ikura (salmon roe eggs), and tobiko (flying fish roe).
Temaki sushi ingredients:
- Japanese short-grain rice – other types of rice will work; however, the texture and taste will not be the same. If you use long-grain rice, the temaki may fall apart easily, so it is not ideal.
- Kombu (dried sea kelp) – Kombu is added to rice for flavor. If you cannot find it, feel free to omit it.
- Fresh seafood – Fresh sashimi-grade fish like tuna, salmon, and albacore are popular. Ikura or tobiko eggs are also common. If you don’t eat raw fish, you can use imitation crab or cooked seafood.
- Vegetables – Fresh vegetables like cucumber, avocado, and sprouts are commonly used in temaki sushi, but any vegetable of choice will work.
- Nori sheets – nori is dried seaweed sheets. I cut the sheet in half
- Rice vinegar – rice vinegar is essential for the taste of sushi. Other vinegar will yield a different sushi taste. Rice vinegar is different from sushi vinegar. Sushi vinegar already includes sugar, salt, and other ingredients that are premade and ready to use on rice. If you use sushi vinegar, you do not have to add sugar and salt like this recipe calls for.
- Sugar – white sugar works best
- Salt – pinch of salt to taste.
Making sushi rice
Making sushi rice is the most integral part of this recipe. Tips on making sushi rice:
- Japanese short-grain rice is the ideal type. It is used in all kinds of sushi in Japan.
- You do not need a sushi oke or wooden sushi bowl; however, a sushi oke helps the rice cool to the correct temperature while mixing the vinegar. Because it has a wide surface, it allows the vinegar to be distributed evenly across the rice.
- Fan the rice while incorporating vinegar to cool it down and bring it to a pleasant temperature. You do not want the rice to be pipping hot when you make temaki sushi because it will make the nori soggy and the ingredients wilted.
- This recipe calls for rice vinegar because you can adjust the level of sugar and salt yourself. Sushi vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar already includes sugar, salt, and additional ingredients premade and ready to use.
Temaki Sushi (hand roll)
Temaki sushi is a popular type of sushi in Japanese cuisine. It is known as “hand roll” because it is made by hand without special tools or molds. The term “temaki” translates to “hand-rolled” in Japanese. Use this temaki sushi recipe for a sushi party at home!
Equipment
- 1 Rice cooker
- 1 Sushi oke or wooden sushi bowl optional
Ingredients
Ingredients for sushi rice
- 3 rice cooker cups Uncooked Japanese short grain rice 2 1/4 cups rice
- 1 piece Kombu dried sea kelp
- 1/3 cup Rice vinegar unseasoned
- 4 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
Fresh seafood
- Salmon sashimi
- Tuna sashimi
- Scallop sashimi
- Hamachi sashimi Yellowtail sashimi
- Ikura Salmon roe
- Tobiko Flying fish roe
Vegetables
- Kaiware Radish sprouts
- Avocado
- Oba Perilla leaves
Additional ingredients
- Soy sauce
- Wasabi
- Kewpie mayo for creamy scallops
- 10 Nori sheets Cut nori sheet in half to use
Instructions
- Wash rice 3-4 times and drain thoroughly
- Pour water up to the water line of the rice cooker. Place piece of kombu on top of the rice
- Cook rice in a rice cooker
- While rice is cooking, prepare ingredients
- Cut sashimi into smaller bite-size pieces
- Prepare and cut vegetables in bite-size pieces
- To make creamy scallop, combine scallops, mayo, and tobiko eggs in a bowl. Mix thoroughly
- Once rice is done, remove kombu and transfer rice in a separate bowl. Mix until it is slightly cooler
- In a smaller bowl, mix rice vinegar, sugar, and salt thoroughly. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute and mix until sugar and salt are completely mixed.
- Slowly pour vinegar mixture over rice in small increments. Make sure to mix in between to combine
- Fan the rice while mixing to help it cool down
- Sushi rice is done once rice vinegar is fully incorporated and rice is cool to touch
To make temaki sushi
- Cut nori in half to get a rectangular shape nori
- Place rice on a half sheet of rectangular size nori on half side of the nori. Flatten out the rice, and it should look like a square
- Add sashimi and veggies of your liking
- Bring the bottom side of the rice to the other side of the rice. The bottom of the rice should go to the center of the nori sheet.
- Bring the rest of the nori across and wrap it around the rice
- You should get a cone shape temaki sushi
- Temaki should be eaten one by one so it is fresh with each temaki
- Repeat the process for each hand roll
