Tekkamaki Tuna Sushi Roll

Written by
Setsuko Yoshizuka
Setsuko Yoshizuka is a freelance food writer and Japanese cookbook author.
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Setsuko Yoshizuka
Updated 06/09/19
Tekkamaki sushi roll recipe

The Spruce
  • Total: 20 mins
  • Prep: 20 mins
  • Cook: 0 mins
  • Servings: 8 servings
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
582 Calories
2g Fat
125g Carbs
14g Protein
See Full Nutritional Guidelines Hide Full Nutritional Guidelines
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 582
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 6mg 2%
Sodium 47mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 125g 45%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Protein 14g
Calcium 102mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Sushi is any dish that consists of vinegared rice (“sushi rice“) combined with other ingredients such as seafood and vegetables. When the sushi rice is wrapped in nori (seaweed) and rolled, it is a sushi roll.

Sushi rolls or hosomaki are basic but popular sushi in Japan. Hoso means "thin" and maki means "roll." We say “thin” because there are also thick rolls, which are called futomaki. Due to the simplicity of ingredients and cooking technique, traditional edo-style sushi rolls, or hosomaki, consist of one main ingredient and are usually wrapped with nori on the outside. Hosomaki is suitable for home cooking as well as restaurant food.

The two most popular hosomaki are tekkamaki, tuna rolls, and kappamaki, cucumber rolls. Tekkamaki uses raw tuna which has a pretty red color against white rice. The name Tekka, "hot iron," is said to come from this color. You only need a little bit of fish for each roll.

Hosomaki are much easier to roll than thick sushi rolls, so they are perfect for practicing before you move on to sushi rolls like California Rolls and Dragon Rolls. You may need a couple times to practice to roll, but you’ll get the hang of it. We recommend you have extra rice and fillings to experiment and have fun making them.

Ingredients

  • 4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed, cut in half)
  • 4 ounces sushi-grade tuna
  • 6 cups sushi rice (prepared)

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for tekkamaki sushi
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  2. Cut the nori in half to 4-by-7 1/2 inches. 

    Cut the nori
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  3. Cut tuna into thin and long sticks 1/2-inch thick and 7 1/2-inch long.

    Cut fish
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  4. Put the bamboo sushi mat flat on your work surface with the bamboo slats left to right, so you can roll the mat away from you. 

    Put bamboo mat on counter
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  5. Put a nori sheet on top of the bamboo mat (makisu) with one of the seaweed's long sides close to the front edge of the sushi mat (the edge near you).

    Put nori on bamboo mat
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  6. Spread about 3/4 cup of sushi rice on top of the nori sheet.

    Spread rice on nori
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  7. Place tuna horizontally on the rice.

    Place tuna on roll
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  8. Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing forward to shape the sushi into a cylinder. Roll from the front end of the mat guiding with the sushi mat toward the other end.

    Roll up bamboo mat
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  9. Tighten the rolls like roll cakes, pulling the mat to tighten, and pressing the bamboo mat firmly.

    Tighten roll
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  10. Remove the roll from the mat.

    Remove roll from mat
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  11. Repeat until all the rolls are made.

    Repeat
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  12. Wipe a knife with a wet cloth before slicing sushi. Cut the rolled sushi into bite-size pieces.

    Wipe a knife
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  13. Serve right away with soy sauce and wasabi. Enjoy!

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