Making Homemade Sushi – How to Make Makizushi (Rolled Sushi) 
Makizushi is the stereotypical “sushi roll” that everyone always pictures when they thing of sushi. It is a round disc, about an inch and a half to two inches in diameter, with fillings in the center surrounded by rice and wrapped in a thin sheet of dark green dried seaweed. This is one of my absolute favorite ways to eat sushi, with a wide variety of flavors, textures and ingredients that can be used. It’s also very easy to improvise and make up something of your own, even if traditional sushi chefs would turn over in their graves if they could see it. Makizushi is very easy to make yourself at home, which saves you money and makes a sushi habit much more accessible in general. Here are the basic steps to making makizushi. Step 1 – Prepare the Rice I won’t go into this step in depth, because the correct technique for preparing sushi rice is another article in itself. If you don’t know the procedure I’ve written a separate article that covers it, or you can look it up via Google or Yahoo. Step 2 – Ready the Ingredients This is personal preference, but I like to cut up any vegetables and fish I’ll be using in my sushi rolls beforehand so I don’t have to stop once I get in the zone. This also includes taking lids off sauces and preparing tezu (vinegared water.) Step 3 – Line the Nori Nori will often have a shiny finish on one side and a matte finish on the other – make sure the shiny side is down. Moisten your hands with tezu then grab a heaping handful of rice and plop it in the middle of the nori. Spread it gently with your fingertips to cover the entire sheet except for about an inch at the top. The grains should not be mushed or packed down, and should have a “loose” look to them. Step 4 – Add the Ingredients I personally like to make a thin finger-width trench in the approximate middle of the sheet, by gently pushing the rice aside until there’s only a 1-grain deep layer, which I then spread lightly with a smear of wasabi paste. This is not strictly necessary, it’s just what I do. Either way, you’ll still layer your ingredients in parallel rows in the middle of the nori. Step 5 – Roll the Roll (Note that the follow procedure is only if you’re not using a makisu; if you are then just roll it up and press lightly to seal.) Dry your hands and moisten your fingertips only with tezu. Gently place your thumbs underneath the bottom of the nori near the center while simultaneously lifting and rolling away from you. Make sure to hold the ingredients in with your fingers while you roll. Once you’ve completed one revolution everything should stay together; continue rolling until you’ve sealed the bottom of the nori with the open space on top, and that the seam is located on the bottom. And that’s basically all there is to it. An additional tip is to refrigerate the rolls for fifteen or twenty minutes after you roll them and before you cut them into pieces. And remember, cut the roll in half and cut each half into three pieces — fourths is bad luck!
