How To Host A Sushi Party Like A Boss

Sushi is healthy and delicious and always beautifully presented. This guide will introduce you to the different types of sushi and tips on how to easily host your own Sushi Party. A lot easier than you might think, why not join a sushi making experience in Tokyo and then you can learn how to host the perfect Sushi party at home!

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Japanese food is becoming ever more popular around the world and the first thing most people think of when they think of Japanese food is sushi! Beautiful, healthy and delicious there are a variety of types of sushi that we will introduce in this article and they are a lot easier to make than you might think! In Japan, it is very common to eat sushi with one’s hands, and with no need to necessarily use utensils to eat it makes the perfect finger food for a home party!

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Sushi, and a lot of Japanese food is about minimal seasoning so one can properly enjoy the quality of the raw ingredients. So when eating your sushi it is best not to use too much soy sauce as this will overpower the flavour of the fish. This also means you should dip, particularly your nigiri sushi, in the soy sauce upside down so the rice does not absorb too much of the soy sauce.

The pickled ginger that will usually be served with sushi is usually used as a palate cleanser to be eaten between pieces of sushi. So it should generally not be eaten with the Sushi itself.

You can add wasabi to taste or not at all, however, as with the soy sauce you do not want to risk overpower the flavour of your sushi!

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Temaki Sushi is probably one of the simplest types of sushi to make, so if you are preparing everything yourself, or having your guests make their own, Temaki Sushi is a good choice. Simply choose your ingredients, place the sushi rice, and ingredients on a piece of seaweed and roll it into a cone shape.

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-fhk457Jtw

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via www.photo-ac.com

Hosoi meaning thin, and Futoi meaning thick are as you can guess, two types of roll called so based on how thick you decide to roll the sushi. They are still relatively simple to prepare and could be a fun roll for guests to have a go at rolling. You just need to choose a few easy ingredients such as cucumber, tuna, avocado or whatever you would like to use, and cut them to size.

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wdfUWckK4

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Uramaki, or inside out sushi rolls, are the next step up from your standard hoso or futomaki sushi rolls. They are less of a traditional type of sushi within Japan, however they are very popular around the world and there are many famous types of uramaki rolls you can try such as the California roll (crab meat, avocado and cucumber) and the dragon roll (shrimp tempura and cucumber inside the roll, and thinly-sliced avocado on the top to imitate the scales of a dragon).

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOPTUkux1js

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Another very popular and aesthetically pleasing type of sushi is the Nigiri Sushi, this is the sushi where the slice of raw fish, or other ingredient sits on top of the rice. This is one of the simplest types of sushi and is very popular in Japan and around the world. When you eat Nigiri, you can taste the flavor of each fish most easily without any other flavors taking over the profile.

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki2bMjRvImU

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Temari Sushi are probably the prettiest type of sushi. These colourful little balls of sushi are usually served on special occasions and are a lot of fun to make. Popular ingredients are tamagoyaki (thin omelet slices), salmon, tuna and boiled shrimp. It is fun to come up with ideas for ingredients to combine different colors. These balls are bite-sized and make perfect the arty food.

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydj4p0mXaP4

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The final type to mention, while not necessarily sushi, is Sashimi. These are just choice select cuts of raw fish, basically Nigiri Sushi, without the rice! If you have any guests who are on a low-carb diet then this would be ideal for them!

It is always good to offer a variety of dishes for your guests and the following are some simple to prepare side dishes which everyone can enjoy with their sushi! It is usually possible to find most of the following in your local Asian grocery store without too much difficulty.

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A type of dumpling usually fried in Japan, you can find various types of gyoza, from pork to vegetable or shrimp gyoza depending on your guest’s dietary requirements. You can buy them frozen or even have a go at making them yourself. (See the link below)

How to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z60_v7NhFck

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Edamame are a great high protein snack to have while preparing your Sushi, simply boil in plain water and sprinkle a salt with larger flakes over the top for a more visually pleasing dish, or boil in salted water as is more common in Japan. Some restaurants and people overseas even season edamame with other spices, such as togarashi (otherwise known as shichimi seven spice), sesame oil, and even garlic!

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Cheese and Miso are both fermented foods that pair very well together. When pairing cheese and miso, it is possible to use any type of cheese but harder aged cheddars and soft cream cheese are particularly delicious. Simply dilute some miso with water and add the cheese then leave overnight. It is best then to lightly rinse the cheese to remove excess miso. Afterwards, thinly slice a cucumber (Japanese cucumber is preferable) and serve the cheese on this as a small delicious finger food!

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Sake, or Nihon-shu as it is called in Japan, is a rice based fermented alcohol. Due to its lower acidity and high umami content it is the perfect accompaniment for a sushi party. As the flavour is not too overpowering it goes well with the lighter flavours of certain fish, and being lower in acidity will generally pair better with the raw fish. There are many types of sake available, from sweet to dry, full bodied to light clean crisp types of sake, just like wines. Amongst these it would probably be best to choose a lighter cleaner tasting sake to pair with your sushi. The key rule of thumb is that you do not want the sake to hinder the enjoyment of the sushi; it should complement the sushi and help to cleanse the palate between bites!

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If all of this has really whetted your appetite for sushi, and you would like to have some professional guidance, why not join a Sushi Making Experience at your home!

When you eat sushi or host a sushi party, please check the allergy information of all the ingredients in case you need to make any adjustments.