Making Sushi: Tips, Tricks & Cooking Class Recaps

After months of anticipation, Stephen and I finally had the chance last weekend to attend our I Wish sushi-making class, which we discovered through a Living Social deal way back in October. Held at a charming community center in DC’s Eastern Market quarter, the class definitely didn’t disappoint, and we left armed with all the knowledge we'll need to start rolling our own Maki sushi at home.  

Here, a few highlights from our session, plus some of the key tips and tricks we learned throughout.

Workstation Setup: 

We arrived to find our workstations already set up and stocked with everything we'd need to make sushi rolls, including Nori seaweed wraps, bamboo mats for rolling, and fresh bowls of water, since – as we soon discovered – it is absolutely impossible to properly handle sticky rice without first having a wet hand.  

Cucumber Roll & Spicy Tuna Roll: 

Out of the three rolls we learned to make, the cucumber roll and spicy tuna roll were definitely the easiest, since both the rice and ingredients went directly inside each roll. To make these two, we started by first spreading sticky rice across the lower half of a Nori sheet, making sure to use the rough side, rather than the shiny side. We then added our desired ingredients and used a bamboo mat to roll up and seal the sushi. 

After letting it sit for a moment in order to fully seal, we then practiced properly cutting the roll, first once down the middle and then into equal-sized smaller pieces. When using tuna or any other type of raw fish, we also learned to always make sure it has been flash-frozen at -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Above that temperature, our instructor said, regardless of how fresh the fish might otherwise be, it has not gotten cold enough to effectively kill any parasites. 

California Roll: 

The California roll, which we filled with avocado and crab stick, was a bit trickier to execute, especially because the rice had to this time cover the entire rough side of the Nori, rather than just half. After completing this rather messy step and adding the desired amount of sesame seeds, we were then instructed to flip the Nori and add our ingredients to the inside, again using the bamboo mat for rolling once we were ready. Even though the thickness of the rice on the outside made this type of sushi tougher to roll and also harder to cut, I thought we still did a pretty good job overall, if I do say so myself! 

What do you think? Have we missed our true calling, or what? :) We both had such a great time learning the basics –  and eating the results –  that we've since bought the necessary tools and ingredients to start experimenting with veggies rolls and California rolls on our own this week. It should hopefully be fun and definitely very tasty! 

Have you ever made sushi or taken any other type of cooking class?