How to cook

1. Wash the rice, replacing the water 2-3 times; drain in a colander.
2. Soak the rice in water for 30 minutes.
3. Place rice in a lidded saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, but leave the lid on the saucepan and allow rice to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Mix the seasonings for the rice. Warm the mixture if the sugar has trouble dissolving in it.
5. Place the cooked rice in a roomy bowl and quickly stir through the seasoned vinegar.
6. To prepare the Tamago-yaki, crack the eggs into a bowl and add the seasonings . Heat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and stir until partially set; slide the mixture to one side of the pan and cook over low heat until set. Remove and cut into 1 cm thick slices.
7. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in water to reconstitute them. Remove the stems, and simmer in 1 cup of water in a lidded saucepan for 10 minutes over low heat. Add the seasonings. Reduce liquid until it turns syrupy. Allow mushrooms to cool in mixture. Squeeze out excess moisture, and slice into thin strips.
8. Devein the prawns and insert a bamboo skewer (or toothpick) along the length of the prawns. Simmer over low heat in 1 cup of water, to which 1 teaspoon of salt has been added, in a lidded saucepan for 2-3 minutes. Allow the prawns to cool in the water in which they were cooked. Remove the skewers and shell the prawns.
9. Cut the cucumber into 1 centimetre-sized sticks; sprinkle with salt, then pat off the excess moisture.
10. Divide the vinegared rice into two portions. Lay out a sheet of nori on a makisu (the small bamboo mat used for making sushi rolls). Spread out a portion of the rice evenly across the nori but leave a 4 cm gap on the tail end.
11. Lay the ingredients for the filling across the middle of the rice. Lift the top end of the mat and keeping your fingers on the ingredients, place it on the other end of the rice. Shape into a compact, relatively tight cylinder. Finish the cylinder by rolling it on the 4 cm gap of nori, which should be at the bottom. Cut into slices about 2.5 cm thick.

Teriyaki Chicken Rolls

Ingredients ( Serves 4 )

・450 g sushi-meshi (vinegared rice)
・100 g chicken
・Pinch of salt (½ g)
・Pinch of pepper　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Seasonings
・1 tablespoon water      
・1and1/3 tablespoons  (12 g) sugar
・1 tablespoon (15 ml) soy sauce
・Approx.  ½ teaspoon vegetable oil

・¼ avocado
・½ cucumber
・2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
・½ teaspoon soy sauce

You will also need 2 portions of plastic wrap measuring 25 x 25 cm.

How to cook

1. Spread out and cut the chicken to about 1 cm in thickness; season with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry over medium heat until golden brown. Turn, place lid over frying pan, and cook for a further 3-4 minutes over low heat. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Add the seasonings; simmer over medium heat until the liquid turns syrupy. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until thoroughly coated with the sauce. Remove and cut into 1 cm pieces.
3. Cut the avocado into 1 centimetre-sized sticks and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of soy sauce. Slice the cucumber into fine strips, sprinkle with salt, and pat dry to remove excess moisture.
4. Divide the rice into 2 portions. Lay out a towel, and cover it with plastic wrap. Spread out the rice on each square of plastic wrap so that the rice forms a rectangle measuring 20 x 16 cm. Lay the finely sliced chicken, avocado, and cucumber along the middle of the rice. Lift the top end of the plastic wrap and roll it over to the other end of the rice to form a cylinder, ensuring that it is relatively tight and compact. Remove from plastic and roll in the white sesame seeds. Then return to the plastic and cut into 2.5 cm slices.

Sushi Rolls in Different Sizes and Varieties

The thicker rolls (known as futo-maki) can contain a combination of different fillings, while thinner rolls (known as hoso-maki) are made with just one or two ingredients.  The thicker rolls are sometimes wrapped in an egg omelette instead of nori, and the fillings are sometimes arranged so that they will resemble a flower when the roll is cut.  
The thinner rolls contain a simple filling of tuna, cucumber, natto(fermented soybeans), or ume-boshi(pickled plum), etc., and are often dipped and eaten with soy sauce.  
Sushi restaurants outside of Japan have often come up with exotic versions of the sushi roll, such as a version containing raw tuna, avocado, and mayonnaise, which have also become popular in Japan.