Have you heard of temaki sushi, or temakizushi? When most of us eat sushi, we think of California rolls, or nigiri sushi, which are slices of fish pressed onto a small bit of rice. Temakizushi on the other hand, looks completely different compared to your typical sushi, but are in fact so simple that you can even make them at home. In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know about temakizushi, along with how you can make them yourself today!
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Temakizushi in Japanese translates to ‘hand-rolled sushi’. This means that to make it, there is no need for bamboo mats or any special equipment, just simple ingredients and your own two hands.
You’ll know a temakizushi when you see it, at Japanese restaurants they are served on a special stand or laid on a plate, and shaped like an ice-cream cone or flower bouquet. The standard temakizushi is a piece of seaweed is wrapped around some sushi rice, topped with standard Japanese ingredients like raw seafood or omelette.
While the making of traditional sushi can take years to master, the beauty of temakizushi is in its simplicity: you don’t need any special training to make and enjoy it. In fact, it’s so easy that even the little ones can join in on making them!
How is Temakizushi eaten in Japan?
While it’s not uncommon for temakizushi to be enjoyed in sushi restaurants, making and eating temakizushi together with friends and family at home is a popular activity in Japan. It’s especially a huge hit among families with young children, as it’s a safe and fun way for the whole family to prepare food while spending time together.
Young adults might also hold what they call a “temakizushi party”, where friends will gather at someone’s house to make and enjoy the temakizushi together while chatting and having a good time.
Because the element of spending time with those you love is so prominent when having temakizushi at home, ingredients are all always laid out in the centre of the dining table. This way, everyone can make temakizushi however they like, while in the company of others. In other words, temakizushi is much more than just a dish, it’s the food that connects us to the people we love.
How to make Temakizushi at home (with the whole family!)
Now that we know more about temakizushi and how it’s meant to be enjoyed, it’s time to make it! We’ve broken it down into easy-to-follow steps, so grab your friends, family, and kids, and let’s get started.
What You’ll Need (4 servings):
- Seaweed sheets
- 3 cups Japanese Rice
- 4 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 4 tbsp Sugar
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- Your choice of toppings (sashimi slices, cucumbers, prawns, etc.)
- Soy sauce
- Wasabi (optional)
- Rice scoop
1. Prepare sushi rice
- Cook the Japanese rice per its package instructions. While it’s cooking, make the sushi rice seasoning
- Combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and mix well.
- Once the rice is done cooking, transfer to a hangiri sushi rice tub, or a bowl with a large surface area and spread it out. Add the mixture from step 2 into the rice and mix well with a rice scoop, making sure that the rice is evenly coated. This can be a really fun activity for the kids, if they’d like to help out.
- Cover the rice with a clean cloth. This prevents the grains from drying out and becoming hard. Then, leave in the fridge to cool.
2. Prepare ingredients and toppings
- Cut the large seaweed sheets in half. To make smaller servings, you may cut them into quarters.
- For toppings, you may use anything you like for your temakizushi. Simply slice them into medium-sized strips for easy wrapping. Since there can be quite a lot of ingredients to slice up, older children or other family members can join in too.
To give you some ideas, here’s a list of our favourite toppings.
- Salmon, tuna, and squid sashimi
- Boiled shrimp
- Japanese omelette ‘tamagoyaki’
- Lettuce, cucumber, radish sprouts, lotus root
- Avocado
- Canned tuna with mayonnaise
- Salmon roe
- Wasabi
3. Arrange at the table
Now that all the preparation work is done, lay all the ingredients on the table and gather everyone around. It’s time to eat!
4. Construct the temakizushi
- On one hand or on a plate, place a sheet of seaweed rough side up. Put a moderate amount of rice on the left side half of the sheet, and slightly flatten.
- Lay your choice of toppings and combinations on the rice, making sure to arrange them diagonally. A good rule of thumb is to align them with the top-left corner of the seaweed. If you like wasabi, you may add a dollop here too.
- Then, take the bottom left corner and fold up towards the middle in a triangle shape, like folding origami.
- Roll the other half of the seaweed around the folded portion, and it’s done! Or as they say in Japan, deki-agari!
5. Dip in soy sauce and enjoy!
There’s no right or wrong way to eat temakizushi, so you can eat it however you like. There’s no need for chopsticks or other eating utensils either, meaning there’s less to clean up afterwards so you can even do it on a weeknight!
In this ultimate guide, we talked about what temakizushi is, and how you can make your own authentic temakizushi at home. We hope this introduces another culturally enriching and fun activity for you and your family and friends. So the next time you’re hosting a party at home, why not make it a ‘temakizushi party’?