haha, homemade sushi is on my list too. you’re one step ahead of me though because I haven’t done anything but look at it sitting there on my list yet! give it another chance. Maybe a little less water in your rice when you cook it? or let it sit in the fridge for a day before you eat it? can’t help you on the bleeding beets though. i get them all over everything no matter what i use them for!

Sushi is one of those things that just isn’t worth making at home for me haha. They’re so much better at the restaurant! Yours didn’t turn out that bad though!

I’ve never made sushi, or had it for that matter! Good for you though for trying!

Here’s what you need for success:

A rice cooker
A sharp, sharp knife or a santoku knife with holes in it (which you can get wet before you slice and that will keep it from sticking to the blade)

Maybe try a filling that’s less cumbersome first? Like avocado or baked tofu. Use a super sharp chef’s knife and wipe it after each cut. You could also do a roll with the nori on the outside first because those seem to hold together better. Good luck!

I am a firm believer that some things are worth their weight in the price of take out, 2 of the top things? Sushi and Milkshakes. Sushi for the reasons you mentioned above, milkshakes because the one I make at home will never taste as good as one I get at a place known for good milkshakes, so if I really want one, I just indulge. 🙂

Try using a serrated knife if you do not have a very sharp regular one, and I also recommend you dip the knife in water before each slice!
You might want to try to freeze the beets so they bleed less often, but I have never used them in my homemade sushi, so that is just a guess. I recommend using less water when preparing the rice, and I often add a tablespoon or so of rice vinegar to give the sushi rice a bit of flavor after it is cooked.
sometimes dripping a few drips of water on the nori before adding rice helps too. This allows it all to stick together a bit better. Don’t be afraid to leave the nori on the outside, either (instead of flipping it.)

Before I was a vegetarian, I made sushi with salmon. It was awful because I smelled like fish for the entire afternoon. I haven’t tried it again since.

Making sushi is so fun, don’t give up! You do need a SUPER sharp knife to cut the rolls though.

If it was your first time, you should try putting all the rice inside and keeping the seaweed as the outer wrapping until you’re confident on your rolling abilities. 🙂

I’ve always wanted to try making sushi but it’s so expensive to get all the materials, and like you said it’s pretty affordable at a restaurant.

Hey, you tried~ 🙂

I’ve noticed that you’ve been doing a lot of recipes on your blog lately! Coming out of your comfort zone? 🙂 I like your recipes, even the fails!

I use a Santoku knife, which is kind of like a thinner, sharper chef’s knife (you can find them cheap at a Ross/Marshall’s). I’m pretty sure that to keep beets from bleeding you need to have them chilled, I remember reading that in a Martha Stewart magazine when making a beet salad. So maybe cut the beets ahead of time and then put them in the fridge for a bit? Best of luck! Homemade sushi is the best and practice makes perfect!

Caitlyn, I admire you for trying! I went to a “sushi making” party about 3 months ago, and I found that the rice consistency is KEY to making successful sushi. I have not attempted to make sushi again here at home by myself, mostly because the rice is intimidating for me. I am excited to see how your next attempt goes! Keep trying!

Caitlyn, Props to your giving it a try! I went to a “sushi making” party a couple of months ago and I found that the key to successful sushi is the consistency of the rice! All of that to say, I have not had the guts to make it by myself here at home for my husband and me! Keep trying and I’ll look forward to learning along with you!

I did this with my son yesterday. I went the easier route and rolled the rice inside the roll instead of on the outside. I used cucumber, zukes, avacado (you’re allergic though, right?), red bell pepper, and carrots. I spread the rice, put in the veggies and rolled it. I didn’t have a mat, but not a biggie.
I used a serrated knife and that worked great. I’m blogging these sometime today (or you can see a pic on my Facebook-Melissa Watts Perry)
Maybe if you take a paper towel and blot the beets???
Ours turned out really well and my son even rolled two of them. (He’s 6) He tried them for the first time and told me that veggies are good. LOL!

oh yeah, and clean off the knife before each cut. I kept a dry towel there to keep the knife dry. That helped.

We JUST learned how to make sushi last night in class!

I think you should make an inside roll instead of outside to start as its much easier!

I will post pictures of my sushi class on my blog tonight! 🙂

How often do you sharpen your knives? Maybe they just need to be sharpened up a bit?

Hey!

I failed at sushi over a year ago and just got the courage to try again. I have a Furi knife and the trick for me was to slice the pieces very quickly, and only in one direction. If you try to saw the pieces that’s when you start to squish them. You really don’t need that much pressure. Run some water over your blade in between cuts to prevent things from getting too sticky!

Good luck!

-Ashley

I have to laugh! Sushi is so frustrating to make! It happened to me too. Try it again, though and you will get er done. 🙂

I LOVE making it myself but it’s definitely time consuming. I’ve found that inside rolls are ten times easier! Ryan and I make a whole night out of sushi rolling. There are definitely times where we prefer the ease of going out (and the taste so far…I’m no genius yet) but sometimes it can be so much fun!

I saw an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown where he said not only do you need a sharp knife, but use a “sawing” motion instead of a normal up and down motion. Maybe that would help?

I used to make sushi a lot, but sadly my ex-boyfriend was the one who made the rice. It took way too much patience! You have to fan it, and also the cooking temperatures are really fussy, too.
And like others have said, definitely use plastic wrap on your mat and re-wet your knife every time you slice.
But honestly, it’s just easier to go out for sushi most of the time!

It’s easiest to make a roll that has the rice on the inside, that way you don’t have to flip it!

I tried to make vegetable sushi once, because, you are right, it is soo goood! I used regular brown rice cooked a regular way. I ended up eating a bowl of rice topped with vegetables.

Luckily, I am really good at ordering veggie rolls from restaurants.

I think your suchi-makin’ efforts are rockin! I stayed with one of my aussie friends’ family over Christmas when I studied abroad there for a year… and they make homemade sushi in their household *all*the*time! I should email them and see what their secret is! I remember helping out in the kitchen (this was 4 yrs ago so it’s a little foggy) and it didn’t seem too hard… hm. I want to try my hand at it now!

Sushi is HARD to make. We made it in my grade 12 foods class and I had a super difficult time with it. I cant remember what kind if knife we used to cut it. Something super sharp Im sure – but thats not going to help you out much. 🙂

I make sushi all the time at home and I never do it rice on the outside–always nori. I think the rice on the outside is just for looks and see no reason to bother with it at home. Also, are you using your normal (boil and drain) method for cooking the rice? I think you really need to cook it in the traditional way, wherein all of the liquid is absorbed or evaporates. Then add a bit of sugar and sushi vinegar to the rice. Makes it perfect every time. And a rice cooker is so worth it, considering how often you eat whole grains–I cook everything in my Zojirushi fuzzy logic!

My favorite fillings? Sweet potato fries (or just sliced and baked sweet potato) and avocado with sesame seeds; or cucumber, carrot and chopped peanuts. Yum!

As I am very inexperienced on the sushi front, this doesn’t look half bad to me! Maybe practice will make perfect with this venture. 😉

I find it easier to make sushi with the nori on the outside – here is my attempt :

http://www.bakebikeblog.com/2010/12/sushi-heaven.html

And yes – a sharp knife certainly helps when slicing!

When I’ve made sushi myself, we take the cheater way and keep the nori on the outside, rice on the inside.

I don’t use a rice cooker (no room for extraneous small appliances in my small kitchen!), but definitely cook rice the normal way, not like pasta, and I agree with the suggestions to make sure you add rice vinegar.

I like avocado + carrot + cucumber for an easy filling.

My boyfriend and I tried to make sushi too! It’s a tough job… I wish I had the answer for you… we decided the best method was to go to a good sushi place, sit at the bar to watch the masters at work. That should serve as good inspiration for the next go ’round- no?

Wow, I know you said your sushi didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but I really commend you for trying! That’s awesome. I am the same with Indian food. I really love it and feel like I should try to make it because I am Indian. I just need to stop thinking about making things and actually try. Thanks for the inspiration!

Im not asian but i used to make sushi w/ my family years ago. the rice would go inside and the Nori would be outside, covering the whole sushi. I remember we used to rinse the knife after cutting each piece. I have no clue about the beets though – Have you thought about trying to use egg as one of the ‘fillings’ ? You might find the egg recipe for sushi online (tamagoyake, i think)….Hope that helps.
But hey, for your first attempt, your sushi does not look bad at all! It’s not easy to make them .. Did it taste good? 🙂

For a first-timer, i think you did great 🙂 I can’t wait to try making sushi myself. The hubby receive a sushi making kit during Secret Santa recently 😉

I have made sushi several times, but it’s the most fun when you are a group of friends preparing it together – you get really inventive rolls sometimes 🙂

LOVE the addition of beets!!!

Making sushi is really hard! I always used to complain about the prices of rolls until I tried making one for myself- it’s a true art form!

I have heard of using (unflavored) dental floss to “cut” things like that…Not sure if it would work?

Firstly, I’d stick to the normal nori rolls with the seaweed on the outside until you master it. “Inside-out rolls” like you get at cowfish are much harder.

Secondly, I bet they julienne the beets using a mandolin instead of grating them. This probably has them bleed less since they’re less “mushy”.

Finally, I’d use a very gentle ‘sawing’ motion to cut the sushi with the sharpest knife you have. You don’t want to be “pushing down” on the sushi, rather letting the knife to all the work. I’d also try to have the beets on the bottom so you cut them last not first to reduce the bleeding through the rest of the roll. I’d also wipe your knife between each cut. Chefs do this regularly and it reduces the bleeding/mixing…

Good luck! Sushi is definitely practice makes perfect.

Yes, I second the two previous posts that recommended using a serrated knife and wetting it before each slice…you’ll be relieved at how easy this works. 🙂

Hey Caitlin! So an idea popped into my head and I remembered that you had posted on making sushi a few days ago. I read through all the comments and no one has suggested this yet. Did you know that Annie Chun makes sushi kits? They even have one with sprouted grain brown rice! I’ve used it before and found it to be a lot less time consuming (although I failed by way over-stuffing my sushi, but that’s another story). You might wanna give it a try 🙂