I've always thought making sushi would be a difficult feat. While homemade sushi takes a lot of effort and a lot of time, it is not as difficult as it looks. What may be the most difficult, however, is finding a place to purchase a sushi mat. Funny story, my sushi mat is actually a bamboo placemat I got from Bed Bath & Beyond, and it cost me around $2. So if you get lost trying to find one, you will probably find one there.

Anyway, if you know me, you know I love sushi. Sushi is my favorite food and I've always really wanted to try to make it myself, but when I lived at home no one ever wanted to try it with me. So, here goes nothing: my first-ever sushi roll. What do you think?

Dragon Roll

  • Prep Time:1 hr
  • Cook Time:0
  • Total Time:1 hr
  • Servings:4
  • Hard

    Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 sheets nori seaweed
  • 2 cups sushi rice cooked
  • 8 pieces shrimp tempura cooked
  • Spicy mayonnaise
  • Black sesame seeds
  • Soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • Bamboo sushi mat
  • Plastic wrap
wasabi, salmon, seafood, fish, rice, sushi
Cassandra Bauer

  • Step 1

    Cut cucumber lengthwise into quarters. Remove the seeds and then cut each in half lengthwise.

  • Step 2

    In a small bowl, combine water and sushi vinegar.

  • Step 3

    Wrap the bamboo mat with plastic wrap and place a half-sheet of nori onto the mat. Dip your hands in the bowl of vinegar water to keep the rice from sticking to your hands. Spread 1/2 cup of sushi rice over the nori sheet. Press the sushi down and use your fingers to spread it across the nori evenly.

  • Step 4

    Turn over the nori to the side without rice and place shrimp tempura and cucumber strips along side each other.

  • Step 5

    From the bottom end, use the bamboo mat to roll the nori sheet over, holding tightly and firmly with the bamboo mat until the bottom end reaches the nori sheet. Lift the bamboo mat and roll over.

  • Step 6

    Remove the bamboo mat by unrolling it from the sushi roll gently. If the sushi does not stay together immediately, use the mat to press the sushi together firmly.

  • Step 7

    Cut the roll into eight pieces. After each cut, clean the knife with a wet towel.

  • Step 8

    Drizzle spicy mayo, and sprinkle black seasame seeds onto each roll of sushi. Serve with soy sauce.