nigiri

An easy and complete homemade Nigiri tutorial with lots of tips and tricks. Unlike maki sushi, nigiri isn’t rolled. Instead, it’s comprised of a thin slice of raw or cooked seafood like salmon or shrimp atop a mound of vinegary rice. You’ll learn everything about Japanese nigiri including the difference between nigiri and sashimi, and how to make perfect nigiri at home.

Best Homemade Nigiri Sushi Recipe

Sushi Rice

Sushi Vinegar

Wasabi

Pickled Ginger

Soy Sauce

Eel Sauce

Nori Seaweed Sheet

Sharp Knife

Salmon

Tuna

Shrimp (Ebi)

Tamago (Egg)

Yellowtail (Hamachi)

Octopus

Step 1: Cook the Sushi Rice: Wash and rinse the rice with cold water. Add the rice and water to the rice cooker. Cook according to the instruction.

Step 2: Season the Rice: Transfer the rice to a large bowl and let it cool down slightly. When it’s still very warm, stir in the sushi vinegar (or the mixture of rice vinegar and sugar).

Step 3: Prepare the Topping: If you use raw fish, cut it against the grain, with an angle of 30 to 45 degrees. I recommend cutting it to 3-inch long, 1-inch wide, and 1/4-inch thick pieces. (You’ll need to adjust the angle from time to time to get the proper length and thickness.) If you make tamago nigiri, you’ll need to cook the egg first. See this post for details.

Step 4: Shape the Rice: Place about 3 tablespoons of rice in your hand. Squeeze it together until it rolls into a firm oval shape. Make the bottom flat with the rounded top. (You can dip your hand in tezu water to prevent sticking.)

Step 5: Assemble the Nigiri: Place the fish, egg, or veggie slice on the root of your fingers. Then take a pea-sized portion of wasabi, and spread it in the middle of the slice. Place the rolled sushi rice onto the topping slice, and bend your fingers to cover both the topping and rice together. Press down the rice using the index finger from the other hand. Turn the topping and rice and let the topping slice sit on top of the rice.

Step 6 (optional): For some nigiri sushi such as Tamago, you can wrap a thin nori strip around the width of the nigiri to secure the topping to the rice. Serve with optional wasabi, soy sauce, along with pickled ginger.

Learn how to make seasoned rice for any sushi dish at home with this recipe.

Sushi Rice in Rice Cooker

c short grain rice (or medium-grain rice)

tap water for rinsing rice

c filtered water

tbsp rice vinegar

tbsp sugar

tsp kosher salt

Measure the rice using a scale or measuring cups. Transfer the rice into a strainer and rinse under running water. Use your hands to move the rice around gently to make sure all the grains are cleaned. Continue to rinse the rice until the water runs clear.

Transfer the rice into the rice chamber and add the filtered water over the rice. Distribute the rice so it&#39;s level with the water.

Close the lid and follow your rice cooker’s instructions. My rice cooker has a basic “rice” setting that I choose and press start. After the rice has finished cooking, I leave it in the chamber with the lid closed for about 5 minutes to allow the grains to soak up any excess moisture.

COOKING RICE IN A RICE COOKER

When your rice is finished cooking, add the ingredients of the rice seasoning in a microwave safe bowl and mix with a fork or spoon.

Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. If there are still granules of sugar or salt, continue to cook for another 15 seconds and stir again until it’s fully dissolved.

VINEGAR MIXTURE

Pour water into the hangiri and swirl it around to make sure water coats all the wood inside. Pour any excess water out.

Transfer the rice into the hangiri and pour the rice seasoning over the rice evenly. If you don&#39;t have a hangiri, you can also use a large, shallow mixing bowl and a flat spatula in place of a rice paddle.

Take your rice paddle and gently slice into the rice at 45 degree angle to help move around the seasoning in the rice. Turn the hangiri counter clockwise as you continue to slice into the rice and mix the seasoning. DO not try to mush the rice together otherwise the rice will clump and become too sticky. You want to mix the rice thoroughly before it cools down.

After you’ve evenly coated the grains with the seasoning, cover the rice with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Use as soon as possible.

COMBINING RICE + VINEGAR MIXTURE

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Best Homemade Nigiri Sushi Recipe

Sushi Rice in Rice Cooker

Top 2 nigiri recipes from across the web

The most viewed nigiri recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Best Homemade Nigiri Sushi Recipe

Sushi Rice in Rice Cooker

The most viewed nigiri recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine