How To Make Hand Roll Sushi

Peel the cucumber, cut off the ends, and cut it in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds, cut the cucumber into thin strips about one-eighth to one-quarter inch wide, and set the strips aside.

Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and twist the two halves until they separate. Cut the half without the pit into two quarters. Cut off the ends, remove the skin, and slice lengthwise into quarter-inch slices. Set the slices aside.

Tear or cut the nori sheets in half.

Hold a half sheet of nori shiny side down in the palm of one hand, supporting its length with your fingers.

Moisten your other hand with a little water and grab about 1/4 cup— a small handful—of prepared sushi rice. Ball up the rice and press it onto the left-hand side of the nori.

Spread the rice out to about a quarter-inch thickness, leaving a margin of nori around it, then press your index finger into the middle to make an indentation.

Lay a small amount of filling—say, one piece of fish and a slice or two of vegetable—in the indentation in the rice.

Still holding the nori, rice, and filling in one hand, use your other hand to tightly roll up the bottom left-hand corner on the diagonal, over the rice and filling.

Tightly wrap the opposite right-hand edge around, using a folding and tucking method to create a cone shape with the filling on the inside.

Use a dab of rice on the corner to secure the inside edge of the nori to the outside of the cone.

Make as many rolls as you want, and place them on a plate with a mound of prepared wasabi and a mound of Japanese picked ginger.