Homemade sushi (aka DIY sushi) is a fun and easy way to enjoy sushi at home. All you need is rice, sashimi (we like ahi tuna or salmon), and seaweed. No special equipment needed. Lay everything out on a table and let everyone make their own sushi to eat and enjoy!
Why This Recipe Works
If you haven't done homemade sushi or DIY sushi nights at home, you are missing out ^_^ It's the easiest meal to make when you're too tired to cook a "real" dinner but want everyone to have a good (and tasty) time.
The best parts:
- You just need a few ingredients (mainly rice, sashimi, and seaweed)
- No special equipment required.
- No cooking! It's all DIY, everyone makes their own.
- Super flexible - use any kind of sashimi you want (like ahi tuna or salmon). If you don't have sashimi, you can use canned tuna or imitation crab (more on that below).
- Easy to include additions - you can add many ingredients (we love avocado, uni, and ikura).
This of this recipe as less of a formal recipe and more of a guide to making sushi at home.
Homemade Sushi
Now when I say sushi, we're not trying to make fancy nigiri or even rolled and cut sushi. These are more like easy 1-2 bite handrolls. We just add rice and fish on top of the seaweed, then fold in half and eat! It is super delicious and so easy.
We made this often for dinner as kids, and even more as adults! Every time I get a pound of nice sashimi from the market, my first thoughts are either sashimi over a bowl of rice (a simple and blissful meal), Hawaii-Style Poke, or homemade sushi night.
When I first introduced this "dish" to my husband he was totally WOW'd and now it's one of his most requested meals heheh. It's also great for group and larger meals because everyone can make their own sushi and tailor each piece to their liking.
Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients:
Sushi Rice
Make homemade sushi rice by mixing cooked short grain rice with a rice vinegar-sugar-salt mixture.
- Short-grain rice
- Rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
Sashimi
We usually use ahi tuna or salmon.
Nori / roasted seaweed sheets
We like these individual pack sheets we get at Costco Hawaii. You can also find smaller versions at Longs Drugs and pretty much every other supermarket in Hawaii...we keep a TON of them in the pantry. They also come in handy when you are making Sushi Bake!
Soy sauce and wasabi
This is to dip the sashimi in. You can go as regular or as fancy as you like with the soy sauce or sashimi ^_^
Step by Step Directions
Ok here is how we do it ^_^
Cook the rice.
First, rinse and cook the rice (we use a rice cooker). Once the rice has finished cooking, open the rice cooker and let cool for 5 minutes.
Make the sushi vinegar.
Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a small bow. Microwave for 30 sections, until the sugar is dissolved.
Mix sushi rice by mixing the sushi vinegar with the rice.
Pour the rice vinegar mixture over the rice. Use a rice paddle to gently mix evenly. This is your prepared sushi rice.
Assemble everything on the dining table.
Place the bowl of prepare sushi rice and a plate of sashimi in the center of the table.
Give everyone an individual plate, a package of the roasted nori/seaweed sheets, and a small dish of soy sauce and wasabi.
Make the sushi!
To make the sushi, get one of the seaweed sheets and place it on the palm of your hand. Top with a small scoop of rice. Then dip a piece of sashimi into the soy sauce and wasabi, and place that on top of the rice.
Eat and enjoy.
Lightly fold the seaweed in half and eat! Each piece should be 1-2 bites.
Repeat until you've finished all the rice and sashimi! Enjoy ^_^
FAQs and Tips
No problem, you can still make this dish! We are lucky to have access to great sashimi in Hawaii (in Honolulu we usually visit Tamashiro Market), but know that it's not always easy to find sashimi. For last minute meals, you can always use canned tuna or imitation crab (just mix with a bit of mayo like we do in these Tuna Rice Bowls), and use that in place of the sashimi.
If you have a big group and some people might not like raw fish, you can offer both sashimi and the canned tuna at the table. Let everyone choose which they want to use for their own sushi.
When we usually eat *sushi, we usually dip the formed nigiri or sushi roll in soy sauce after the nigiri or roll has been assembled.
But in the case of homemade sushi, we dip the sashimi in the soy sauce first, and then place it on top of the rice and seaweed. If you try to dip in soy sauce after forming the handroll, everything will just fall out. So make sure to dip the sashimi piece alone first, then form the roll and eat.
*Make sure to check out all the great sushi in Honolulu and our culture of casual sushi!
This dish is a dream for add ons! If we have avocado, we peel and slice the avocado thinly. Add a slice right on top of the sashimi right before eating, and woooow. Other great add ons include uni and ikura. Options are endless!
Homemade Sushi Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Homemade Sushi
Homemade sushi (aka DIY sushi) is a fun and easy way to enjoy sushi at home. No need for any special equipment. All you need is rice, sashimi (we like ahi tuna or salmon), and seaweed. Lay everything out on a table and let everyone make their own sushi to eat and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked short-grain rice
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound tuna or salmon sashimi
- 2-3 packages nori / roasted seaweed sheets
Instructions
- First, rinse and cook the rice (we use a rice cooker). Once the rice has finished cooking, open the rice cooker and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a small bow. Microwave for 30 sections, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the rice vinegar mixture over the rice. Use a rice paddle to gently mix evenly. This is your prepared sushi rice.
- Place the bowl of prepare sushi rice and a plate of sashimi in the center of the table.
- Give everyone an individual plate, a package of the roasted nori/seaweed sheets, and a small dish of soy sauce and wasabi.
- To make the sushi, get one of the seaweed sheets and place it on the palm of your hand. Top with a small scoop of rice. Then dip a piece of sashimi into the soy sauce and wasabi, and place that on top of the rice.
- Lightly fold the seaweed in half and eat! Each piece should be 1-2 bites.
- Continue until you've finished all the rice and sashimi! Enjoy! ^_^
Yup, brings back fond memories. Years ago, when I lived in HNL, I also owned my own boat and we went deep sea fishing every weekend. We caught all kinds of fish trolling and even bottom fishing on the Penguin Banks (in those days the Penguin Banks were not closed off to fishing). Most of the time my partner and I sold our fish either at the fish auction or by word of mouth. I normally never made home made sushi, just lots of sashimi, fried fish, steamed fish, nitsuke, etc. etc. But whenever we caught ahi and we butchered it for sale as opposed to selling it thru the auction house, I would always keep some sashimi for home consumption and the belly portion. Filleting the belly portion, and carefully separating the belly meat pieces, I would use that for making "toro" nigiri sushi. Man, I really miss eating that stuff. Yup, brings back fond memories!
Hi Alan! Oh man that is the best, such cool memories! Am always so happy when friends bring back fish they just caught, few things can beat that. I can taste that toro nigiri...wowowow! ^_^
- Kathy