How to Plan a Sushi Night at Home

If you have a favorite sushi restaurant and want to recreate the vibe at home, you can learn how to make your own sushi! Invite friends for a sushi-making party, sip green tea, and serve hot saké. The possibilities are endless for sushi nights at home. Whether you’ve never tried sushi or you’ve been enjoying the stuff for years, it’s always a great time to have a sushi night at home.

Why Choose Sushi?

Everyone has their own reasons for creating a home sushi experience, and every reason is a good one! There are some universal perks to choosing sushi for your special night that everyone can agree on:

Get the Restaurant Vibe Without Going Out

Some nights you just want to stay in the comfort of home, so why go out if you can stay in? Small and intimate dinner parties are the way to go these days, where you can gather with those you love and host a dinner party to remember.

It’s Perfect for Any Season

There are a lot of foods that are seasonal, such as hot and hearty soups during the winter and cool, refreshing fruit salads in the summer. Seafood, especially sushi, however, is one food that you can eat all year long.

Dietary Variety

Sushi is a meal choice that embodies a huge variety. This means that everyone at your party will be able to choose the ingredients they want. Sushi serves a wide range of dietary needs, so you’re able to accommodate each of your guests.

It’s Easy to Pull Together

A sushi night at home can be as elaborate or as casual as you want. You can order a variety of sushi rolls or learn how to make your own. Just set the mood and let it roll.

What Kind of a Sushi Party Will It Be?

The most popular types of parties are sushi-making parties and sushi-tasting dinners. You and your guests are sure to have a great time whether you order in or make your own.

Casual or Formal?

Decide whether you want a casual dining experience or a more formal one for the evening. To go casual, you can arrange everything out on your living room coffee table and have everyone sit around it. If you have a more formal home sushi night in mind, move everything to a beautifully dressed dining room table and keep the sushi and sides either in the center of the table or on kitchen counters. The only requirements for a perfect sushi night at home are good company and good food!

What You Will Need for Sushi Night at Home

For the most part, anything goes when it comes to sushi; after all, it’s your home and your party, so you can fashion your gathering any way you like. You will need some specifics, though, to ensure a successful evening.

The Food

Naturally, you can’t have a dinner party without the dinner, no matter what the theme is. For sushi night, make sure you focus on having a wide variety of sushi, some of the most popular of which include:

• Sashimi
• Nigiri
• Maki
• Temaki
• Chirashi
• Uramaki

Make at least one type of maki roll if you decide to make your own homemade sushi rolls. These are the sushi rolls that many people first think of, with the filling wrapped in seaweed and rice. No matter what type of sushi you choose, as long as you have some colorful options, it’ll be great. If you’re not sure how to make sushi rolls, you can follow step-by-step instructions from online guides by PBS Cooking, Pioneer Woman, All Recipes, and Make My Sushi, among many others.

The Shopping List

One thing to keep in mind when grocery shopping is that a little goes a long way when it comes to the filling. Stick to between six and ten ingredients for the rolls, along with some condiments. For the fish, you may want:

• Cooked lump crabmeat
• Lobster
• Raw shrimp for tempura
• Sushi-grade unagi (eel)
• Sushi-grade salmon, yellowtail, or tuna

You must, without fail, make sure that all raw fish you and your guests consume is sushi grade; otherwise, you all can fall really, really ill.

Vegetables that you’ll want to add to your list include:

• Sliced scallions
• Sweet potato
• Zucchini
• Sauteed mushrooms
• Avocado
• Cucumber cut into matchsticks
• Carrots cut into matchsticks
• Tempura fried or blanched green beans
• Tempura fried or blanched asparagus

As for the condiments, grab them from the shelves of the store:

• Sriracha
• Kewpie mayonnaise
• Tamari
• Pickled ginger
• Soy sauce
• Powdered wasabi

Some extras you’ll want to consider picking up are:

• Sesame seeds
• Masago (small orange fish eggs)
• Tempura batter

You’ll want spicy mayonnaise, too, which is made by mixing half sriracha and half Kewpie mayo. Don’t forget the eel sauce! Boil one cup of instant dashi with ¼ cup of soy sauce, ½ cup of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of wet cornstarch.

The Utensils and Equipment

For your sushi extravaganza, you’ll need some supplies. Don’t hesitate to ask your guests to bring some things if you don’t have them on hand. Items you’ll need for your sushi night includes:

• Mixing bowls
• A large, deep pot for frying tempura
• One cutting board for every two people
• Paper towels
• A pot for cooking rice
• Chopsticks
• Silicone rolling mats
• Bamboo rolling mats (one for each cutting board)
• Soy sauce dishes
• One small bowl of water per cutting board
• Platters and plates
• Wet towelettes
• A sushi roller

Many people like to have guests bring a basic ingredient or two, but you can furnish it all yourself if you like. We suggest making the sushi rice ahead of time. Before guests arrive, get out the side dishes and condiments and make your kitchen clutter-free.

Get Your Table Ready

Whether you are using a coffee table or a dining table, the bigger it is, the better. If you’re throwing a sushi-making party, set up each cutting board on the table with a rolling mat, a small bowl of water, and a knife. The center of the table should be where the condiments go. When the sushi is finished being rolled, you and your guests will swap the boards out for plates and chopsticks. Make the rice before guests arrive, and cover it with a moist towel until you’re ready to use it. Prep the fish and veggies, and make sure all of the ingredients are cut into slices that are small enough to fit into sushi rolls.

Get Out the Drinks

If you like, this step can be done before the prepping begins! Some excellent drink choices that go well with sushi include hot saké, umeshu (Japanese plum liquor), green tea, and beer. Other options include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sapporo lager.

Fresh Seafood Delivered to Your Door

Lobsters Online has a huge array of seafood for you to include in your next sushi night! These get-togethers are kid-friendly, so don’t forget to have plenty of chopsticks on hand for the adults and the kiddos. You handle the chopsticks, and we’ll handle the overnight delivery of your fresh seafood. Place your order today!