Sushi making can be a really fun hobby and is surprisingly easy to make. Sushi is a kind of Japanese food consisting of cooked rice that has been vinegared and combined with other ingredients like seafood, vegetables and sometimes fruits. Though there are varieties of sushi, the main ingredient is always rice.

Sushi was first made in South East Asia along the Mekong river. It means 'sour tasting'. The oldest sushi called narezushi is still made in Japan by wrapping the fish in sour fermenting rice. Modern sushi making today has little resemblance to traditional sushi making.

Varieties of sushi can be made using different fillings, toppings, condiments and preparation. The basic technique however remains the same. Select the vegetables and fish you want to use as filling for the sushi and buy dried seaweed (nori) and uncooked rice. Rinse the sushi rice well in cold water until the water is no longer cloudy. Fill the cooker with two parts rice to three parts water and let it soak for 30 minutes. Now boil the rice and cook until the rice has absorbed al the water and has become soft and tender. Drain the leftover water (if any).

Now in a bowl, pour two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add sugar and vinegar as per your taste preference. Pour the mixture onto the rice and blend thoroughly. Wash the vegetables and slice them evenly into long thin strips. Cut the fish into little strips so that they are uniform in length and breadth.

Place the nori sheet on a bamboo mat so that the rough side is facing upwards and spread the rice evenly over the dried seaweed. If necessary dampen your hands so that the rice does not stick to it (but keep your hands as dry as possible when working with the nori).Wet the edges of the weed with rice vinegar so that the ends stick to each other when you roll it. The ends should be free of rice. Place the vegetables and fish on the top and roll the bamboo mat.

Remove the sushi roll from the mat and cut it into neat rounds. Serve with pickled ginger and a spoonful of wasabi. White wine vinegar can be used in place of rice vinegar. However, just halve the quantity of white vinegar required compared to rice vinegar.

An increasingly fun hobby, sushi making can be done both using raw fish and cooked fish, though traditionally raw fish has served as the preferred filling. So if you are into trying new hobbies, sushi making is just the thing for you.

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