Sushi is one of these things that seem really daunting to make at home. I was like this too until I tried one day and realised that it’s not actually that hard. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m talking about the basic roll here, futomaki.
There are some kick-arse sushi chefs out there who make sushi you and I can only dream of mastering. I’m not saying we could have their job if we practise a little. I like acquiring new skills and learning how to make sushi has been very satisfying. It used to be this delicious and pretty thing I used to admire at Itsu and now I can now make it myself, which is awesome. In case you are new to sushi making, I put together a little round-up of key ingredients at a glance. One thing to mention is do not be put off having a go if you don’t have a sushi mat, there are ways round it! You can either use one of those bamboo place mats (like my acid pink one in the photo) or even a regular tea towel folded thick and wrapped into a piece of cling film. In fact, even a regular sushi mat needs wrapping in cling film as it is a nightmare to keep clean otherwise. I’ll also walk you through making your own pickled ginger, which is a must-have sushi condiment. You can obviously buy it ready-made if you prefer, but it is so easy to make at home and so much nicer (not to mention all the additives you are avoiding that way) that I recommend giving it a go. When you buy pickled ginger, you’ll notice that it is often pink. Ginger turns pink from vinegar if it’s young, but most commercially available ginger is mature ginger with an added food dye, unfortunately. You can achieve the same effect by adding a touch of beetroot juice to your home made pickled ginger. It’s a bit difficult to gauge what is the right amount of beetroot to add so as you can see my ginger has gone a bit pink crazy. It still tastes delicious!
a medium knob of ginger ½ cup rice vinegar ¼ cup sugar or maple syrup ½ tsp fine sea salt a slice of beetroot (for colouring, optional)
