Nigiri, maki and temaki: a beginner's guide to making sushi at home

If you're making sushi at home for the first time, start with temaki (hand rolls). Then learn thin maki rolls, and leave nigiri until last. Temaki need no equipment and forgive almost any mistake. Maki need a bamboo mat and teach you how much pressure rice will take. Nigiri look the simplest but depend most on feel. All three are built on the same foundation: well-seasoned rice at body temperature, damp hands and fillings cut ready before you start.

This guide explains what each form is, walks you through making it, and lists the mistakes nearly everyone makes on their first go.

Before you start: rice, hands and set-up

All three forms depend on the rice. It should be seasoned, glossy and at body temperature, never cold from the fridge. If you haven't made it before, read our step-by-step guide to making sushi rice at home first.

Sushi chefs keep their hands damp with tezu, a hand water of about 250 ml water with 30 ml rice vinegar. Dip your fingertips, rub your palms together and shake off the excess. Your hands should be damp, not wet. Wet hands make wet rice, and wet rice won't hold a shape.

Set out everything within reach before you touch the rice: rice covered with a damp cloth, fillings cut and chilled, nori, the tezu bowl, a damp cloth and a sharp knife. If you're using raw fish, keep it in the fridge until the last moment. Our guide to buying and handling fish for sushi explains what to buy and why it matters.

Temaki: the hand roll

Temaki is a cone of nori filled with rice and fillings and rolled in the hand. It's the most relaxed form of sushi, and a temaki spread is a lovely way to feed a group: everyone rolls their own at the table.

1. Hold a half sheet of nori flat across your palm, rough side up.
2. Spread 60–80 g of rice over the left third in a rough diagonal triangle.
3. Press a shallow groove along the diagonal and lay long, thin fillings in it, letting them stick out past the top corner.
4. Fold the bottom corner up and over the filling, then roll the rest of the sheet around it into a cone.
5. Seal the edge with a crushed grain of rice and eat it straight away.

That last point matters most. Nori softens quickly once it touches rice, so temaki are rolled and eaten on the spot. Tekka Temaki (tuna and shiso), Sake Avocado Temaki and the fish-free Vegetable Temaki are good first choices.

Maki: the thin roll

Maki means "roll". The best one to learn first is hosomaki, the thin roll with a single filling. Thicker rolls (futomaki) and inside-out rolls with the rice on the outside (uramaki) use the same movements but are harder to get even. Start thin.

You'll need a bamboo rolling mat (makisu) and a half sheet of nori.

1. Lay the half sheet on the mat, rough side up, with a long edge towards you.
2. With damp hands, spread about 80 g of rice evenly over it, leaving a 1 cm bare strip along the far edge. Spread with your fingertips. Don't press.
3. Lay one filling, about 20 g, in a straight line across the rice, a little nearer to you than the centre.
4. Lift the near edge of the mat with your thumbs, hold the filling in place with your fingers, and roll forward until the rice edge meets the rice on the far side.
5. Squeeze gently along the length through the mat, then roll forward onto the bare strip to seal.
6. Wipe a sharp knife with a damp cloth, cut the roll in half, then each half into three. Wipe the blade between every cut.

Practise with cucumber first. It's cheap and forgiving, and it shows every mistake. Kappamaki (cucumber) and Tekkamaki (tuna) are the two classic thin rolls, and both are in the book with step photographs.

Nigiri: the hand-pressed piece

Nigiri is a small oblong of rice topped with a slice of fish or another topping, known as the neta. It's the form most people picture when they think of sushi, and it takes the most practice. The rice has to be firm enough to lift but loose enough to fall apart in your mouth. Almost every beginner presses far too hard.

• Rice: 15–18 g per piece, about the size of a walnut.
• Topping: about 10–12 g, cut roughly 7 cm long and 3 cm wide.
• Finished piece: a rounded oblong about 5 cm long.

1. Lay the slice of fish across the fingers of one hand, best side down.
2. If you like, add a smear of wasabi the size of a grain of rice to the centre of the slice.
3. With damp fingers, take the rice and roll it lightly three or four times into a loose oblong. Don't squeeze.
4. Set the rice on the fish and make a shallow dent in the top with your thumb. The dent keeps the inside airy.
5. Close your hand over it, press the top lightly with two fingers and square the ends with your other thumb and finger.
6. Roll the piece over so the fish is on top. Press gently at an angle so the fish curves over the rice, turn it end to end and press again.

Weigh your first few portions of rice until your hand learns the size. Cooked and vegetable toppings let you practise without worrying about raw fish. Tamago Nigiri (sweet layered omelette) and Avocado Nigiri are both good places to start. When you move on to fish, Akami Nigiri (lean tuna) and Sake Nigiri (salmon) are the classic first pieces.

Common beginner mistakes

• Cold rice. Rice from the fridge is hard and won't stick. Use it at body temperature on the day it's made.
• Too much rice in rolls. Overfilled rolls won't close and split when you cut them. Keep to about 80 g per half sheet.
• Wet hands. Damp is enough. Clap off any excess water.
• Pressing nigiri too hard. Dense, heavy nigiri comes from too much pressure. Use half the force you think you need.
• A dry, pushing knife. Squashed rolls come from a dry blade and pushing down. Wipe the knife with a damp cloth before every cut and draw it through.
• Soy on the rice. When eating nigiri, dip the fish side lightly in soy, not the rice, which soaks it up and falls apart.

The Art of Sushi covers each of these forms in step-by-step photographs, followed by the recipes that use them. If you'd like to see what's there first, the recipe finder lists every nigiri, roll and hand roll in the book.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between maki and temaki?

Both are rolls wrapped in nori. Maki is rolled in a bamboo mat into a long cylinder and cut into pieces. Temaki is rolled by hand into a single cone and eaten whole, straight away.

Do I need a bamboo mat?

For maki, yes. It gives you even pressure along the roll. You don't need one for temaki or nigiri. Wrap the mat in cling film if you're making inside-out rolls, so the rice doesn't stick to the bamboo.

Can I make sushi without raw fish?

Easily. Cucumber, avocado, pickled daikon, cooked prawn, sweet omelette and cooked eel are all traditional fillings or toppings. They're also the right choice for anyone who shouldn't eat raw fish.

How far ahead can I make sushi?

Sushi is best eaten as soon as it's made. Rolls and nigiri can wait a short while, covered and kept cool, but don't refrigerate them for long because the rice hardens. Temaki should be eaten the moment they're rolled.