If you enjoy sushi and haven't ventured to make your own, I hope this pictorial encourages you to give it a try. It's a lot easier than you might imagine, and the cost is minimal compared to buying sushi at a store or restaurant.

Called kim bap in Korea, sushi comes in countless varieties. Once you learn how to make a basic sushi roll, it's a snap to churn out all sorts of creations to suit varying tastes and settings.

To make your own sushi rolls, you'll need a sushi rolling mat. You can find this type of bamboo sushi rolling mat at most Asian foods stores, or at Amazon.

You'll also need sheets of roasted seaweed, which are readily available at Korean and other Asian grocery stores. You're looking for unsalted, roasted nori seaweed. If you go searching for this at your local Korean market, you can ask for "kim that's used to make kim bap." Kim means seaweed, and bap means rice. The "k" in kim sounds like "ghee."

To make a basic vegetable sushi roll, preparing your vegetables into thin strips. Carrots, avocados and asparagus are great, along with, spinach cucumbers and other fresh vegetables.

Time to prepare the rice. It's best to use sushi rice, which is typically called "calrose" rice. Put about three cups of cooked sushi rice in a large casserole dish or mixing bowl. Add a full tablespoon of sesame oil, a couple of pinches of sea salt, and mix well.

To minimize mess, we like to place our sushi rolling mat on a cutting board before we do any rolling.

Center a sheet of seaweed on your rolling mat. By the way, if you don't have a rolling mat, you can always use a sheet of saran wrap instead, though a bamboo mat definitely makes for an easier job of sushi rolling.

Along with your seaweed sheet, rice, and vegetables, have ready a small bowl of water. Dip clean fingertips into the bowl of water, then use your hands to spread a layer of rice on your sheet of seaweed.

Please note that this is no easy task. The rice is naturally sticky, and though the water on your fingers will help you spread the rice out, go into this step knowing that even those who roll sushi for a living acknowledge that this can be a frustrating task.

For comfort, keep in mind that it doesn't really matter if things don't look great at this point, as once your sushi is rolled up and cut into bite-size rounds, it'll all look beautiful.

Now layer your vegetables on top of the rice.

Please note the amount of seaweed space that remains to the right and left of the rice and vegetables - this is necessary space for proper rolling, so be sure not to use more rice than necessary.

Slowly and gently lift up the side of the bamboo mat that's closest to you, the side where the rice comes up close to the edge of the seaweed sheet.

And roll all the way over so that under the bamboo mat, there lies a fully draped roll of sushi.

Use your hands to firmly shape the sushi roll that's taking form within the bamboo mat - you want to somewhat knead/massage the bamboo roll to coax the seaweed, vegetables, and rice within to become the cyclindrical roll that it's meant to be.

Now use a fingertip to gently slide a line of water at the far end of your sheet of seaweed - this water will serve as the glue that will keep your sushi roll intact.

Now unroll the mat, use your hands to roll the partially finished sushi roll over until it's fully wrapped and sealed with the thin film of water, then roll one more time with your bamboo mat and gently knead again to encourage it to keep form.

It's generally best to make all of your rolls and have them sit as a little gathering of sushi rolls before you serve them up.

Before slicing into bite-size rounds, use the pads of your fingers to moisten both sides of your knife. This will help you make clean cuts, where the seaweed and rice don't get too messy and stick to your knife.

It's always nice to serve sushi up with some fresh vegetables on the side. Use whatever you have on hand.

Keep in mind that you don't have to cut all of your sushi rolls into the same size rounds. You can leave some as miniature logs that can be eaten as wraps. If you're making sushi for a picnic lunch or just for when you're on the go, you can leave them as big rolls and eat them just as you would eat wraps or burritos - just store them in an air-tight container while traveling.

If you'd like a dipping sauce, combine soy sauce with just a few drops of sesame oil and lemon juice.

http://drbenkim.com/how-to-make-sushi.htm