Sushi is one of the most famous Japanese foods. There are a few different types of Sushi: Maki-zushi (Sushi rolls), Chirashi-zushi, Nigiri-zushi (Small Sushi ball tossed with raw fish or other ingredients).
Temaki-zushi is another style of Sushi, which is suitable for a casual home party. “Temaki” means to wrap up with your hands. “Temaki-zushi” is a kind of Sushi where you can choose your favourite fillings and roll the Sushi up yourself.
We, Japanese people, also like having a Temaki-zushi party, which is fun for everyone from children to adults.
Preparation takes a little time as a host, but once you have all of the ingredients and fillings on the table, you can just sit down to enjoy food and conversation with your friends.
In this post, I introduce how to prepare a Temaki-zushi party, the popular ingredients for Japanese people for this type of Sushi party and also what kinds of fillings are recommended for Western guests.
Ingredients for Sushi Rice
Rice for Sushi
- Japanese Rice (Sushi Rice): 4 cups
- Water: 4 cups
- Konbu Kelp: 20g (as big as a postcard)
Sushi Vinegar
- Vinegar: 100ml (80-120ml)
- Sugar: 5 tablespoons
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
How to make Sushi Rice: An Easy way at home
- Cook rice in a rice cooker, with a piece of Kombu Kelp if available.
- After the rice is cooked, remove the Kelp, add Sushi vinegar while the rice is still hot. Quickly turn over the rice with a spatula to spread the Sushi vinegar overall.
- Cool it down for a while. Sushi rice is normally served as chilled, but warm Sushi rice is the easiest to handle to make Sushi rolls.
Fillings for “Temaki-sushi” party
Here, I introduce some classic ingredients for Sushi party for Japanese people and the popular fillings for non-Japanese guests.
Sashimi (raw fish)
- Maguro (raw Tuna): I will serve it marinated in a sauce today.
- Salmon: Sliced or chopped as Tartar with Mayonaise.
- Horse Mackel (Aji): Sliced or chopped and marinated with Miso paste.
- Shrimps
Tuna, Salmon, Horse Mackerel can be served after seared, tossed with chopped spring onion and wasabi (This is my favourite!)
Cooked Seafood
- Tuna Mayo: Mixed canned Tuna with Mayonaise and seasonings.
- Ebi Mayo: Chopped and boiled shrimps with Mayonaise.
- Deep-fried Shrimps with panko (breadcrumbs)
Meat
- Deep-fried Chicken (“Karaage): fried with potato starch or corn starch which is gluten-free. Children’s’ favourite.
- Teriyaki Chicken: sauteed chicken with Teriyaki sauce (sweet soy sauce). Children’s’ favourite.
- Roast beef: thin-sliced roast beef goes well with wasabi.
- “Niku-miso” Minced pork with Miso (soybeans paste): good with salad leaves too.
Eggs
- Baked eggs: Children’s’ favourite.
Vegetables
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce: go well with other Mayonaise fillings.
- Avocados: popular for non-Japanese.
- Simmered Mashroom with sweet soy sauce: popular stuff for Maki (rolled Sushi).
Sauce and seasonings (served in individual plates)
- Soy Sauce
- Wasabi
- Sliced Ginger: option
- Chopped Spring Onions: recommended
- Sesame seeds: option
How to serve the Temaki-sushi
You just put everything on the table and let your guests choose the ingredients they like and they can then wrap the Sushi rolls by themselves.
(You may need to demonstrate how to wrap it up)
For a Temaki-sushi party, you need to have Sushi rice, the fillings and seaweed. Seaweed should be cut in a square about as big as your palm. If you have big sheets of Sushi seaweed, you just need to cut them in four usually.
Don’t forget to prepare soy sauce individually for your guests and Wasabi as they like.
Tuna (Maguro) Marinated with Soy Sauce
Ingredients for Tuna (Maguro) Marinated with Soy Sauce
a piece of frozen tuna
- Frozen Tuna
- Soy sauce: 3 tablespoons
- Mirin (or Maple Syrup): 2 tablespoons
- Sake (or white wine): 4 tablespoons
- Konbu Kelp (if available): 1 piece
How to defrost the frozen Tuna
What you need:
- a bowl
- warm water: 1L
- salt: 50g
- Pour 1L of warm water in a bowl and add salt in it (5% of saltiness). Stir it well, then put the frozen tuna in it.
put the frozen tuna in warm salted water
- Leave it for a couple of minutes, take tuna out. It must be still frozen, but you can see the colour getting a more vivid pink. Roughly wash the tuna with tap water to remove the salt.
inside is still frozen
- Take off the moisture on the surface of the tuna, wrap it up with kitchen paper, then with a plastic sheet (sarum wrap/clingfilm). Keep it in the fridge for 12-24 hours until it is completely defrosted.
wrap it with a kitchen paper and plastic, keep it in the fridge till defrosted
How to make Tuna (Maguro) Marinated with Soy Sauce
- Put Mirin (Maple Syrup) and Sake in a pan, and heat it to allow the alcohol to evaporate. After it cools down, add soy sauce and stir it.
- Cut tuna to an appropriate size.
- Put the tuna in the sauce, add a piece of Konbu Kelp (if available).
put the defrosted tuna in the sauce, I also add a couple of pieces of ginger
Cover it tightly with a plastic sheet, leave it in the fridge for an hour.
put the plastic tightly and leave it in the fridge for an hour
The longer you leave it in the sauce, the saltier the tuna becomes.
When you serve it alone, you can add Wasabi, chopped spring onions, Shiso herb leaves, sesame, seaweed (Nori), and so on.
Why do we need to marinate the Sashimi Tuna?
Tuna is one of the most popular ingredients for Sashimi. If you are in Japan, it is not difficult to get decent quality Tuna for Sashimi, but that is not always the case when you are outside of Japan.
Marinating with this sauce makes the Tuna taste better and removes the fishy smell.
You can also add more flavour by adding some slices of ginger.
