Medium Rolls Instruction

For the medium rolls make the rice, and make sure you have all the necessary items needed to make maki zushi or rolls.

Medium rolls have 2 or 3 differnt ingredients for the center. Are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (about 37mm).

Use one whole sheet of nori or seaweed.

Items clean and ready for making sushi rolls:

Sushi Mat
Cutting Board
Knife
Cloth or Paper Towels
Serving Dishes
Tezu or Bowl of Water With Vinegar

Basic roll making ingredients:
Sushi Rice
Nori (dried seaweed)
Wasabi
Shoyu (soy sauce)
Gari (optional)

Center Ingredients depending on the type of rollFor this medium rolls example we'll make the imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber roll.

First of all place the sushi mat on the table and face it so that the mat can roll away from you. The bamboo slats should be parallel with table edge in front of you. Strings that hold the bamboo slats face away from you.

take a sheet of nori or dried seaweed and lay it out onto the sushi mat rough side up. The long side of the nori sheet should be parallel with the slats or the table edge near you.

At this stage you should have seasoned sushi rice ready to go.

If you haven't yet, this is a good time to be sure to wash your hands and while they are wet dip hands in the tezu mixture.

Wet hands in the tezu so that the rice will not stick to your hands. Grab a ball of sushi rice from the rice tub and place it on the seaweed. Put a layer of seasoned sushi rice onto the seaweed.

Spread evenly to the sides, leave about 2 inch (5 cm) of space along the long edge where the roll will close (the edge on the far side of you).

Add the center ingredients. In this example we have imitation crab, avocados, and cucumbers. 2 or 3 center ingredients make the medium rolls.

When you're ready to roll place fingertips onto the center ingredients and lift the mat, usually the side nearest to you, with your thumbs and fold the mat up and over.

If items spill out the sides, gently tap it back into place.

The part in the air should go just past the filling ingredients. The mat can be folded back to move out of the way of the seaweed which will tuck onto the rice on the other side of the roll.

Now gently squeeze the roll by pulling the mat against the roll with your fingers and apply pinch pressure with your thumbs. Don't press down and don't squeeze too hard on the roll.

After the roll has been pressed evenly throughout the length of it, lift the mat off the roll and check for leaked rice on the sides. If there is a bit of spilt rice push it back into the sushi roll.

Set the roll on a plate and make more rolls. If you don't intend to make more nori maki, let the roll stand for about 8-10 minutes. The moisture will tend to 'set' the nori and make it easier to cut and keep their shape.

Cutting the roll

Next, cut the roll in half using the sharpest knife in the drawer. First, wet the knife with a wet kitchen cloth so it doesn't stick to the sushi rice and disfigure the roll. Thoroughly cut through the roll, make sure the nori is cut cleanly as well. If not the roll will come apart.

Wet the knife again for each cut and cut the halves into four, then eight. Remember to moisten the knife with each cut.

If you are having trouble cutting the rolls, it may mean you need to sharpen your knife, and/or roll the roll tighter. This is the trickiest part of making rolls come out pretty. Practice until you get the hang of it.

Arrange the rolls on a plate for nice presentation.

Enjoy!

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