Learn how to make hand rolls (called temaki sushi) with seasoned sushi rice, smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and mushrooms.

a temaki hand roll in hands.

Itadaki masu.

A Japanese Saying- thank you to the people who made the food, to the sun for shining on the fields, to the farmers, and to all that brought the meal together.

Making hand rolls at home couldn’t be any easier! This temaki recipe comes from my friend Nami, who enjoys bringing her Japanese heritage to the table when entertaining family and friends by throwing a “temaki hand roll party.”

Nami Meier and her Healthy Smoked Salmon Hand rolls filled with avocado, cucumber and smoked salmon...an affordable fun way to feed a large gathering! | www.feastingathome.com

But first, What is Temaki?

Temaki means “hand roll” in Japanese. Hand rolls are coned-shaped sushi rolls filled with sushi rice, vegetables, and fish and dressed with wasabi and soy sauce. Hand rolls (temaki) are different from sushi rolls (maki)— in that temaki is rolled into a cone shape and not cut, much like an ice cream cone, whereas sushi is rolled into a tube and cut into slices.

Ingredients in Hand Rolls

ingredients in hand rolls.
  • Sushi Rice: Make seasoned sushi rice with short-grain rice, unseasoned rice wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Look for Japanese rice.
  • Veggies: thinly sliced red bell pepper, cucumbers, carrots, and avocado, sauteed mushrooms (enoki, cremini, shiitake, button).
  • Sprouts: microgreens, daikon sprouts, or radish sprouts.
  • Fish, seafood or tofu: smoked salmon, homemade lox, sashimi-grade fish like ahi tuna, yellowtail, hamachi, crab, shrimp, crispy shrimp tempura, roe, crispy salmon skin (or sub-baked tofu or smoked tofu). When consuming raw fish, always use sushi grade fish.
  • Nori – Nori is what the handroll is rolled up in. Thin sheets of dried seaweed, that come in different grades. Look for “gold”, the highest grade, which will make hand rolling easier!
  • Sides: Serve with shiso leaves, wasabi paste & soy sauce, or spicy mayo.

Hand Roll Instructions

Step one: Make the sushi rice. Many would argue that the sushi rice is the most important part of the roll!

making sushi rice.
cooked sushi rice in a pot.

Rinse rice well, until water almost runs clear. Strain. Place in a medium pot with measured water, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 12 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

Seasoning Sushi Rice.
Seasoning Sushi Rice.

While the rice is still warm, place in a shallow bowl (a wooden bowl is traditional) and sprinkle with the seasoned rice vinegar. Using a wooden rice paddle or spatula, “slice the rice”, rather than mix. Fan the rice to cool while slicing the rice to mix and fluff. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and cover with a damp kitchen towel.

Step two: Prep the veggies and fish. If using mushrooms, saute them with a little oil and season with a little sesame oil.

cooking mushrooms.
slicing veggies for hand rolls.

Cut the remaining veggies into long thin strips or matchsticks – red bell pepper, avocado and cucumber, and fresh sprouts.

slicing bell pepper for hand rolls.
veggies in temaki rolls.

Today we are using smoked salmon, pulling it apart for easy assembly.  Nami uses smoked salmon or lox instead of raw fish, to keep it “tame” and approachable for guests, and lays out all the prepped ingredients on the table in various bowls.

nori sheets for hand rolls.
cutting nori in half.

Step three: Make the hand rolls! Slice the sheet of nori in half, to make two rectangles.

Add the rice. Tip: Always remember to place the rough side of the nori seaweed face up, on the inside of the roll, which will better grip the rice. Using the back of a spoon or your fingers, spread sushi rice evenly over half of the nori, leaving a half-inch border.

Layer the fish and veggies at a diagonal, pointing from the lower middle edge up towards the top corner. It is customary to use chopsticks to layer the ingredients.

assmembing hand rolls.
assembling hand rolls.

Tuck the top right corner with the rice over to the other side, rolling into a cone-shape.

making hand rolls.
folding over hand rolls.

Create a cone-shaped roll and seal with a little water. Place seam side down. And there you have it! A beautiful temaki hand roll that is not only delicious- but so healthy and light.

A fully finished temaki hand roll.
holding a temaki hand roll.

Serving Suggestions

MAke AHead and storage

All the veggies and fish can be prepped ahead and refrigerated. The sushi rice can be made ahead- store in the fridge covered with a damp towel. Bring to room temp before serving.

Leftovers will keep 1-2 days in an airtight container in refrigerator- although they are best consumed within 24 hours as the hand rolls can get soggy. Sushi Rice can be frozen for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Smoked Salmon Hand rolls filled with avocado, cucumber and smoked salmon

Imagine how much fun your guests will have making these!

To me, food is such a great introduction into other cultures and creates curiosity about visiting other places. It’s a really fun and easy way to introduce Japanese food to people who may be unfamiliar or hesitant and it’s a quick and affordable way to feed a large group of people. ~Nami

After Nami gives the guests a quick tutorial on how to roll the Temaki, she teaches guests a traditional Japanese saying-

Itadaki masu

Thank you to the people who made the food, to the sun for shining on the fields, to the farmers, and to all who brought the meal together.

Guests then roll their own Temaki throughout the night, free to choose what they want to put inside.

At the end of the meal, when people are finished eating, we say gochiso sama deshita – it means, “it was a feast “.

We hope you enjoy making temaki hand rolls at your next gathering!

xoxo

Sylvia & Nami 💚

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How to make Hand Rolls (Temaki)

Hand Rolls Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.3 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia | Feasting at Home Blog
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
  • Yield: 6-8 1x
  • Category: Main, fish,
  • Method: stove-top
  • Cuisine: Japanese
Print Recipe

Description

Learn how to make hand rolls (called temaki sushi) with seasoned sushi rice, smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and mushrooms.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup Calrose rice (dry)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1–2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar (see notes if your rice vinegar is seasoned)
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
  • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (cremini, shiitakes, button)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce ( or use salt to taste)
  • 1 red bell pepper- sliced into strips
  • 1 English or 6 turkish cucumbers, cut into 4 inch strips
  • 1–2 Avocados, cut into strips
  • 2 cups fresh sprouts
  • 16 ounces smoked salmon ( or lox) -Or sub baked tofu, cut into strips
  • 1– 2 packages nori sheets, cut in half, to make long rectangles.
  • wasabi paste
  • soy sauce

Instructions

  1. Make the Sushi Rice: Rinse rice well, until water almost runs clear. Strain. Place in a medium pot with  water, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Keep lid on until close to serving time.
  2. While warm, place rice in a wood bowl ( this is traditional) and sprinkle with the rice vinegar. Using a wood rice paddle or spatula, “slice the rice”, rather than mix. Fan the rice to cool while slicing the rice to mix and fluff. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
  3. Prep the Veggies: Saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add sesame oil and cook 2 more minutes. Season with soy sauce or salt to taste. Place in a small serving bowl.
  4. Prep bell pepper, cucumber and avocado, cutting all into long, thin 4 inch strips. Place each in individual bowls.
  5. Place the sprouts in a bowl and the smoked salmon on a small platter or plate (separating it)
  6. Cut Nori sheets in half, so you have two rectangles out of each sheet.
  7. To make a Sushi hand roll: Place nori sheet horizontally in front of you with the rough side facing up.  Spread sushi rice (either using fingers or back of a spoon) on the left half of the sheet, leaving a 1/2 inch border, and 2-3 inches of no rice on the right side of the sheet. On the left side ( the side with rice) , align the strips of veggies, diagonally, with the ends pointing towards the upper left corner. Top this line of veggies, with smoked salmon, mushrooms and sprouts. When folding, start with the left bottom corner first, and fold up over the ingredients, then wrap the right side over and around to form a cone, about the size of an ice cream sugar cone. It will seal itself.
  8. Season with a little spoonful of soy sauce mixed with wasabi paste.

Notes

Rice vinegar– if your rice vinegar is seasoned (it says on the bottle), it already has salt and sugar.  Skip the sugar in the recipe and only add a pinch of salt to the rice. 

Assemble the cones right before eating. Do not make cones in advance. Keep rice a room temp. Do not refrigerate the rice- it will become crunchy and not taste as good.;)

makes 12-16 rolls.

Vegans could make our Tofu Bacon and slice thinly, or purchase smoked tofu.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 rolls – makes 14- 16 rolls
  • Calories: 253
  • Sugar: 2.7 g
  • Sodium: 1162.1 mg
  • Fat: 10.6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.9 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • Protein: 14.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 13.1 mg

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Comments

  1. This recipe needs to be rewritten with the correct rice to water ratio. I was not paying attention to my own common sense and made it as written. The rice was still waterlogged after 30 minutes and completely ruined. What a waste!



    Reply

  2. I love this dish!!! I made it with your tofu bacon recipe. I became vegetarian 10 months ago and have been missing sushi. This is such a great way to have it with the delicious nori!! Yum!



    Reply

  4. I like this recipe because it scores high in my best recipe collection!
    *It makes a little salmon go a long way, stretching my budget
    * It’s delicious and nutritious!
    * It’s hands on so everyone can help with the food prep
    * All the ingredients can be prepared ahead of time, so it’s a perfect work day dinner or for entertaining guests with little work and more time to enjoy my guests.
    It’s a winner!
    Thanks!

    Linda L



    Reply

  8. I love your blog! Your recipes are so fresh and delicious! Can you tell me where you found the beautiful ceramic bowls featured in this post? I love them!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Natalie!! You will make my husbands day when I read him your comment. We took a pottery class over the winter… and those are his bowls!! I love them too.

      Reply

  10. I love how fresh and simple to prepare this is! It’s so nice that you can throw pretty much anything in it. I can definitely see it being fun to have at a party. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  11. I love the idea of a Temaki party. Soundss delicious . Love the redesigned new look of the blog!



    Reply

    1. Thanks Kathy, its getting there….lots of little glitches but slowly working them out. Shay Bocks has done a wonderful job.

      Reply

  12. What fun. Reminds me of living and working in Hawaii. This would be lunch. You arranged it
    beautifully. I liked your step by step photos.

    Reply

  13. This looks like so much fun! Perfect for eating with kids who can pick and choose what they want (rice and bell peppers!) Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply

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