Top Tips For Rolling Sushi With Yo! Sushi

Top tips for rolling sushi learnt from an evening at Yo! Sushi. Mastering the art of sushi was the name of the game and it’s an excellent activity to partake of if you want to learn more about this ancient Japanese food. You get to try a lot of delicious sushi too. Win win.

When I say Yo! Sushi, who thinks about chocolate? No-one. Fair enough. If chocolate is what you’re after, for once you’ve come to the wrong place. I really meant to take some chocolate along with me for some fusion food chocolate sushi, but rather stupidly I forgot. As it turned out, I wasn’t disappointed nor did I miss it. In fact I had a fabulous time and ate far more sushi than was good for me.

Yo! Sushi School

A bunch of South West bloggers (glam fashion bloggers as well as the foodie crowd) met up early one evening last month at Yo! Sushi in Plymouth. Situated at the main entrance to Drake’s Circus, it’s hard to miss, but I’d never stopped there before. Our mission was to learn how to make sushi – obviously.

We had our very own Sushi Master to guide us, the most marvellous  Mazz. Our session was jam packed with plenty to eat along the way. We got to take a tray of sushi home with us too, along with the recipes, a bamboo rolling mat, a certificate and a few other bits and pieces.

It’s a great activity to do with a bunch of friends, but it’s fine to go alone too. At £30 a person or £50 for two, I thought this was good value for money.

Sushi has a rather special place in my life. It was the first meal CT ever made for me and I was mighty impressed. Both with the sushi that I’d never eaten before and with CT’s skill in preparing it.

Like the rest of the British nation, I took to it with enthusiasm. I even had a go at making it myself once, but was singularly inept. So I was really looking forward to learning a few top tips and tricks for rolling sushi.

The staff were particularly friendly and helpful. They offered us a drink as soon as we arrived. Naturally enough, I opted for a mug of Japanese Green Tea. No sooner had I finished it when another one miraculously turned up in its place. It was quite delicious and just what I needed to keep me hydrated with all the hard work. Oh wait a minute, did I say work? I meant fun.

Mastering The Art of Sushi

Mazz made it all look astonishingly easy, but he was a great teacher and had plenty of the looked for tips and tricks to pass on. He started off with preparing a massive salmon thus proving he was a Master knife wielder as well as sushi maker. I tuned out at this point, but he went into a lot of detail and the others paid rapt attention.

Being a vegetarian was not a problem at all however. Indeed, Mazz catered for me very well. Some of the sushi we were making was vegetarian anyway and when there was fish to be eaten, Mazz made me my own super delicious vegetarian versions with egg, avocado, tofu or all three.

After an initial demo, we all had a go at making maki, which has a filling of cucumber and sesame seeds. See the top photo for my results. Mazz taught us well, so we all managed to produce some reasonably good looking sushi. 

Watching Mazz make mini ISO (uramaki), or inside out sushi as it’s known, was quite something and the results were spectacular I thought. I’d not come across this technique before, but the rice is on the outside and the nori (seaweed) on the inside.

With a filling of tofu, omelette and cucumber and a dusting of Japanese chilli powder on the outside, these were absolutely scrumptious.

Hand rolls, ISOs, gunkan and nigiri all flew from Mazz’s hand and were subsequently demolished by us. My favourite was Futomaki which was a standard sushi roll with a filling of avocado, cucumber, omelette, radish pickle, carrots and mayonnaise.

In truth, everything I tasted was delicious and it all looked stylish, neat and attractive, the way so many Japanese creations do. I took some of the fishy ones home in my bento box for CT who was very glad that I did.

Top Tips For Rolling Sushi

The top tips for rolling sushi that I took away with me were:

1. Cover the rolling mat with cling film to prevent sticking.
2. Coat hands in a little oil to prevent sticking.
3. Roll the sushi very tightly, so everything holds together.
4. Use a sharp knife to cut the sushi and be firm when doing so.

Of course, if you find rolling sushi more than you want to cope with, head over to my easy peasy recipe for a vegan sushi bowl. No rolling required.

Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you have a go at making sushi or indeed attend a Yo! Sushi school, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Have you any top tips for rolling sushi? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

For more reviews as well as delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter.

If you’d like some of my Japanese recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Thanks For The Top Tips For Rolling Sushi

Many thanks to Jane of The Hedge Combers for organising the event, to Yo! Sushi for making it happen and to Mazz for his showmanship and good nature.

Do check out the other write-ups over at:

• Crown & Glory
• abbzzw
• Country Woodsmoke