Make restaurant-style sushi rolls at home with my easy Yellowtail Roll (Negihama Maki) recipe. Here, I dice tender yellowtail sashimi with green onion and wrap it in sushi rice and a sheet of nori seaweed. Enjoy it with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled red ginger on the side.
Gather all the ingredients. If you haven‘t made 1½ cups sushi rice (cooked and seasoned) yet, please see the step-by-step photos and instructions in my blog post How to Make Sushi Rice.
Cut 3.3 oz sashimi-grade yellowtail into ¼-inch (6-mm) cubes, then chop the cubes into smaller pieces. Finely chop 3 Tbsp green onions/scallions.
Cut your 1 sheet nori (dried laver seaweed) in half crosswise. Lay ½ sheet nori, shiny side down, on the plastic-covered bamboo mat. Wet your fingers in the tezu vinegared dipping water made with ¼ cup water and 2 tsp rice vinegar (unseasoned). Then, spread ¾ cup (110 g) of the rice evenly onto the nori sheet.
Divide the chopped yellowtail and spread one portion on the sushi rice across the bottom end of the nori sheet. Divide the chopped green onions and spread one portion alongside the yellowtail.
Check that the bottom edges of the nori sheet and bamboo mat are aligned. Next, lift up the bottom edge of the mat and nori with your thumbs while holding the fillings in place with your fingers. Then, start rolling it into a tight cylinder. Lift the edge of the bamboo mat and continue to roll it forward while keeping gentle pressure on the mat.
With a very sharp knife, cut the roll in half crosswise and then cut each half into 3–4 sushi roll pieces. Clean the knife with a damp cloth every few slices. Serve the sushi with pickled red ginger (beni shoga or kizami beni shoga), wasabi, and soy sauce on the side.
To Store
It‘s best to enjoy the sushi rolls on the same day you make them. Rice gets hard and dry in the refrigerator. Therefore, if you really want to keep sushi rolls in the refrigerator, my recommendation is to cover them with plastic and then with a thick kitchen towel, so the rice will stay cool and safe, but not become cold.