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Bitesize rounds of sushi on a wooden board - some on their sides.
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Tuna, Avocado & Cucumber Sushi

Tuna, Avocado & Cucumber Sushi is perfect for yummy, healthy eating on the go.
Here is the overview of steps and the approximate time required for each:
1. Wash rice – few minutes
2. Soak rice – up to 45 minutes
3. Drain rice – at least 10 minutes
4. Cook rice – 13 minutes. You can prep the seasoned vinegar in this time.
5. Rest rice – 10 minutes. You can prep the fillings in this time.
7. Roll – 10 minutes
If wanting to get ahead, you can do steps 1-3 up to a day in advance. Keep the drained rice refrigerated. On the day of serving, you’ll have about another hour of prep.
We want to pour over the vinegar seasoning while the rice is still warm. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature before rolling and eating.
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 6 hand rolls
Author: Hangry Miss

Equipment

  • Saucepan about 20cm wide with a heavy, well-fitting lid (note)
  • bamboo rolling mat

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked sushi rice approx. 215g
  • 1 cup water 250g/ml
  • 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons caster sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 180 g can tuna in olive oil undrained weight
  • 20 g mayonnaise
  • Teaspoon lemon juice
  • Ground black pepper to taste
  • ½ avocado
  • 1 small carrot
  • 6 cm length of cucumber about 50g
  • 3 nori seaweed sheets

Instructions

  • Rinse Rice – place the rice into a sieve and rest it inside a large bowl set in the sink. Immerse in several changes of cold water to rinse off excess starch. The water should become less cloudy (but won’t become completely clear).
    1 cup uncooked sushi rice
  • Soak Rice – tip the rice into a large bowl. Cover with plenty of water and allow to stand for 10-45 minutes, until all the grains turn completely white.
  • Drain Rice - tip into a sieve and leave to drain over a bowl for at least 10 minutes. You can spread the rice up the sides of the sieve to speed this up
  • Cook Rice - add the drained rice to a saucepan with the cold water and shake the pan to immerse the rice. Over high heat, bring the water to a simmer, then immediately put the lid on and reduce the heat to minimum. Set a timer for 13 minutes. Keep the lid on the whole time. When 13 minutes is up, take the saucepan off the heat without lifting the lid and leave for 10 minutes.
    1 cup water
  • Prepare Seasoning – while the rice is cooking, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small cup or bowl. Allow this to sit and dissolve while the rice is cooking. You can feel when the sugar and salt has dissolved by rubbing a little of the vinegar between your fingertips.
    2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
    1 ½ teaspoons caster sugar
    ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Season Rice - transfer the cooked and rested rice to a wide shallow bowl. Drizzle over the seasoning, folding gently to combine. Allow the rice to cool completely to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the fillings.
  • Tuna - drain most of the oil from the tuna and tip the tuna into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
    180 g can tuna in olive oil
    20 g mayonnaise
    Teaspoon lemon juice
    Ground black pepper to taste
  • Avocado - thinly slice.
    ½ avocado
  • Carrot – julienne into short lengths, about 6cm long.
    1 small carrot
  • Cucumber – cut the portion in half lengthways. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the watery seeds, and slice into thin strips.
    6 cm length of cucumber
  • Ready to Roll - lay a bamboo mat on a clean tea towel with the mat slats running horizontally. The tea towel will stop the mat slipping around. Take one nori sheet and place it shinier side down on the mat with the perforated lines running horizontally (so that the shorter edge is closer to you). Get a little bowl with some water in it to hand (for dipping your fingers in to seal the rolls). Get a clean tea towel to hand to dry your hands before rolling the maki.
    3 nori
  • Lay Fillings - spoon a third of the rice on top of the nori. Use damp hands to spread the rice evenly all the way to the edges, apart from a 3cm strip along the side furthest from you. Try not to compress the rice too much. Put a third of the tuna mix in a strip all the way across about a third of the way up the nori. Along one edge of the tuna place a strip of cucumber slices placed end-to-end. On the other a strip of avocado slices. Lay some carrot over the top.
  • Roll Sushi – with dry hands, put the tips of the four fingers of each hand on top of sushi ingredients to hold them in place while keeping both thumbs on the back of the bamboo rolling mat closest to you. Push the mat forward until the mat (and nori sheet) is completely around the fillings. Avoid pressing too hard. Stop when you reach the bare strip. Wet this with the tip of a finger or two dipped in water, then continue to roll the sushi, pressing down to seal the roll. Remove the bamboo mat when you have finished.
  • Cut to Serve - with a serrated knife, halve the roll to make two hand rolls, or cut into 6-8 portions for bite-size pieces.

Notes

If your saucepan lid is not particularly heavy or well fitting, you can cover the top of the saucepan with a layer of foil, then the lid. Or you can place something heavy on the lid to hold it down.
Sushi tastes best when it’s made within 3-4 hours of preparation. Freezing sushi is not recommended. You can store it in the fridge for a couple of days, but it won’t taste quite so nice.