Getting started

It can feel overwhelming learning a new skill – whether it’s a hobby, sport or cooking something new. Sushi making can definitely feel daunting but when you break it down into pieces, it’s not that hard. Follow my guide on how to make sushi at home and get started with a few rolls this weekend!

I started out as a total noob and am slowly learning new skills and experimenting with new ingredients. It’s been such a fun journey and there are still so many things that I want improve upon and practice more.

How to make sushi at home: the essentials

There are a few pieces of equipment and ingredients that you will need to make sushi at home but many of these can be purchased from your local big chain grocer. If not, most Asian stores should have everything you need to get started.

• Rice = look for Japanese short grain rice
• Rice seasoning mix = rice vinegar, salt, sugar
• Bamboo rolling mat
• Saucepan or rice cooker

The rice

First things first. The most important component of sushi is the rice. If you make good rice, then your sushi will taste good. It’s that simple. Of course having access to fresh delicious seafood also helps. But if you don’t, you can always use grocery store staples such as avocado, cucumber, imitation crab and tempura shrimp.

If you can nail your rice, then you’re off to a great start. I began making sushi using big chain grocery store “sushi rice” and was completely happy with this for at least a year or so.

Once I upgraded to the real stuff from a Japanese store, I noticed such a difference in taste and texture. I actually asked the worker in the store if there was any difference between the rice they sold and the rice I was buying. She stopped what she was doing, looked at me and started laughing. In a friendly way.

But if I had never upgraded my rice, maybe I would still be perfectly happy with the sushi that I was making. So, work with what you have. If you have access to great rice, awesome! If not, no worries. Or if you just want to wet your toes and not commit to buying 2kg of premium sushi rice, then grocery store stuff will be fine.

You can read my full guide on sushi rice here with tips and techniques.

The fish

Most cities have some kind of wholesale / retail fish market. I love La Mer here in Montreal and also really recommend Aptus in Melbourne, Australia. Do a bit of research and find the best fish store near you. Talk to the workers in the shop and see how knowledgable they are about the fish they’re selling and ask if you can try a sample before buying.

But if there are no fish stores near you, Costco sell sides of salmon that can be used for sushi. If you google “is costco fish safe for sushi” you’ll see a bunch of different posts going into more detail.

I would really recommend lightly curing your fish before using it for sushi. This can be a quick 10-15 minute dry salt cure. It really helps eliminate those super fishy flavours, leaving you with fresh oceany goodness. I go into more detail about the curing process here.

The fun equipment

There are so many fun gadgets and pieces of equipment that you can slowly start collecting. But there is no reason why you can’t make delicious sushi with the basic equipment most people already have in their kitchen. I don’t have a rice cooker at the moment and stove top rice is just fine. The cooking process is a little more involved but you don’t need to rush out and buy a fancy rice cooker.

If you do want to start adding specialised equipment, then I would suggest roughly following this order.

• Hangiri = really improves your rice game. A hangiri helps your rice cool down much quicker and the pine wood also absorbs water . You can start with a plastic or glass bowl though.
• Yanigiba = I love my yanigiba but it was a big investment and I researched for ages before splashing out. I love raw fish and it is so much easier to cut it with a single bevel knife. But again, there is no reason why you can’t use your home knife. Your slices of fish just might not look as pretty.
• Japanese cutting board = I have a fancy cutting board that is made from Japanese Cypress wood. It smells amazing! The wood is a lot softer than a other types of wood or than a hard plastic board and so it protects your knife as you cut. Imagine whacking your knife against something hard or something softer. The softer definitely feels better and protects my fancy knife.
• Kitchen torch = this one is a lot of fun and pretty inexpensive to buy. I use mine for flaming aburi and lion king rolls but it has a lot of uses outside of sushi too. You can use it to make the sugary crust on crème brûlée, to melt cheese or even to seare your steak a little better. Every time I flame an aburi, people are impressed ha ha. It’s a bit of show but also makes the fish taste amazing.