Make sushi at home with simple hand-rolled sushi called Temaki Sushi. Everyone in the family (or at the party) will have fun rolling the nori sheets around sushi rice and their favorite fillings!
As sushi becomes more popular than ever, many people think that it is a staple of Japanese home cooking. The fact is we don’t typically make sushi at home, especially when comes to nigiri or sushi rolls that require time and refined skills. We much prefer to enjoy them at a sushi restaurant.
But we do make exceptions for the less fussy ones like Temaki Sushi (hand-rolled sushi). Growing up, Temaki Sushi was our favorite party meal. My mom would make them once every couple of months because it’s very forgiving and we all love this easy DIY sushi at home.
What is Temaki Sushi?
Temaki Sushi is sometimes called a “hand roll” because it is made of a rolled cone of seaweed, wrapped around rice and fillings. The best part, for me as a cook, is that this is a meal where everyone helps themselves. You just need to prepare a platter of sushi rice, nori (seaweed sheet), and fillings such as sashimi-grade fish and sliced veggies/mango. Then at the table, each person makes hand-rolled sushi based on their favorite mix of ingredients.
3 Basic Ingredients for Temaki Sushi
1. Sushi Rice 酢飯
To make Temaki Sushi, you need to make the seasoned rice called Sushi Rice or Sumeshi (酢飯). The rice has to be short-grain rice so it is stickier and forms together when you wrap the seaweed cone around it. Sushi Rice is simply steamed rice seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Japanese only make this rice when making sushi, so for all other Japanese meals, we eat regular steamed rice.
To learn how to make sushi rice, see How To Make Sushi Rice.
2. Gu (Ingredients for Sushi) 具
To be honest, the world is your oyster when comes to choosing the ingredients. Pick what you and your family enjoy! If you’re curious, here are some popular options in Japan:
Sashimi (Raw Fish)
- Amaebi (sweet shrimp)
- Hamachi (yellowtail)
- Hotate (scallop)
- Ikura (salmon roe)
- Kanpachi (amberjack)
- Maguro (tuna)
- Salmon
- Tai (sea bream/red snapper)
- Tobiko (flying fish roe)
- Toro (fatty tuna)
- Uni (sea urchin)
Vegetables
- Cucumber
- Radish sprout
- Shiso leaves
- Takuan (yellow daikon pickles)
Temaki with Vegetarian or Cooked Ingredients
If you are vegetarian or do not eat raw fish, you can still make Temaki Sushi with vegetables of your choice or use cooked items such as Shrimp Tempura, grilled unagi, or even Chicken Teriyaki and Chicken Kaarage! It’s fun to make your own fillings, so get creative!
3. Nori (Seaweed)
You will need good quality nori (seaweed) for Temaki Sushi. Some of you have asked me why their nori is chewy. Frankly speaking, it’s a sign of bad quality nori.
Good quality nori has an amazing fragrance and taste to it. After searching for good nori here in the U.S., I have to say I haven’t found any. My recommendation is to get nori from Ariake (有明) and get the most expensive nori available in that store. Still, the quality tends to less on par with the Japanese standard. If you get a chance to visit Japan, you must bring some back (it’s light and flat!!).
How to Make Temaki Sushi
- Cut a square nori sheet in half.
- Place the nori, the shiny side down, on your palm.
- Put 1/4 cup sushi rice at a 45-degree angle to the top left corner of the nori sheet and flatten/spread it evenly.
- Add some ingredients over the rice: cucumber, 1-2 types of sashimi, and radish sprout.
- Roll the bottom left corner up to the middle of the top edge of the nori to form a triangle, and continue rolling until you form a cone shape.
- Put a piece of rice on the tip of the nori to secure the folds.
Whether it’s for a small gathering or a bigger crowd, Temaki Sushi is truly the best type of sushi to serve at home. Enjoy!
Wish to Learn More About Sushi?
Check out our Ultimate Sushi Guide to learn about the origin, sushi types, etiquettes, and more.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Temaki Sushi (Hand Roll)
Ingredients
- ½ cup sushi rice (cooked and seasoned)
- 1 sheet nori (seaweed) (we use half sheet for each roll)
Temaki Filling Ideas
- sashimi-grade fish of your choice (salmon, tuna, salmon roe, spicy tuna etc)
- Persian/Japanese cucumbers
- shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (perilla)
- kaiware daikon radish sprouts
- takuan (pickled daikon radish)
- avocado
- carrot
- toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- If your raw fish comes as a block, slice the raw fish into long sticks. Or you can ask a fish monger at a Japanese grocery store to cut the raw fish for Temaki Sushi. They will cut fish into long sticks, instead of sashimi-style cut.
- Cut the nori in half, right before you start eating as it becomes stale easily. You can keep in the bag after you cut.
- Prepare sushi rice, ingredients, nori sheet (seaweed) at the table.
- Before you start, make sure your hands are dry in order to keep nori dry and crispy. Place the seaweed on the palm of your hand (shiny side down) and put a thin layer of rice on left third of nori.
- Place fillings (shiso leaf, cucumber, raw fish and daikon radish sprouts) vertically across middle of the rice.
- Fold the bottom left corner of nori over and begin folding into cone shape.
- Keep rolling until cone is formed. Put a piece of rice at the bottom right corner to use as glue and close tightly. Continue with the other half of the nori.
- Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce as condiments.
To Store
- Sashimi-grade fish must be eaten within 24 hours. Keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for a day.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on May 16, 2013. The images have been updated, the content has been updated, and the post has been republished in February 2021.
I love the gold bowl you used in your photograph for the fish eggs. Do you remember where you bought it?
Hi Phillipa! It’s from my mom’s collection, and I’m not sure where she got it. Happy to hear you like it. 🙂
Do you have favorite brand of nori sheet for temaki? I like the ones that has the crunch/pop kind of bite to it and can’t tell just based on price.
Hi Jaspw! It’s really hard to find good quality nori here… To be honest, I haven’t found a good one. I buy the most expensive nori possible (thinking that’s the only option I have), but I try to bring some nori back. Some of my friends bring back as a souvenir too. If you can find, nori from Ariakekai 有明海 (Kyushu) is very delicious. 🙂
Thanks for the tips! I will keep them in mind.
I had a temaki sushi party yesterday for my birthday and it was a blast! Everybody enjoyed filling the rolls to their liking and having so many options.. thank you for the great recipe and the inspiration to get creative with the ingredients! I prepared the vegetables from your recipe (plus mango as a add on), but since it was ridiculously hot and we were eating outside, I replaced the raw fish with surimi, teriyaki salmon and pan-seared shrimps – can definitely recommend that combination! As side dishes, we kept it classic – wakame salad, ginger and gyoza, which was more than enough. This won’t be the last time we made temaki sushi this summer! And the best thing: My boyfriend, who is not a fan of classic sushi rolls, liked it much better than expected. 🙂
Happy Birthday, Julie! I’m so so happy to hear your birthday party was a success! Thank you so much for your kind feedback and your tips. Temaki Sushi can be very creative with ingredients/filling, and I hope you enjoy it all year around! 🙂
It’s a really good restaurant
Could you send the link for the Ariake store? Thanks a lot
Hi Maria,
Ariake is the Origin/producing area name in Japan, and it’s not the store.
Unfortunately, we had looked online for you but couldn’t find the shop that carries Nori from Ariake at this time.
We hope you can find it in your local Japanese store.
This is the best way to serve sushi at home and best way to enjoy a meal with your guests. Lots of prep work but then you just sit back and enjoy with your guests. It’s all about good quality ingredients.
Hi Debra,
Thank you very much for your feedback!
2 ITEMS:
1) ARE ALL OF YOUR RECIPIES PUBLISHED IN ONE COOK BOOK???? I WISH TO PURCJSE ONE.’ MAYBE 2.
2) PLEASE SEND ME THE RECIPE FOR JAPANESE FRIED RICE LIKE ROY AKAI OF BENIHANA INVENTED.
WITH ADVANCE THANKS,
Dr. Larry McKenna
Hi Dr. Larry, Thank you very much for trying our recipes!
1) Nami has an eBook that you can order here (https://www.justonecookbook.com/just-one-cookbook-essential-japanese-recipes/). Currently, it is selected 33 easy and simple recipes only. If you are looking for a print version of those, we have it available on Amazon (https://amzn.to/35Ahqge).
2) We think shrimp fried rice is the closest one to the one you are looking for…. https://www.justonecookbook.com/shrimp-fried-rice/
If not, here is the list of Nami’s fried rice recipes: https://www.justonecookbook.com/search/?q=fried%20rice
We hope this is helpful. 🙂
very easy to do! thanks. but can you recommend to us possible substitutes instead of using what you mentioned fillings? I am from Philippines. Thanks
Hi Antox, Thank you very much for your kind feedback. If you are not using Sashimi-grade fish, you can use canned tuna, egg roll, blanched green leaves or beans, imitation crab (fish cake), vegetable stick, etc. We hope this helps!
Hi……where is this Ariake “store”……all I can see online (at least now) is a restaurant and wholesale supply company with that name…..?? Thanks
Ah……oh……now I see. I am reading an article regarding the Nori that is produced in Ariake, Japan. Alot of research regarding its fine flavor, research labs etc. Well, maybe one day I will get to Japan. For now I suppose I will have to just fan my inferior nori over the gas flame!!…..Poor me. Take care.
Hi Gary, Thank you very much for reading this post. Yes. The Ariake-Sea(有明海) is the bay name in the northwest part of Kyushu, Japan, and they produce very delicious high-quality Nori. Unfortunately, It is hard to find here in the US too. We hope one day, it will be available to enjoy anywhere outside Japan. In the meantime, we appreciate what available in our area for making this Temaki Sushi. 🙂 Happy Cooking!
Hi Nami-san,
Temaki sushi is great and hard to beat. However, to make it really good, you have to use good, top quality rice, nori and other fresh ingredients, all of which can add up to an amount which many people aren’t willing to, or can’t afford to spend, especially in these trying times. Still, lesser quality ingredients can still be used for good tasting temaki sushi but any raw seafood should be fresh.
I also notice that you don’t mention the use of wasabi — many places put some wasabi directly in the temaki and it adds to the flavor. Natto temaki with sprouts is one of my favorites!
Hi Dan, thanks for chiming in! You’re right – good quality ingredients make a difference in sushi (or, as a matter of fact – everything). But that shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying their fav foods at home. They can choose what is available and accessible for them. That is why we always provide suggestions and ideas.🙂 As for the wasabi – you can choose to place it inside the sushi or on the side. And yes, Natto temaki is one of the excellent ingredients for making Temaki, and we enjoy them too! Happy Cooking!
Thanks for your reply regarding Nori……but can you suggest an excellent brand of Nori to purchase here in America?
Hi Gary! We had looked at many stores, including online stores. Still, unfortunately, we could not find an excellent brand that we can recommend at this time. We will continue to look for it. In the meantime, please visit your local Japanese store. They often host the event to sell good quality imported Nori from Japan.🙂
While stationed in Japan[Sendai] i dined in a small restaurant. I had a bowl of very dark liquid that had long soba noodles,pieces of octopus,green onions and beef.Do you have a recipy baised on this information? I observed an elderly gentleman sipping the broth , i tried it and loved it. Thank you for your emails.
Hi James! We think that the dish is called “Niku soba.” We haven’t had a chance to taste the dish in Sendai, and not sure if we have the flavor, but we have a similar recipe. https://www.justonecookbook.com/soba-noodle-soup/ Please feel free to adjust the flavor as you like.
We hope this helps!
Great read, now following!
Hi,Nami!
The first time I tried this, I used Spam teriyaki sticks, crab sticks with carrot, cucumber, celery sticks and red leaf cabbage. My kids loved them. Today, I will be using salmon and tuna with the same set of veggies. Thank you so much for sharing this easy yet nutritious dish.
Sincerely,
Vanessa