How To Make Sushi (7 Quick And Easy Recipe)?

How To Make Sushi (7 Quick And Easy Recipe)?

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I must admit that I get sushi cravings very often and it may come at any time of the day. Going to the restaurant every time the stomach growls for a piece of nigiri or sushi roll can be financially draining. I am sure most of you agree and many people have been in a similar situation.

Making sushi at home comes across as a fun idea and a cost-effective solution to eating out, but the time needed for the elaborate preparations may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Many people are actually intimidated by it, but I would like to clarify that you don’t need to spend hours to make good sushi.

Several factors such as your skill level, tools available, the complexity of the ingredients and the type of sushi you are trying to make can affect the time required. You can actually make sushi within an hour or even less if you have the skills and necessary tools.

If that makes you curious, let me take you on a journey of preparing sushi rice, slicing, rolling, arranging, and putting together your favorite dish. In this post, I will tell how to make sushi (quick and easy recipe) without spending a lot of time.

Contents

Quick And Easy Sushi Recipes That Take Less Than 60 Minutes

Believe me, most of the time in making sushi is spent on cooking the sushi rice, which may take anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes. Please note that I am not considering the soaking time needed for rice, which may be about 30 minutes. It only involves cooking, seasoning, and cooling rice until it is ready to use.

Cooking rice in a pot usually takes more time than a cooker, hence I prefer the latter.  I have created an article that provided step-by-step instructions on how to make sushi rice in cooker and pot. Read on to find some quick and easy sushi recipes (the preparation time mentioned below excludes sushi rice).

Spicy Tuna Sushi Roll

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Take a bowl and mix mayonnaise, togarashi, chili powder, wasabi, and paprika. Add the tiny pieces of raw tuna and coat them evenly.

Place the bamboo mat on the kitchen surface and put a nori sheet on it. Take a medium ball of seasoned sushi rice and spread it evenly over the nori sheet.

Now, take a spoonful of the tuna mixture and put it in a row towards the middle of the nori sheet. Lift the bamboo mat from the end towards you and start rolling to make a compact roll, and seal the edges when you reach the end. Moisten the blade of a sushi knife and cut the roll into 6-8 pieces.

Cucumber Maki Roll With Surimi

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Toast the nori slightly by preheating the oven to 300 degrees F and keeping the seaweed on a baking sheet for 1-2 minutes. Do not over toast or the nori may become brittle.

Keep the bamboo mat on the kitchen table and cover with plastic cling film. Now, put the toasted nori sheet on it. Take a medium ball of seasoned sushi rice and spread it on the nori sheet.

Arrange the cucumber strips in a line towards the middle of the Nori sheet. Add the avocado slices and surimi flakes next to it.

Lift the bamboo mat from one end and start rolling with the nori sheet. Apply gentle pressure as you go to ensure that you get a tight roll. When you reach the end, just seal the edges.

Take a sushi knife like these, wet the blade and cut the sushi roll into 6-8 equal pieces. Serve with pickled ginger and wasabi.

Chakin Sushi

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

If you don’t like the taste of the Nori sheet, here’s a delicious alternative, you may try at home. This dish doesn’t require any rolling skills and also takes less time to prepare.

  • 2 cups of seasoned sushi rice
  • 3 whole eggs, beaten
  • Salt
  • Vegetable oil
  • Black sesame seeds
  • Italian parsley

Add a teaspoon of toasted black sesame seeds to seasoned sushi rice to add a bit of crunchiness to it. As there are no extra fillings to this sushi, the rice takes the center stage, hence it should be perfectly cooked.

Beat the three eggs in a bowl. Put a skillet pan like this on the stove and pour vegetable oil to it. Pour 1/6th of the egg mixture to the pan once the oil becomes hot. Spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan and cook until it becomes firm and then carefully flip over to cook the other side too.

Repeat the above steps to make as many thin egg sheets as possible. To assemble everything together, place an egg sheet on the board, put a spoonful of seasoned sushi rice at the center and fold it in a square shape. Tie the mouth with the help of Italian parsley to keep it from falling apart.

Cucumber and Avocado Sushi

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Place a bamboo sushi mat on the table and cover it with a plastic cling film. Now, keep a nori sheet over the bamboo mat.

Measure a spoonful of seasoned sushi rice and spread it over the nori sheet to get an even layer. Moisten your fingers and gently apply some pressure to ensure that the sushi rice sticks to the seaweed.

Take a small pinch of wasabi paste and apply it on the line where you will be placing the fillings. Arrange the strips of cucumber and avocado slices towards the middle of the nori sheet.

Lift the sushi mat from your end and keep rolling until you reach the edge and seal it with a few drops of water. Take a sharp Japanese sushi knife, moisten the blades and cut the roll into 6-8 pieces.

Barbeque Hot Dog Sushi Roll

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

Place a small pot of water on the stove on low heat, add the hot dog and simmer for 5 minutes or until it is properly heated.

Put the bamboo mat on a flat surface and cover it with a plastic cling film. Place the Nori sheet over the bamboo mat and spread an even layer of seasoned sushi rice on it.

Keep the hot dog in the middle, slightly towards you and arrange the fried onions next to it. Add 2 tablespoon of delicious BBQ sauce over the hot dog and sprinkle some cheddar cheese on the top.

Lift the bamboo mat from one end and start rolling the sushi. Apply gentle pressure as you roll to enclose the fillings inside the sushi roll. Seal the edges and remove the plastic.

Moisten the blades of your sushi knife and cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. Serve with wasabi and pickled ginger. Garnish with shredded cheese and fried onions.

Cream Cheese and Crab Sushi Rolls

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

  • 2 cups of seasoned sushi rice
  • 2 sheets of nori (seaweed)
  • Half Japanese cucumber, sliced into thin strips lengthwise
  • 2 pieces imitation crab legs
  • 1/2 package cream cheese, sliced

Put the bamboo mat on the table and cover it with a plastic cling. Put the seaweed sheet on it. Moisten your hands and take a medium size ball of seasoned sushi rice.

Spread the rice on the nori sheet, leaving half an inch of gap on all sides. Apply gentle pressure to ensure that the rice sticks on nori.

Now, arrange cucumber trips, cheese slices and imitation crabmeat over the sushi rice towards the middle of the Nori sheet.

Start Rolling from the end towards you and keep going until you reach the other end where you can seal the edges. Moisten the blade of a sharp sushi knife and cut the roll into equal pieces. Serve with thin ginger slices on the side.

Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Put the bamboo mat on the kitchen table and the nori sheet over it. Now layer the nori sheet with seasoned sushi rice, leaving a slight gap along the edges.

Smear a little bit of wasabi in the middle where you will put the fillings to add some heat to your sushi. Now, arrange the fillings such as smoked salmon strips, cucumber, and avocado in the place where you dotted with wasabi.

Start rolling from the bottom side and create a compact cylinder shape. Seal the edges with a few drops of water. Now, take a sharp sushi knife and cut the roll into 6-8 pieces. 

Tuna and Salmon Temaki Sushi

Preparation time: 10 minutes

  • 1 cup of seasoned sushi rice
  • sushi-grade Fatty salmon, belly piece cut into thick strips
  • sushi-grade chutoro tuna cut into thick strips
  • Half Japanese cucumber, cut into thin strips
  • Shiso leaves
  • Bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
  • Toasted Nori sheets
  • Roasted sesame seeds

Mix the roasted sesame seeds to sushi rice to add a crunchy texture to it. For this recipe, you will not need bamboo mat as there’s no rolling involved.

Take a whole Nori sheet and add a spoonful of seasoned sushi rice on the rough side, towards the middle and spread it in a square shape.

Now, add various ingredients such as salmon, tuna, bell pepper, cucumber, and shiso leaves. Make sure the fillings emerge slightly out of the cone.

Fold the toasted nori sheet in a cone shape and seal the edges with water. Serve with soya sauce and wasabi paste.

Comparing The Preparation Time For Different Sushi Styles

Sushi does not refer to one particular type, because there are different varieties of sushi available in restaurants and that you can easily replicate at home too. Some of the most common forms of sushi are nigiri sushi, maki rolls, uramaki or inside-out sushi rolls, chirashi sushi, temaki sushi, inari sushi, and the list goes on.

Chirashi Sushi

Chirashi Sushi

If I rate the different types of sushi based on the ease of preparation and the time required for cooking, I would say chirashi sushi is the simplest and takes less time to prepare. There is no rolling or molding of sushi rice involved. Everything is loosely arranged in a bowl and your chirashi is ready to serve.

If we take 35 minutes for cooking sushi rice in a cooker and assume that slicing/ chopping other ingredients is done while the rice cooks, arrange everything together will take another 5-10 minutes. So, the maximum time you would need is 40-45 minutes. For a more detailed explanation and recipe please have a look at the previous article: What Is Chirashi (Sushi)?

Nigiri Sushi

I strongly believe that making nigirizushi is an art and requires experience to create that perfect form of rice bed and raw fish on the top. However, there are easy to use sushi rice molds available online that can help you get the right form in a jiffy.

The most important part of nigirizushi is the sushi rice, which must be cooked to perfection and properly seasoned so that it is sticky enough to stay in shape with the topping. If you are not into raw seafood, you may use vegan toppings like pickled eggplant, shitake mushrooms, tofu, and so on.

As nigiri sushi involves just one other ingredient besides sushi rice, it does not take a lot of time to make. If you give 35 minutes to cooking sushi rice in a cooker and seasoning it with vinegar, you will need another 5 minutes to put the topping and rice together in a form. Topping can be prepared while the rice cooks and cools. So, the total time needed is roughly 40 minutes.

Gunkan Maki or Battleship sushi

This is another easy to make sushi that also takes less time to prepare. If you learn how to make sushi rice in a cooker and season it properly, making gunkan maki is pretty simple. Just take a small golf ball-shaped rice in your hands and give it an oval shape.

Cut out a strip of Nori sheet that covers the oval bed or rice and has enough space on the top for fillings. You can add any type of fillings of your choice and some ideas are finely chopped raw tuna, masago or tobiko (fish eggs), finely chopped cucumber and avocado, etc.

If we consider 35 minutes for preparing sushi rice, you can prepare the fillings (one or maximum two ingredients blended together) while the rice cools. Putting the rice bed, nori strip and fillings on the top will take you about 20 minutes so you can have your gunkan maki ready in 40-45 minutes.

Sushi Rolls

For most people, sushi means sushi rolls or makizushi with Nori outside, sushi rice and filling inside. Interestingly, the sushi roll is again of various types based on the number of ingredients used, raw or cooked ingredients, traditional or inside-out style.

The time required for making maki rolls can be divided into three parts – one fixed and two variable parts. The fixed part is the time spent in cooking sushi rice in a cooker or pot, and seasoning the rice after it cools down. I prefer making rice in a cooker because it takes the guesswork out of achieving the perfect texture.

The second part includes preparing the fillings (slicing raw fish, cutting and chopping vegetables). The third part involves putting everything together and rolling the sushi. The second and third part are inter-dependent because the more ingredients you have, the more time it will take you to arrange everything and roll.

If you want to save time and make really quick sushi, I would suggest that you stick to just one or two ingredients that are easy to prepare. The inside-out sushi roll usually takes a little more time than making traditional rolls because the former also has toppings over the sushi rice.

If you lack the rolling skills or wish to further reduce the time taken to make a sushi roll, I would suggest that you buy one of the sushi kits available online (read my reviews). The time required for making sushi rolls comprise of making sushi rice (35 minutes) preparation of ingredients while the rice cooks and cools, and rolling the sushi (15-20 minutes).

 So total time needed is 45 minutes to 1 hour or more based on the complexities of the fillings and toppings involved. Refer to the top for how make sushi (quick and easy recipe) with specific preparation times. See Ideas of fillings: 30 Good Ideas for Sushi Roll Fillings

Tools Required To Make Sushi Quick And Easy

Bamboo Mat: If you are an ardent sushi lover and enjoy making this Japanese delicacy at home frequently, consider investing in a good quality bamboo mat that makes it easier to roll. If you are not into bamboo mats, try the other alternatives I have mentioned in this article –  18 Ways To Make Sushi Without A Mat.

Sharp Knife: Trying to make sushi with a regular kitchen knife can be frustrating and result in a mess. Try to get a less expensive Japanese sushi knife (see my reviews) when you are a beginner to get the perfect slices of raw fish, vegetables and also cut the roll without any rough edges.

Sushi Making Kits: Rolling sushi is not as tough as it used to be several years ago, thanks to the sushi making kits (see my favorite one) available in the market. If you want to get a perfect shape and save time while making sushi rolls, check out my article where I have reviewed the best sushi making kits.

Necessary Supplies: It is tough if you have to rush to the grocery store every time you wish to make sushi at home. To cut back on shopping time, consider stocking a few supplies if you make sushi frequently. The list includes Japanese short-grain sushi rice, 1 packet of Nori sheets, 1 packet of frozen surimi, and rice vinegar. For more ingredients: here

Related Sushi

How long can cooked sushi rice last?

If you made more sushi rice than you needed for dinner, store it in a sealed airtight container and keep inside the refrigerator. It can last for 3-5 days but I would suggest that you consume within 2 days as the quality deteriorates pretty fast.

Where can I buy raw fish for my sushi

Look for sushi-grade fish in the supermarket or your local fishmonger whom you can trust. If both the options don’t work for you, buy raw fish from Catalina Offshore Products. To understand what you must look for in raw fish used in sushi, read my article –  What is sushi-grade fish.

Can I store leftover sushi?

It’s normal to have leftover sushi after a party or family dinner but make sure you don’t let it sit outside for too long if it involves raw fish. Keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store inside a refrigerator. You may eat it the next day by microwaving for 30 seconds to revive the dish, however, it will not taste the same as fresh sushi.

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