There are two types of people in the world: Those who love sushi and those who don’t because they haven’t tried good sushi yet.
I’m firmly in the former crowd (sushi is officially one of my favorite things about life), but I wasn’t always – in fact, the first time I tried a California roll, at a swanky, upscale Japanese restaurant, one of those where it’s eerily quiet and everyone’s dressed up all business casual trendy-like, I gagged on it LOUDLY and spit it out right.on.my.plate. Then I ran to the bathroom and died.
Thankfully, sushi and I are on much better terms now, and while I’ve never shown my face again in that swanky Japanese restaurant, I’m able to get my sushi fix plenty of other places – including my own kitchen. It’s true! It’s one of the easiest (and tastiest) things you’ll ever make at home.
But these rolls aren’t just any rolls, as you may have gathered. Oh no. That’s not how we do on the Tablespoon. These are Rainbow Sushi Rolls, ladies and gents. We’ve got rainbow-colored rice all rolled up in these babies. So not only can you impress your friends by making homemade sushi, you can blow their MINDS when they see that it’s all rainbow-fied. BAM.
Let’s get rolling!
First, get your ingredients ready to roll (get it? I crack myself up). It’s best to prepare everything ahead of time when you’re making sushi so you don’t get hung up on slicing the filling ingredients n’ stuff when you could use all that energy to focus on making the perfect roll (but don’t worry – it’s not that complicated anyway!).
Prepare the sushi rice according to package directions (you can find it in the Asian section of most grocery stores), then add a simple mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and salt to the rice to bring it to official sushi-rice status.
Divide the rice into four resealable plastic bags and add a few drops of food coloring to each one.
Reseal the bag and using your fingers, carefully incorporate the color into the rice. Sushi rice is tres delicate, so now’s not the time to take out your aggression. Be gentle and the rice will be your friend.
Let the rice hang in the bags for a few minutes to fully absorb the food coloring…
Then fold it all together in a large bowl (alternatively, you can leave the rice separate and layer it on the nori for more of an actual “rainbow” effect rather than the tie-dye situation we’ve got going on here. Up to you).
Place a sheet of nori, a.k.a. roasted seaweed (sounds weird, tastes amazing) on top of a sheet of plastic wrap on top of a bamboo sushi mat. Wet your fingers and press about a cup of the rainbow rice on top of the nori, leaving a border around the edges.
Time to add the fillings! I’ve got imitation crab, carrots and avocados going on here, but feel free to use whatever you fancy – cucumber, bell pepper, salmon, cream cheese, etc.
Carefully roll up the nori, pulling the plastic wrap away from you with one hand and pulling the rolled up bamboo mat firmly toward you to tighten the roll. Use a little bit of water to seal the edge of the nori.
Slice the roll using a very sharp, clean knife.
DOODZ, you just made sushi! This is exciting!
Serve the rolls immediately. Watch them disappear. Be prepared to feel the urge to make homemade rainbow sushi again and again.
Stephanie (aka Girl Versus Dough) is probably in a sushi roll coma somewhere. Check out Stephanie’s Tablespoon member profile and keep checking back for her own personal recipes on Tablespoon!
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