Sushi

Name: Sushi
Prep time: 13 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300ml Sushi Rice; 100ml Rice wine; 2 tbs Caster Sugar; 3 tbs Mayonnaise; 1 tbs Rice wine; 1 tbs Soy Sauce; 1 Cucumber

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Seafood recipe with Japanese flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 67 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

TO MAKE SUSHI ROLLS: Pat out some rice. Lay a nori sheet on the mat, shiny-side down. Dip your hands in the vinegared water, then pat handfuls of rice on top in a 1cm thick layer, leaving the furthest edge from you clear.
Spread over some Japanese mayonnaise. Use a spoon to spread out a thin layer of mayonnaise down the middle of the rice.
Add the filling. Get your child to top the mayonnaise with a line of their favourite fillings – here we’ve used tuna and cucumber.
Roll it up. Lift the edge of the mat over the rice, applying a little pressure to keep everything in a tight roll.
Stick down the sides like a stamp. When you get to the edge without any rice, brush with a little water and continue to roll into a tight roll.
Wrap in cling film. Remove the mat and roll tightly in cling film before a grown-up cuts the sushi into thick slices, then unravel the cling film.
TO MAKE PRESSED SUSHI: Layer over some smoked salmon. Line a loaf tin with cling film, then place a thin layer of smoked salmon inside on top of the cling film.
Cover with rice and press down. Press about 3cm of rice over the fish, fold the cling film over and press down as much as you can, using another tin if you have one.
Tip it out like a sandcastle. Turn block of sushi onto a chopping board. Get a grown-up to cut into fingers, then remove the cling film.
TO MAKE SUSHI BALLS: Choose your topping. Get a small square of cling film and place a topping, like half a prawn or a small piece of smoked salmon, on it. Use damp hands to roll walnut-sized balls of rice and place on the topping.
Make into tight balls. Bring the corners of the cling film together and tighten into balls by twisting it up, then unwrap and serve.

Why this works on a weeknight

Sushi lands at about 38 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Sushi actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Seafood Japanese