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Two words: HOMEMADE. SUSHI. I mean, does it get any better than that? It’s perfect for kids (we use cooked fish!), easily customizable, and a SUPER fun activity for a night in quarantine.
My family has been doing make-your-own sushi night for years now! We are huge Japanese food fans. We love going out to eat sushi, edamame, miso soup, and especially Japanese sodas. So, we make our own sushi at home very often, and we’ve been making it the same way the whole time. I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe, because it is SO fun and SO yummy.
The Ingredients –
The only necessary ingredients in this homemade sushi/poke recipe are the salmon filets, the sushi rice, and the nori. I wrote up the recipe the way my family and I make it at home, but you can totally change it up! Here are my ideas for fillings that you can add:
Green onions, spicy mayo, pineapple, teriyaki sauce, or any other produce you would want to include! We always use black sesame seeds because the contrasting color creates an overall BEAUTIFUL dish, but if you would rather use a furikake mix, or any other sesame seeds, you can.
Making the Sushi Rolls –
This is clearly the most daunting part of this recipe. Prepping the fillings, cooking the salmon, and making the rice are the easy parts! If you’ve read my Chicken Summer Roll Recipe, you’ll know that I think the best part of any complicated rolling recipe is the fun in preparing them. It can be frustrating of course: the roll may not turn out how you’d want, and most of the time, the first try won’t be so successful. HOWEVER, everything will taste the same, no matter what it looks like!
Step one: Lay a sheet of nori paper on a plastic or wooden cutting board. Cover about 3/4 of the board with sushi rice.
Step two: Flake some salmon, about 1/4 of a filet. Lay the flaked salmon in a straight line about 1/2 inch away from the edge of the nori sheet.
Step three: Cover the salmon with the pre-cut sticks of cucumber and mango.
Step four: Place the avocado slices on top of all of the mango and cucumber, and sprinkle the black sesame seeds on top.
Step five: As tightly as you can, roll the nori paper. When you have rolled all of the paper with rice on it, and you’ve gotten to the end, wet your finger and draw a line of water across the edge of the nori. This will make the nori stick to itself and create a sealed roll.
Step six: Cut the ends off of the roll, and then slice it into six even pieces. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds as shown below:
Making a Poke Bowl
The other option, other than sushi, it to create a poke bowl with the same ingredients.
Start with a base of sushi rice, and add 1/2 of a salmon filet. Add your toppings (mango, cucumber, avocado, sesame seeds), and serve! I like the drizzle soy sauce over the bowl as well!
My tips –
- Don’t get too frustrated while rolling the sushi! The trick is to roll it as tight as you can without ripping. If you feel the rice may be bursting through the nori, roll a little looser!
- Scoop the seeds out of the cucumbers! I prep my cucumbers by cutting them horizontally in half, and then scoop out the middle with a grapefruit spoon. Then, thinly slice it into sticks.
- Have fun with this! Overall, it’s better to have a fun night enjoying the process than to create a perfect looking sushi roll.
- Use Rub with Love seasoning! It’s AMAZING and gluten free! You can find it here
Gluten Free Homemade Salmon Sushi/Poke
Ingredients
For the Sushi Rice
- 4 rice cooker cups sushi rice
- 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
For the Salmon
- 2 lbs salmon
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup "Rub with Love" (link in the article)
For the sushi rolls
- 1 package nori paper
- 1 small mango, julienned
- 1 large cucumber, prepped as described
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 2 large avocados, sliced
- pickled ginger, optional
- soy sauce, optional
Instructions
- First, make the sushi rice! If you don't have a rice cooker, you can make the rice on the stove according to the directions on the bag.
- While the rice is cooking, Rub the salmon fillets with half of the olive oil. Then, use around the 1/4 cup of the Rub with Love seasoning and massage it into the salmon. After that, rub the rest of the olive oil into the salmon and let sit, covered in cling wrap, in the fridge, until ready to cook.
- Once the rice is done cooking, combine the salt, sugar, and rice vinegar and stir until dissolved. Pour into the rice and stir with a wooden spatula until combined.
- To cook the salmon, grill over medium heat for about 3 minutes with the skin side up.
- Flip, and grill for 5-8 more minutes until cooked through (timing depends on the thickness)
Making the Sushi Rolls
- Lay a sheet of nori paper on a plastic or wooden cutting board. Cover about 3/4 of the board with sushi rice.
- Flake some salmon, about 1/4 of a filet. Lay the flaked salmon in a straight line about 1/2 inch away from the edge of the nori sheet.
- Cover the salmon with the precut sticks of cucumber and mango.
- Place the avocado slices on top of all of the mango and cucumber, and sprinkle the black sesame seeds on top.
- As tightly as you can, roll the nori paper. When you have rolled all of the paper with rice on it, and you've gotten to the end, wet your finger and draw a line of water across the edge of the nori. This will make the nori stick to itself and create a sealed roll.
- Cut the ends off of the roll, and then slice it into six even pieces. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds
Making the Poke Bowls
- In a small bowl, start with a base of sushi rice, and add 1/2 of a salmon filet. Add your toppings (mango, cucumber, avocado, sesame seeds), and serve! I like to drizzle soy sauce over the bowl as well!
YUM!