Prep Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 25 mins

Servings:

Yield:

6 rolls

These cooked sushi rolls are a fun way to enjoy homemade sushi. We use baked salmon with rice, sliced carrots, cucumber, and avocado wrapped in nori seaweed sheets, creating a colorful dinner—sans raw fish. The sushi rolls are best made with sushi rice, a special type of short-grain white rice. (We like Lundberg Sushi Rice, which is available in many grocery stores.) The cooked rice is dressed with a vinegar-sugar-ginger mixture and spread on top of the nori, then topped with layers of fresh vegetables and salmon. Rolling the sushi takes practice but has delicious rewards. It’s also something kids can do (and enjoy!)—they might even be better at it than the adults.

Special Equipment

We use a bamboo rolling mat to roll the sushi. If you don't have one, you can line a clean kitchen towel with plastic wrap and use that as a guide for rolling.

Ingredients

2 cups short-grain white rice, preferably Japonica
3 -inch piece ginger, peeled
1 cup rice-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
Kosher salt
12 ounces salmon (about 1 inch thick), preferably wild, skin removed
2 carrots, peeled and julienned (1 cup)
2 mini cucumbers, julienned (1 cup)
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
6 sheets toasted nori
Soy sauce, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven; rinse and drain rice:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse rice in several changes of water, jostling rice with fingertips, until water runs clear. Set in a sieve over a bowl to drain while you prepare the rest of the ingredients (at least 20 minutes).
Blanch ginger:

Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice ginger paper-thin along the grain (to yield 1/2 cup). Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add ginger, and blanch 5 seconds; drain.
Make vinegar seasoning:

Return pot to stove and add 3/4 cup vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons water. Season lightly with salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reserve half the vinegar mixture (this will be used to season your rice); add blanched ginger to remaining vinegar mixture and set aside. Cool completely.
Cook rice:

Place rice and 2 1/2 cups water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. Cook until rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed, about 12 minutes (alternatively, cook rice in a rice cooker according to manufacturer's instructions). Remove from heat. Let sit with lid on, 10 minutes more. Transfer rice to a large bowl; cool 5 minutes.
Fold 1/4 of vinegar mixture into rice:

Fold in one-quarter of the reserved vinegar mixture with a wide spatula or plastic bench scraper, fanning the rice while you fold in vinegar mixture to cool it down quickly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Reserve remaining vinegar mixture for assembling.
Roast salmon:

While rice cooks, season salmon generously with salt and let stand 10 minutes. Pat dry. Roast salmon on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Toss cucumbers and carrots with seasonings:

Meanwhile, toss cucumbers and carrots with remaining 1/4 cup vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and sesame oil. Set aside.
Flake salmon and assemble nori, rice, and spread mayo:

Cool, then flake salmon into 6 portions. To assemble, place 1 sheet of nori, shiny-side down, on a bamboo rolling mat with the long side closest to you. Dampen hands with reserved vinegar mixture and gently press 3/4 cup rice evenly across nori, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Spread 2 teaspoons mayonnaise evenly across center of rice.
Layer vegetable mixture, salmon, and avocado, then roll and cut sushi:

Layer 1/3 cup vegetable mixture, 1 portion salmon, and a few slices of avocado evenly across middle of rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Starting with the edge closest to you, use the mat to fold the bottom third toward the center, pressing evenly across the roll to compress the filling. Repeat with another turn and gently press again. Remove mat. Lightly wet a sharp knife with vinegar mixture and cut into 6 equal pieces.
Repeat to form remaining sushi rolls and serve:

Repeat with remaining sheets of nori. Serve with reserved pickled ginger and soy sauce.

Baked Salmon Sushi

Ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven; rinse and drain rice:

Blanch ginger:

Make vinegar seasoning:

Cook rice:

Fold 1/4 of vinegar mixture into rice:

Roast salmon:

Toss cucumbers and carrots with seasonings:

Flake salmon and assemble nori, rice, and spread mayo:

Layer vegetable mixture, salmon, and avocado, then roll and cut sushi:

Repeat to form remaining sushi rolls and serve:

Other Savory Rolled Recipes to Try:

Related Articles