7 Tools for Making Sushi at Home
Just the other day Scott and I were discussing how much we learned during our years of living in Los Angeles. We learned about other cultures, traditions and foods that we would never been able to appreciate if we had never left the area where I had spent the rest of my life.
With business partners from other countries, we were able to experience so many things first-hand and while you couldn’t pay me enough to sit next to a soup-filled melon (because the smell is atrocious), I discovered I really, really liked sushi. I started off with Americanized-sushi first but eventually developed a taste for sake (salmon) nigiri, maki and sashimi.
Have you ever been to a sushi restaurant? It’s not cheap. It’s not the least bit affordable when you have two growing kids who have decided they like it too. Well, my parents came to the rescue with our 2014 Christmas gift. They gave us a gift certificate to a local seafood market which happens to be the same market that supplies all the local restaurants with their sushi-grade seafood. Each time we visit, our purchase increases. That’s mostly because Scott has figured out how to make some pretty awesome sushi at home using tools he purchased on Amazon. Each time I share a photo of one of our nigiri or maki plates on social media, people ooh and ahh. I thought I would put together a list of the tools we use that make the process easier.
7 Tools For Making Sushi at Home
Sushi-Grade Ingredients
This isn’t a tool, but without this one key component, the rest is irrelevant. Not all seafood is created equal. Salmon that you would cook up alongside asparagus is not the same as what you would use for sushi. You’ll want to find a seafood market in your area and not expect to find it at your local grocery store. This is the most important thing to remember to create sushi at home.
Sushi Knife
While you’re at the seafood market, ask them to do some preliminary preparation for you. Don’t expect them to slice it into nice sushi-appropriate pieces, but you can request that skin be removed. Their knife skills will probably be more efficient, leaving more fish. There are a number of sushi knives on the market that you’ll need for all the cutting you’ll do at home. With prices ranging from around $10 to a couple hundred, if you only plan on using it once in a while, get one that doesn’t break the bank. Yes, the more expensive ones have advantages, but the $10 one will do the trick and still work better than a knife from your carving block.
Sushi Rice
Just as I said not all fish is created equal, neither is the rice. There ARE different types of rice on the market and a sticky rice specifically for sushi is absolutely the way to go. We’ve “stuck” to Rice Select brand Sushi Rice and have been very happy with the results.
Mesh Strainer
One of the secrets to properly prepared sushi rice is to rinse it prior to use. A traditional strainer often has holes that are too large for this purpose so we’ve been using a mesh strainer.
Sushi Making Kit
Don’t laugh, but we use the ultimate shortcut for creating our maki rolls. There are a variety of kits on the market designed to make sushi preparation easier, but we’ll take this one of the others any day. The process is simple. Open the tube, spritz it with a tad bit of oil to keep the rice from sticking, add the rice, impress the rod into the rice to cause the divot for the other ingredients, open it to add the ingredient and close to compact it. You push it out of the tube like a cookie press right onto the Nori, slice and serve. Seriously easy.
Oil Spritzer
Using an oil spritzer on the sushi kit prevents over-spraying. That’s the only use, but it’s a good one! This spritzer is great for other uses in the kitchen and helps reduce the amount of oil used in recipes.
Chopsticks
Sure you can use wooden chopsticks like you get from the Asian restaurant, but these stainless steel chopsticks are not only beautiful, but can be washed easily.
While your first few attempts might not be as pretty as what you would receive at a restaurant, they’re certainly more affordable! It will only take a few tries before you see improvement and start wishing you had started making sushi at home sooner!
What is your favorite kind of sushi and will you attempt to make it at home?
i’ve wanted to take a class for some time but haven’t done it yet. I think i might be in trouble if i really learned how to make it at home.
I have never gotten into Sushi even though I have tried it many times. I can definitely see how it would be more economical to purchase the above items if you really loved Sushi and were able to make it at home instead of paying those prices at restaurants!
I’ve always wanted to try making sushi, but I’ve been too scared to do so! There is so much presentation involved! Thanks for this post!
Cool! My cousin has been dying to try to make sushi at home. I’ll send her this link.
I love sushi! I don’t have all the tools but I think it is time for baking sushi at home!
This sounds like a great sushi making kit! My three older kids love sushi too so it can get very expensive!
This is so, so mean! 🙁 I LOVE sushi…craving it now! I have tried my hand at sushi making….but I will leave it to my little sister who is a pro at it. I might have to try this myself and beat her at sushi making!
I’m not sure if I’m up to making my own sushi at home but if decide to give it a try now I’m prepared after reading this post! Fortunately, we have an awesome sushi takeout joint just a few blocks from our house that I can depend on 🙂
Making sushi at home is so much fun. It has been awhile so after reading this post I think it is time to make some soon. Thanks.
I’m not a fan of sushi, but if I was, I could see that it would be awesome to make at home. Thanks for sharing such a well thought out post.
Lory
Sushi is always more fun to make yourself although, mine never look as pretty as when i go to a sushi house. lol!
I enjoy eating Sushi, but never thought to make it at home. All of these tools look like they could really help me in that area. I will have to check them out.
When my husband was a live he would try and take his own sushi. His sister bought him a book and some tools. I should try to keep it going for our kids to enjoy. I know that would make him happy.
We used to attempt to make sushi back in my single days! Wish there were posts like these to help out. We eat sishi all the time!
You don’t have to have chop sticks to eat sushi. It’s eaten with hands often enough too. Also, it’s easy to roll even without the little device up there. So yes, sushi rice, sea weed, sushi fillings, sushi knife. I also recommend using a rice cooker, much more even perfect rice!
We watched a great documentary about sushi and found out that traditional sushi (rice topped with fish) should be eaten with chopsticks, and rolls were designed to be eaten with fingers (although today’s rolls have so much on them I don’t think you could).
We’ve used a rice cooker before, but honestly prefer the old fashioned method when it comes to sticky rice like this. Only because of the cleanup!
Wow, now can make my own Sushi !
I have never tried Sushi, but it looks good. I will be trying the next time I go to a restaurant that has it before trying to make my own at home.
I Love sushi, thanks for this!
Yum!
Yum sushi! Thanks for the tips.
It would be pretty awesome to make my own sushi. I’ve never tried it before and I’m shocked that I would only need to invest in seven items to make it. Though I do prefer going out to a restaurant because I think eating sushi is also a social thing.
I agree that sushi is social and the presentations at a restaurant are part of the experience. But with a teen and tween, we feel like we need to take out a loan to visit a sushi place. 🙂 Making it at home helps us afford to eat it more often.
That is true Nicole. Good point.
We love sushi! I guess we should give this one a try!
Love sushi!
Yummy
Great! Recently been trying sushi
I absolutely love sushi! Now I’m going to have to try making my own. This can only lead to wonderful things.
So did you give it a shot, Benjamin? Making sushi at home? Would love to hear how it turned out and if you used any of our tools / tricks.
So cool, going on my list of things to make in the kitchen!
Great Article. I was wondering to make sushi at home and was looking for tools to make sushi. These are some really cool tools for making sushi at home. I hope my sushi will taste good. Thanks for sharing such an amazing article.
Make sure you have sushi-grade salmon (or other fish), Steve. If you don’t have a quality fish then no tool is going to make it taste good. We were fortunate that the same fish market that sells to the restaurants also sells direct to the public. Hopefully you’ll find one. Let us know how the sushi turns out!
Thank you for sharing all the tools needed, I’m not a sushi fan but my partner is! This is an easy meal I could make for him
Great tip for making it at home, since sushi is expensive.
My favorite kind of sushi is uni (sea urchin). I have bought it at a local supermarket.
I’ve never developed a taste for Sushi but then I am not much of a sea food eater either. I can see how it might be cheaper to make it at home though. Thanks for sharing