How to Make Sushi at Home
A master sushi chef shares pro tips to get rollin'
Think you can’t make sushi at home? Think again! Kaze Chan, Master Sushi Chef & Partner at Sushi-san and The Omakase Room at Sushi-san answers all of your questions about making maki, sashimi and more of your favorites in your very own kitchen. Ready? Let’s roll!
Learn more at these upcoming sushi events at Lettuce:
Sunday, April 13: Rollin’ with Chef Naoki Nakashima at Miru
Saturday, April 19: Maki-Rolling Class with Master Sushi Chef Kaze Chan – Sushi-san – Lincoln Park
What Kind of Fish Should I Buy?
“You do not need to know how to trim and break down a whole salmon like a professional sushi chef! You can go to your local Asian market to buy fish that is already cut and prepared for you,” Chef Kaze says. He says to be sure to buy fish that is fresh and avoid anything frozen. His top recommendation is yellowfin tuna (aka ahi tuna) because it is affordable, easy to use and has low-risk of food-borne illness, however, he says to use it right away, as it’s already been at the store for a few days. One fish to avoid: Big eye tuna, which he warns sometimes have large imperfections in the skin that retain water and bacteria.
Interestingly, Chef Kaze shares that when it come to sushi, fresh out of the water doesn’t always mean better. “At Sushi-san and The Omakase Room, when we are deciding how we want to serve a fish, we eat it on its own for several days to really understand its true flavor before we start adding other ingredients to it because the flavor of fish actually changes over time. When you catch a live fish and then eat it right away, the fish’s muscles are still very tight. But if you wait, as those muscles relax, the fat comes out and infuses the fish with more flavor.”
If you want to splurge, Chef Kaze says bluefin tuna is worth every penny. “Get a small amount of bluefin tuna to serve sashimi-style or over rice as nigiri. Bluefin is more expensive, which is why you won’t ever see it at an all-you-can-eat sushi place! It is one of the best fish to savor and enjoy.” Try it at Sushi-san – River North and Sushi-san – Lincoln Park with the Bluefin Tuna Sashimi.
What Kind of Rice Should I Use?
Any white short grain rice will do, Chef Kaze says, but what gets tricky is finding the right water ratio for cooking. “The time of year in which rice was originally harvested makes a difference in how much water you need to use to properly cook it. If I’m cooking rice that was harvested in the summer, I know that I need to use more water, and vice versa for rice that was harvested in winter – you need to use less,” he says.
Since there’s really no way to know when the rice you buy at the store was harvested, just understand that you might mess it up once in a while! Regardless, you should always rinse your rice before cooking, but don’t rinse it all the way until it’s clear, you want it to keep some of the starch. Chef Kaze rinses it two times—he first lightly brushes it with his hand using a small amount of water, rinses, then runs it through water a second time, stirring it gently by hand, making sure it doesn’t start to crack. (Never set rice aside to just sit and soak in water—it will crack and dry out!)
Sushi rice is typically seasoned with sushi rice vinegar, which you can buy in a ready-to-use bottle at the store. Adding vinegar in the rice also acts as a preservative to help sushi stay fresh longer.
Do I Need A Mat to Make Sushi?
A bamboo mat is a must when making sushi at home, according to Chef Kaze. “You can use your hands but the ingredients will slide around and you will have a hard time keeping it together,” he says. Fun fact: “Traditionally, in Japan, most people make maki rolls with seaweed on the outside, never rice, which is very common here in the U.S.” So, roll with the seaweed on the outside if you want to make the most authentic maki!
It’s also important to note that not all seaweed is created equal: “Seaweed actually has two faces – one side is rough and one side is glossed and shiny. When you make a roll, put the gloss side down on the mat, with the rough side facing up, and put the rice on the rough side, about 4 oz., and however much fish you want in the roll, and it keeps it from sliding,” Kaze says. After rolling it up, you’ll see that the glossy side looks beautiful and it stays together, lasts longer and you can use your hand to eat it, no chopsticks required. You can use rice on the outside if you want, but it dries out and hardens pretty quickly – seaweed on the outside protects the rice. 
Handrolls are also easy to make, no mat required! Try your “hand” at it with the Dynamite Scallop D.I.Y. Hand Roll at Sushi-san – Lincoln Park, or have the pros at Sushi-san bring in a live, interactive hand roll bar for your next event.
How Do I Make Nigiri?
“Maki seems hard but isn’t with a little bit of practice,” Chef Kaze shares, “But it took me two years to learn how to make nigiri! You have to work fast. You dip your hand in water and soon as the rice hits your hand, you need to shape it in your palm, turn it out quickly, and place your fish before it absorbs all the water and falls apart. It is harder than people think!”
Looking for more sushi experiences at Lettuce? Make a reservation for the 18-course omakase at The Omakase Room, or check out Miru’s Bluefin Tuna Experience, available at the sushi bar every Wednesday evening at The St. Regis Chicago’s modern Japanese hotspot.Prefer for Chef Kaze to handle the sushi-making? Make a reservation or order online and leave it to a pro!
Make a reservation at the Sushi-san location nearest you | Make a reservation at The Omakase Room at Sushi-san
