Homemade Salmon and Cucumber Sushi Rolls (Philadelphia)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make rolls with salmon and cucumber at home? Start with the rice. Use short-grain or special sushi rice, since it has the stickiness you need—with other rice, the rolls will likely fall apart. Put the rice in a container and rinse it 4 times until the water runs clear. Then put the rice in a pot and add water in a 1:1 ratio. Cover the pot and set it over the heat.

2. Step 2:

   

   Bring the water to a boil (keep the lid closed the entire time). Once it boils, lower the heat to its minimum and keep cooking the rice for 15 minutes—by then all the liquid will have evaporated. Turn off the heat and let the rice finish under the lid for another 10 minutes, so it reaches the right consistency. Cooked rice doubles in volume.

3. Step 3:

   

   Now, in a separate saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Set it over low heat and dissolve the sugar and salt into the vinegar without letting it come to a boil.

4. Step 4:

   

   Take a wooden bowl and wipe it with damp paper towels so the rice doesn't stick to it. Transfer the cooked rice into it. Pour the vinegar mixture gradually onto a wooden spoon, then drizzle it from the spoon over the rice in a thin stream all across the surface. Gently fold the dressing into the rice with a wooden paddle. Then cool the rice completely, covering the bowl with a damp towel.

5. Step 5:

   

   Wrap your bamboo rolling mat in plastic wrap. This keeps things hygienic and easy to work with—nothing sticks, the mat stays clean, and the wrap extends the mat's life by keeping rice and filling from getting between the slats, so you have to wet it less often.

6. Step 6:

   

   First cut the nori sheet in half with scissors. Place a piece of nori on the mat, shiny side down. Prepare a hand-dipping liquid: in a small bowl, mix rice vinegar and water in a 1:3 ratio. Dampening your hands in it makes the rice easier to handle. Use filtered water, since it goes straight into the food without further cooking.

7. Step 7:

   

   Dampen your hands in the prepared vinegar liquid, take 150 grams of rice, and spread it over the nori. Smooth the rice across the whole sheet so that it overhangs the far edge by about 1 cm, while the near edge has about 1 cm of bare nori.

8. Step 8:

   

   Flip the nori with the rice so the shiny side is up and the rice is underneath. Fill a piping bag with cream cheese and snip off the tip. It helps to take the cheese out of the fridge ahead of time so it's easier to pipe. Cut the cucumber into long strips. Now fill the roll: pipe two strips of soft cream cheese onto the nori and lay strips of fresh, juicy cucumber on top.

9. Step 9:

   

   Now gently roll it away from you so the rice on the overhanging edge meets the rice on the nori. Press the roll with the mat as you go, shaping it into that familiar roll form. Set the round roll, then tidy up the sides—do this on both ends.

10. Step 10:

    

    Lay the salmon over the rice. Using the bamboo mat, press the roll again to firm it up so the fish pieces hold on well. I used pre-sliced fish, so I didn't have to cut it; if you use a whole piece, remove all the bones and slice it into rectangles that can cover the Philadelphia roll.

11. Step 11:

    

    Put the finished Philadelphia roll on a board. When slicing, dampen your knife in the vinegar solution so the rice doesn't stick and the rolls don't deform. With a sharp knife, cut the roll in half. Put the two halves together and cut in half again, then cut each half once more—you'll get 1 portion of Philadelphia: 8 rolls. Serve with wasabi, soy sauce, and pickled ginger.