We have been rolling our own sushi for several years now. It has become a family favorite, and what our son always requests for special occasions like his birthday or to celebrate an accomplishment.

While more expensive than other homemade meals, it is affordable as a treat meal. For our family of three, it costs $45 for us to eat our fill of sushi. The same amount going out to dinner, would only buy us a low quality processed meal.

The first thing to do when you make sushi is make sure that you have your non perishable ingredients. If not available locally, try Amazon. These are:

Nori sheets – for however many rolls you plan to make, plus a few extras.

Gari pickled ginger – comes in a jar and keeps well in the refrigerator

Wasabi – comes in a paste and also keep well in the refrigerator after opening

Sushi Rice – it is very important to use good quality sushi rice

Rice vinegar seasoned or natural – keep a bottle in the pantry for when the sushi urge hits

Sesame oil – this is optional but we love to add a dash of sesame oil to the rolls

Toasted sesame seeds – also optional we sprinkle some on the rice while assembling the roll.

Sugar and salt – you will also need these staples to season your rice.

Once you have ensured that you have the staples covered, you need to think about the filing. We always purchase (or grow) fresh for the filing. Our standby is Ahi & Salmon with cucumbers, but this basic process will work for any type of sushi that you wish to prepare.

We grow our own cucumbers. They need heat, so they are a summer only crop. We plant from seed around late April/Early May in a raised bed (due to our poor clay soil). Cucumbers love to grow up, so if given a trellis or other support you can grow abundantly in very little space. We dedicate a 10 ft by 2 ft growing box to cucumbers and will harvest around three cucumbers a day from July to September. If you don’t have homegrown cucumbers, store bought cucumbers work just fine.

For raw fish, you will need to buy sashimi quality fish. Due to health concerns we never buy from a grocery store or costco as they are not able to confirm that the fish has been kept in a way to make it safe for sushi. This generally means buying it from a fish market and preparing it right away. We buy our fish and roll sushi the same day. Some of our favorites are Ahi, Bluefin, Salmon, and Ocean Trout.

When you have your fish purchased, cook your sushi rice in a rice maker with the ‘sushi rice’ or ‘white rice’ setting. For my family of three, we buy 2 pounds of raw fish and make 3 1/2 cups of rice. Trust me, no one goes hungry.

For 3 1/2 cups of rice, we season it with a mixture of 1/3 cup white sugar, 3/4 cup rice vinegar, and 1/2 tsp salt. It is important to thoroughly premix the sugar/vinegar/salt mix, before pouring over the rice and thoroughly mixing into the rice. Let the mixture cool.

While the rice is cooling, cut your fish and vegetables into strips or small pieces. Next get you rolling station ready. I put down a mat to work on, use a sushi roller, and a rice paddle. Place your nori sheet on the roller, shiny side down. Using the paddle, place one paddle’s worth of the seasoned rice on the sheet and spread out to cover all but the top 1/2 inch and the bottom 1/2 inch. At the bottom (below the rice) spread your fish and other filings. I add a dash of sesame oil and shake some sesame seeds on the rice. Now use the roller to roll, squeezing as you go. As the roll comes together, use some water to seal the edge and give it a last squeeze with the roller.

Cut into bight size pieces with a good knife cleaning the knife after each slice. Serve and enjoy!