How to make sushi

Sushi know how

• Sushi covers a variety of foods, so we’ve focussed on maki, temaki, uramaki, temari and oshi-sushi.

• Sushi is all about taste, so buy the best ingredients, especially the nori, sushi vinegar, soy sauce as well as very fresh fish. There’s no point taking the time making beautiful sushi if the flavour isn’t up to scratch.

• You’ll need a sushi rolling mat – from selected Tesco stores, or buy the Yutaka sushi kit from Tazaki Foods. Other sushi-making ingredients are sold at major supermarkets, health food shops and oriental shops.

• Becoming a professional sushi chef, or sushiya, takes 10 years of training. Only after that time is a chef deemed good enough to serve sushi to customers.

• Rice makes up to 80% of sushi, so it’s important to cook it properly – a sushi chef spends three years learning just that! Only use sushi rice, and follow the cooking instructions closely. The dressed and cooled rice is called sumeshi.

• As a general rule, use 10% more water than rice; 200g raw rice, cooked in 220ml water, gives you 300g cooked rice.

• Rinse the rice well before cooking to remove the starch: put into a pan, cover with plenty of water and stir – the water will become cloudy. Drain and repeat 4-5 times until the water is clear. It’s now ready to cook.

• Don’t uncover the pan while the rice is cooking, or even while it’s set aside – you want the steam to build up, so the grains swell and soften.

• Stir the vinegar into the hot rice. To cool it quickly ‘cut’ the rice by folding a spoon through it a few times – as if folding flour into a cake mix.

• Handle the cooked rice with damp fingers (a finger bowl is ideal) to prevent it sticking to your hands.

• It’ll take a while to get the technique right, but be patient, and soon you’ll get the hang of it. Mix and match ingredients to create your own fillings, and think about texture and colour, too, as appearance is just as important as taste.

• If you’re making sushi for friends, prepare it the day before. Cover and chill but serve at room temperature.

The kit: a rolling mat, sushi rice, soy sauce, sushi vinegar, nori, wasabi and pickled ginger.

First, rinse and drain the rice until the water runs clear.

'Cut’ the vinegar into the hot rice to mix it in well; cool the rice.

Make a groove along the rice; add wasabi, cucumber & salmon.

Roll up the sushi firmly, using your mat as a guide.

Using a sharp, wet knife, cut into 6 pieces. Avoid 'sawing'.