Temaki Sushi (Hand Roll)

Ingredients

• 6⅔ cups sushi rice, cooked and seasoned
• 10 sheets nori (dried laver seaweed)
• Sashimi-grade fish of your choice (¼–⅓ lb per person; salmon, tuna, amberjack, yellowtail, fatty tuna, sea bream, salmon roe, uni, etc.)
• Japanese or Persian cucumbers, cut into sticks
• Shiso leaves (perilla/ooba)
• Kaiware daikon radish sprouts
• Takuan (pickled daikon radish), cut into sticks
• Pickled sushi ginger, for serving
• Wasabi, for serving
• Soy sauce or sashimi soy sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Prepare sushi rice in advance according to your preferred method (allow at least 90 minutes). Use Japanese short-grain white rice for best results.
2. Prepare the vegetable fillings: remove stems from shiso leaves. Cut off root ends of kaiware daikon radish sprouts and rinse thoroughly.
3. Peel cucumbers to create a striped pattern, then cut off both ends. Cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and slice into thin 3-inch strips.
4. Cut takuan into 3-inch lengths, then slice into thin sticks.
5. Prepare the sashimi: remove fish from refrigerator and pat dry. Cut sashimi blocks into 3-inch lengths, then slice lengthwise into long sticks.
6. Right before eating, cut nori sheets in half for cone-shaped rolls or into quarters for taco-shaped rolls. Store in the bag to keep crispy.
7. Set up the table with a bowl of sushi rice, vegetable fillings, sashimi platter, nori sheets, and individual plates with soy sauce.
8. To roll: place a half sheet of nori shiny side down on your palm. Add a thin layer of rice to the left third of the nori.
9. Place fillings vertically along the middle of the rice. Fold the bottom left corner over and roll into a cone shape.
10. Use a piece of rice as glue at the bottom right corner to seal the cone tightly.
11. For taco-style rolls with quarter sheets, place rice in the center with fillings on top and fold up the sides like a taco.
12. Serve immediately while nori is still crispy. Dip in soy sauce with wasabi as desired.