E Z HOME SUSHI
Where home chefs learn the art of sushi
The Beginning Sushi Chef's Tools and Pantry
Embarking on the journey of becoming a sushi chef can be very daunting. Let’s face it, the reason many great home cooks are envious of those who can make sushi at home is because it appears so difficult at the beginning. Learning to make sushi seems a task so overwhelming that people don’t know where to begin, so they never do. Another factor which deters most great home cooks from tackling the task is they believe you need many tools, spices, sauces, and ingredients just to begin. They start pricing out items and it appears they’d need to get a loan just to get started. We’re here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. This page is dedicated to taking the mystery out of what to acquire to begin your quest of becoming a master sushi chef at home. The simple truth is that there are a few items you do need just to get started but you don’t need much to start making beginner rolls and nigiri. In time you will slowly add to your collection until you finally have everything you need to make any common type of sushi. Once you’ve passed that mile marker, it is then time to begin acquiring higher-level products as you progress towards mastery of the art. This page is dedicated to showing you entry-level items needed to begin your adventure with low-cost but fully functional options.
For the beginner home sushi chef, this is our recommended starter knife. For under $30 you can get a 10″ blade (long enough to cut through a roll in a single motion). This knife has a great balance to it and a very sharp edge which is necessary to get clean cuts. As with any sushi knife, you want to leave this one in its case when not making sushi. Using for any other purpose could dull the edges. It takes experience to get the feel for the speed and pressure to use while making cuts. A more expensive knife won’t come with skills, those take time to develop. Those skills don’t develop until you are using a knife with the proper length and shape. As you develop skills you will want the muscle-memory that comes with a knife like this one. Then, when you improve and purchase a more expensive knife you will experience a natural transition.
Left-handed sushi knives were difficult if not impossible to find (and expensive) until lately. Most sushi chefs would have to either pay a fortune for a custom-made knife, or simply learn to use a right-handed knife. Thanks to the recent explosion of interest in making sushi at home, knife manufacturers are beginning to make left-handed versions available at reasonable costs. This is a very effective and economical starter knife comparable to the right-handed knife listed above.
One item you will need is a rolling mat. There are two main types of mats, those with round bamboo slats, and mats that have a flat side to the slats (usually green). Most people use the rounded-slat mat for smaller rolls, and flat-slat mats for larger rolls. Many people prefer the flat-slat mats for all rolls. It is important to get a feel for the use of each mat to know what works best for you. Everyone develops their own style and preference so you should try each long enough to know what feels best for you. The product we feature is inexpensive and comes not only with both mats, but two wooden spoons as well!
You can cook rice in a pot if you want to spend 20-30 minutes stirring and watching the rice, or you can simply use a rice cooker. Nearly any experienced home sushi chef will use a rice cooker because making sushi at home can take hours of prep work before you are even ready to make the first roll unless you find time-savers (like a rice cooker). Rice cookers can vary from a basic cooker like the one featured here, to digital versions which are as complicated as an insta-pot. Prices can range from under $30 to over $500. This is a simple rice cooker for under $30. This will save you a half-hour of tending to a pot while rice cooks.
Tamanoi Sushinoko seasoning! This is A MUST for sushi chefs. The biggest reason you want plenty of this on hand is that it is the “secret sauce” that sushi chefs use to make professional-level sushi. Yes it is used to season the rice, but it is also the secret ingredient in making the fish and other ingredients taste amazing! Most sushi classes won’t even teach you about how to use this seasoning to make professional tasting sushi because they want to keep this secret to their selves. Here at E Z Home Sushi we will teach you how to use this to make great sushi. It is primarily used to season the rice.
Like using a rice cooker, using sushi seasoning saves time better spent learning how to roll and cut sushi. When more experienced, you will delve into seasoning your own rice vinegar, blending and finding your preferred mixing ratios. When new, you would like to be making rolls in less than an hour. A simple shortcut is to use sushinoko (prepared sushi rice seasoning). Tamanoi is the most commonly sold brand in the U.S. If you have a local asian grocery store they may stock it. If not you can get it here.
A good rice paddle is a must when it comes to stirring the rice and evenly spreading the seasoning. There is no need to spend a fortune on rice paddles, many are less than $7. This package comes with two very well-designed paddles for the price of one. These paddles are large in size and have a large number of “nubs” which help keep the rice from sticking to the paddles. Many paddles have less nubs or shorter nubs and the rice sticks to other paddles more than they do on this product. They also have a flat base so you can leave them standing upright on a counter. That way the portion which comes in contact with the rice never has to come in contact with the counter.
Rice is the most important element in making great sushi. “Sushi” refers to rice seasoned with rice vinegar. Can you use minute rice to make sushi? Of course you can. Do we recommend it? Of course not! The classic rice used for sushi is Calrose rice which is also known as Japonica rice. They are the same type of rice, just two different names. There are many brands of Calrose/Japonica rice and the prices vary greatly while the product is mostly the same. This brand comes in five pound bags for a fraction of the cost of other brands. Many other brands can cost 2-5 times as much. We recommend at least 5 pound bags not only for the savings, but the more rice you have, the more you cook and the faster your skills improve.
Here is one item you cannot make most rolls without. Sushi nori is used in the vast majority of rolls. If you want to develop your skills quickly, it is vital that you make as many rolls as possible in a short amount of time. That way you develop the muscle memory to make great rolls. In order to do this, you need a lot of rice, and a lot of nori. We recommend purchasing nori in amounts of 50 sheets or more for the same reason we recommend purchasing rice in 5 pound lots or more. The more you have available, the more rolls you will make and the faster your skills improve. If you are short rice or nori, you will only make a few at a time. This brand is not only top notch, but well-priced and even comes with a small book on cooking and tips.
Rice seasoning (Furikake) comes in many flavors. This is the most commonly purchased version of furikake. You can search for more flavors but this is a great one to start with. Most asian grocery stores stock these rice seasonings, but if your local store either doesn’t exist or doesn’t stock these, you can get them here. They are great either as a topping on your nigiri or rolls or added into the rice prior to making the rolls. Another use is in the roll itself as a flavoring.
Wasabi! The one thing that makes Americans crave sushi! Most people who love sushi will tell you that without the wasabi it just isn’t the same. Sadly many home sushi chefs use wasabi out of a squeeze bottle they bought at Walmart. Using wasabi out of a bottle is like golfing in flip flops. Just don’t do it. Nothing discredits a home sushi chef who has spent the time to prep everything like pulling out a squeeze bottle of wasabi. Do it right, get the powder and mix it. Like rice and nori, we recommend buying more than the smallest amount available because you get a much better deal, and aren’t using it sparingly. This featured product is the best deal we’ve found. It’s not too much wasabi, not too little, and not too expensive.
Hawaiian poke seasoning is often used as a filling or a topping and gives an authentic flavor to poke bowls, chirashi, and other sushi rolls. Though Hawaiian, it is based on Japanese poke spice blends.
Sesame seeds are one of the most common toppings for Sushi rolls and nigiri. You can find black seeds, white seeds, and yellow seeds. Most bottles come with only one color. Some come with two. We recommend Badia’s Tri-color organic seed blend. Not only does it come with three colors of sesame seeds, but is also organic. The price is competitive with non-organic blends and non-blended seeds. Every home sushi chef learns that it’s the little details such as toppings and plating that make their sushi look as if it came from a restaurant. Tri-color sesame seeds help achieve that effect.
When you read any sushi recipe calling for mayo, it is safe to assume it is referring to Japanese mayo. Many wonder what the difference is. There are numerous differences. The key difference is that Japanese mayo is made with egg yolks that were separated from the egg whites. American mayo is made with egg whites that were separated from the yolks. This difference leads to a very different texture and taste. There are a few differences in spices added as well. Kewpie is often blended with sriracha or other spices to make sauces for toppings or to mix with the proteins used in the rolls i.e. tuna, crab, salmon. We recommend this supplier because they not only have a competitive price, but also include two decorative spoons as a bonus.
Togarashi is a Japanese pepper seasoning commonly used in sushi. Many people aren’t aware of it but know what it tastes like. There are three main types of togarashi; Ichimi, Sichimi, and Nanami. Ichimi is a single pepper (chili pepper). Sichimi and Nanami are both seven-pepper blends. They have the same seven ingredients but in different ratios. Nanami has more orange peel than Sichimi does, and is the more popular blend. Nanami is a blend that most sushi chefs keep stocked in their pantry once they begin using it. We recommend the two bottle option because you will likely go through a bottle faster than expected.
Sesame oil is a staple in sushi preparation and should always be in your pantry. Sesame oil is commonly blended with Kewpie and Sriracha to make spicy tuna and spicy salmon. You should be able to find this product in nearly any grocery store. Then again, it is 2022 and finding anything in a grocery store is always a gamble. If you can’t find this locally, you can always get it here at a competitive price.
Crispy fried onions! One of our favorite toppings on a roll. No skills required! Place fried onions in a plastic bag, crush, and use as a topping! Another similar topping/filling is crispy fried jalapeno. Using crushed fried onions and/or jalapeno’s as a topping or filling is a great way for a novice sushi chef to make their rolls more appealing and more flavorful. Little to no skill required, but impressive to friends and family. Like other products on this list you should be able to find this at your local grocer, but can always get here if the grocer doesn’t have it in stock.
Much like crispy onions, crispy jalapenos add a burst of flavor. The luscious combination of salt, fat, and heat elevates a roll from boring to exciting. We recommend opening the whole bag and throwing the contents in a blender and blending to a powder prior to using. This is because they come in large flakes which don’t break easily. If you use these inside the roll they add taste, texture and heat, but need to be crushed first or the roll will deform upon cutting.
At the risk of sounding redundant, crushed wonton strips add texture to your rolls just as the crispy onions and crispy jalapenos. The biggest difference is the wonton strips don’t have the heat of the jalapeno, and the saltiness of the jalapeno or onions. The wonton is the healthier (but less exciting) way to add texture to your sushi.
A sushi cutting tool can be quite helpful when you are new to making sushi. Usually the beginner will have many rolls that don’t cut well. The cutting tool comes in handy when you want to make great looking sushi with evenly cut portions. Of course learning to roll and cut the sushi properly is one of the critical skills of a sushi chef. However you don’t learn this skill overnight. The cutting tool is recommended but only as a crutch while starting out. Eventually you want to learn to make clean, even cuts without the use of a tool
Tempura batter is most commonly used for making tempura shrimp rolls. Tempura has many uses besides coating and frying shrimp. Sushi chefs often batter and fry veggies (onions, peppers, cucumbers, etc.) Fried green beans and fried pickles are often made with tempura. You can even coat a finished roll and fry it.
Like tempura, panko is also used to fry shrimp and veggies. Panko is often used as a topping or filling to give sushi rolls that lovely crunch that adds texture to the experience.
Konbu “kelp” is often added to sushi vinegar while the salt and sugar are being cooked in. This help get an authentic restaurant-style taste to the rice.
Mirin (sweet cooking wine) is often used in marinades to add rich, authentic flavor to ingredients. This is an absolute essential if you want restaurant-quality sushi at home. This supplier provides an economical option for new sushi chefs.
Unagi sauce is a must-have for the home sushi chef. This is one of the most commonly used toppings. It has a rich sesame flavor that really compliments the flavors of the roll. Even if you didn’t make the world’s best sushi roll, you can cover it with unagi and everyone will love the taste and presentation.
These small squeeze bottles are great for filling with toppings. You can purchase toppings in bottles that have squeeze lids, but the flow that comes out is too large. The Unagi sauce listed above is a great example. It is better to squeeze the sauce from the grocery store bottle into the mini squeeze bottles. That way you can apply to sushi in a more controlled amount.
There is no one recipe for sushi seasoning. All mixes involve vinegar, salt, and sugar. Everyone has their preferences. It can be easy to add salt or sugar to the vinegar, but you can’t add more vinegar to the rice without it being too wet. That is unless you use powdered vinegar. This is one of the secrets of many sushi chefs. They add powdered vinegar to the rice to give it a little tang. We highly recommend getting this and adding more vinegar to your rice to achieve the kind of flavor you get in high-end restaurants.
Much like the standard powdered vinegar, the red wine vinegar gives a different tangy flavor that you don’t get with white vinegar or rice vinegar. The use of red wine vinegar is a closely held secret of many sushi chefs.
You may use any type of bowl to stir your rice while adding seasoning. The benefit of the traditional japanese-style wooden bowl is you can let your rice cool quickly by spreading the rice and leaving the cover off, or you can keep it warm by leaving the lid on. The wooden lid offers insulation you don’t get from other bowls. This one is our recommendation.
You can serve sushi on any plate but the sushi boat many people’s favorite way of serving home sushi to their guests. This is one of the most popular sushi boats. Most cost upward of $60. This is a great starter boat.
A fryer is an essential for tempura cooking. Cook tempura shrimp, tempura veggies (even make fried pickles with this) or fry an entire roll. Pan frying just isn’t the same. This little baby here will get you going without breaking the bank.
Beginner
Store
When you are just starting you have a few basic tools/items you will need to begin. This shop has the basics at prices that won’t break the bank.
Best Bang-for-the-Buck Store
After you get your basics, you will want to start upgrading and getting other items to make more advanced sushi.
Ideal Products Store
If you don’t have to check your bank account before going shopping, this store has the best of best options.
