Epicurious' 4 Levels series features amateur, advanced and professional cooks preparing their takes on popular dishes. In this week's episode, Japan-trained sushi chef Hideyo Yamada shares her signature inside-out roll with spicy tuna and wasabi from scratch.
Chef Hideyo combines room temperature rice with cold fish, focusing on quality and freshness for her sushi. She recommends using lean, sushi-grade tuna and making your own wasabi to control the spiciness — while using maple syrup in her seasoning for sweetness. Another pro tip: Cut the nori in half to keep the size of the roll manageable.
Watch the video for Chef Hideyo's technique topping her roll with raw fish and edible flowers, and get the complete recipe, including perfect sushi rice and her signature spicy sauce, below.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Japanese sushi rice
- 2 cups water
Directions
- In a large bowl, add the rice and cold water. Swirl to wash it. Drain and fill bowl with water again.
- Repeat washing until the water becomes almost clear.
- Drain the rice. Fill with cold water and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain well using a strainer.
- In a medium-sized pot, add the rice, 2 1/4 cups water. Close lid, bring to a boil at high heat. Reduce the heat to medium for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rice steam for 15 minutes. *Do NOT open the lid while rice is cooking and steaming.
- When the rice is ready, open the lid, and fluff rice with a spatula.
Sushi Vinegar
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
- Whisk well.
- For sushi rice, mix the freshly cooked rice and sushi vinegar. Cover with a damp towel to cool to body temperature.
Spicy Tuna
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound sushi-quality tuna, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (spicy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
- Mix well.
Wasabi
Ingredients
- 1 tablespon powder wasabi
- Water, as needed
Directions
- In a small ramekin or sake shot glass, add wasabi powder. Add water and mix to reach ketchup consistency.
- Cover and set aside for 3 minutes.
Spicy Tuna Inside-Out Roll
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons spicy tuna
- 1/6 English cucumber
- 1/2 nori sheet
- 1/3 cup sushi rice
Directions
- Wrap bamboo mat with plastic to prevent the rice from sticking.
- Julienne cucumber into thin strips.
- Place the nori sheet rough side up on the wrapped bamboo mat. Wet your hand and gently take a handful of rice. Spread the rice all over the nori and turn it over (rice side down).
- Place spicy tuna and cucumber on nori.
- Take the bamboo mat and use it to roll the sheet of nori.
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