At our house, everyone gets excited about hand roll sushi tacos. This is the perfect Japanese meal for families with different tastes and dinner parties with friends.
Sushi Tacos Are A Crowd Pleaser Every Time
I’ll let you in on a little secret about me: I don’t like raw fish… I’ve tried to like it, trust me my life would be so much easier to explain if I loved sashimi and nigiri, but alas, I don’t love it. But I do L-O-V-E hand roll sushi. Why? Because I get to choose-my-own adventure, and according to Chi Chi, the Japanese people have no rules about what you can and cannot put in your hand roll (aka sushi taco)! Although the Japanese don’t call their hand rolls “tacos”, I’m calling them sushi taco’s because the process is just like making tacos, only with Japanese ingredients. I love it because it really is just like taco night at my house growing up. We include lots of options on the table and each family member chooses what to load their nori “taco” up with. You can have as many or as few toppings as you like.
The Key to A great Sushi Taco Party Is Variety
Temura shrimp, ume, wasabi 
salmon roe, rice 
Crab, avocado, ume, shiso 
Cucumber, pickle, avocado
At our house we place several platers of different ingredients including sashimi fish, tempura, ume plum, cucumbers, pickled things and avocado on the table along with a large bowl of sushi rice. Each person receives a plate with a stack nori sheets cut into four pieces, a dipping bowl for soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi (probably skip the wasabi for the kiddos).
When we are eating hand roll sushi tacos with our kids we also make sure to include our sushi shinkansen train. Chi Chi takes requests from each of our kids, makes them their sushi taco and places it on the train car. Each takes a turn pushing the go button and as the train goes around we chant “Shipats Shinko! She She Ba Pa! She She Ba Pa! She She She Ba Pa. Bo! Bo!
新幹線
Shinkansen: Train
At sushi taco night, you choose which combinations you would like to put on your nori sheet. My absolute favorite is rice, crab, avocado, ume plum and shiso. My children love rice and salmon roe. Chi Chi’s favorite roll often is rice with sashimi octopus with wasabi. Each of us typically eats between 8 – 10 hand roll tacos. There are hundreds of combinations you can make with a sushi taco, its all up to you!
If you’re not sure where to start try some of our favorite easy combinations:
- Rice, crab, wasabi
- Rice, cooked or raw salmon, umeboshi plum
- Rice, avocado, cucumber, wasabi-mayo
- Rice, minced tuna, minced shiso leaf, wasabi
Have fun, experiment. And be sure to share your favorite combinations with us in the comments section below!
Sushi Tacos are Real Japanese Food
Okay, so I know tacos are not a native food of Japan, but the concept of sushi tacos is. In Japan they are called Temaki (translated to “hand roll”). To make authentic hand roll sushi (even if you are calling it sushi tacos), its essential for finding the best quality sashimi, Japanese pickles (tsukemono) and other key ingredients like sushi rice, rice wine vinegar, nori, and shiso leaf at a Japanese grocer.
Ask Your Friendly Japanese Grocer For Sushi Temaki Ideas
When I want to put together a birthday meal for Chi Chi, a sushi taco (ahhem. . . Temaki) party is my go to favorite. As I mentioned above, I’m not exactly a sashimi person, so I really needed to ask for help to get the right ingredients. I’ve always had wonderful experiences anytime I go to the Japanese grocer and ask the staff for ideas. Often, customers will also see me looking at the rows of pickle things and will make suggestions. So, I highly recommend you try this sushi taco recipe, but please, when asking for the best stuff at a Japanese Grocery store, say you are making Temaki, so that they know what you and I are really talking about (tacos. . .).
How To Make Easy Hand Roll Sushi Tacos (Temaki)
Course: Dinner, Sushi Party, Weekend LunchCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy, Some Assembly Required4
servings20
minutes40
minutesIngredients
2 cups Sushi Rice (2 rice cooker cups or 1 1/2 cups if cooking on stove)
Water (fill to sushi rice line for rice cooker or use 1 1/2 cups water minus 3 tbsps if cooking on stove)
3-4 Tbsp Sushi Rice Vinegar
12 Full Sheets Nori (fold and cut into quarters to make 48 hand roll sheets)
Soy Sauce
Wasabi (Optional)
Kewpie Japanese Mayo (Optional)
- Hand Roll Taco Filling Option Ideas (Pick as many as you like):
Seasonal Sashimi: octopus, salmon, minced tuna, sashimi tuna, squid, shrimp, salmon roe
Tempura: shrimp, kabocha, string bean, sweet potato
Meat: pan-fried salmon, karaage, canned or fresh crab (Favorite!)
Veggies: sliced cucumber, avocado, thin sliced carrot, shiso leaf
Pickled Things: ginger, umeboshi plum (favorite!), daikon, eggplant, cucumber
Directions
- Prepare the Sushi Rice: I recommend cooking your sushi rice in a rice-cooker on the sushi rice setting if you have one. If you do not have a rice cooker, prepare sushi rice on the stove according to the package, but reduce the amount of water by about 3 tablespoons. Sushi rice is sticky but also firmer than regularly cooked white rice. Once cooked place the rice in a large bowl and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of sushi rice vinegar. Gently stir with a rice paddle or flat stir spoon to cool it down. When it’s time to eat, the sushi rice should be room temperature or slightly warm.
- Slice all veggies and any other toppings that are not already hand roll size and place on platters. Arrange all sashimi and other sliced meats or tempura onto platters.
- Nori Preparation: Warm a stove burner to medium high heat. Take one sheet of nori and quickly brush it over the burner on each side to make the nori crisp and flavorful. Be careful not to burn the nori (or yourself in the process). Then fold each piece of nori in half and it should break into two, fold again to make 4 nori squares per sheet.
- Crab Preparation: If you are going to serve crab (which I highly recommend!) here is how to prepare it: If using canned crab, drain all liquid and pat dry with a paper towel. Add 2-3 tablespoons of Kewpie Japanese Mayonnaise and mix thoroughly into the crab.
- Once you a ready to eat simply take one square of nori, spread a thin layer of rice over it, add your toppings and fold gently into a mini “taco” shape. Dip the corner in a small amount of soy sauce (don’t dunk, just a bit will do) Eat, enjoy, and repeat!
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