Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
For 8 maki rolls
- 50g (¼ cup) short-grain sushi rice (see the basic recipe)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- ½ tbsp sugar
- a pinch of salt
For the filling
- 1 slice (1cm thick) from a fresh salmon fillet
🍣 🥢 For more sushi ideas, I’ve written an article on sushi variations that I invite you to check out.
Preparing the sushi rice
Quick recap: whatever quantity of rice you make, keep the classic proportions in mind - 1 volume of rice to 1.3 times that volume in water. If you’re using cups for example, 1 cup of rice to 1⅓ cups of water.
Rinse the rice well until the water runs clear (at least 4 times). In a saucepan, combine the rice with the water, cover and bring to a boil, stir once then reduce to medium heat and cook for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat without opening the lid and let rest for 10 minutes.
While the rice is resting, put the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve everything.
Transfer the rice to a bowl and pour the still-hot vinegar over it, mixing gently to season the rice. Let cool to room temperature (never in the fridge) covered with a kitchen towel so it doesn’t dry out.
Shaping the salmon maki
- Place the shiny side of the nori seaweed sheet on the bamboo mat (which you’ll have covered with plastic wrap), add a thin layer of rice (0.5cm/¼ inch thick) over the entire sheet except for a 1cm (½ inch) strip. Place the fish strip in the middle then roll tightly while holding the fish with your fingers so it stays centered.
Tips and variations
Nori sheets are relatively large and make fairly large makis once rolled. If you want smaller makis, you can cut off ⅓ of the nori sheet and make the maki with ⅔ of the seaweed sheet.
If you have leftover rice, you can make salmon sushi 🍣.
You can vary the fish, add cream cheese or a strip of avocado or cucumber with or instead of the fish to make vegetarian makis.