Sushi Supplies
High-quality sushi supplies are essential to making great sushi at home. Here, I’ll show you which items can be bargain buys and which items you really need to spend a pretty penny on.
Seeing as how there is a TON of different pieces of equipment that a sushi chef could have, I have reduced the list to the most essential items and separated them into individual pages- with more information on each page.
Sushi and sashimi knives are in a category all of their own – you can find out more information about them here.
Sushi Rice Cooker
One the more expensive pieces of equipment that you will buy is a good rice cooker. Trust me, you will get out what you put into one of these.
Is it possible to make sushi rice on the stovetop or in a microwave?
It is, but if you make rice more than once every three months then this will be a worth while investment.
You don’t need to go all out and buy a $300+ rice cooker. I personally use a simple, $70 rice cooker. All I have to do is measure out and wash the rice, add water, and then press a single button. Once the weight of the steamed rice is just right, the button pops back up and I have perfectly steamed rice.
It’s really nice to be able to “set and forget” your rice cooker while you’re preparing your other ingredients!
Makisu
Here is a great penny pincher. The makisu, or sushi mat, is a simple mat made of bamboo that is typically wrapped in foodservice film (read: Saran Wrap). If you have a local Asian market nearby, then you can probably find these for just a few dollars!
I wouldn’t pay more than about $5 for a good makisu. Depending on how well you take care of your mat, you may need to replace it after a while.
Hangiri
This piece of equipment is unnecessary for most but extremely handy for people wanting to make sushi regularly and mandatory for any sushi bar.
The hangiri is used for cooling and seasoning the rice. Casual sushi makers can use any kind of large bowl to do this, but wooden hangiri have their benefits.
Being that they are made of wood, the hangiri is especially good at absorbing any extra moisture from the rice. This means that your sushi rice will be very consistent in texture and will even cool to the right temperature faster than a plastic or ceramic bowl.
Wet Stone
If you have invested in a good sushi knife, then you should follow up with a good wet stone. Sushi knives take a very specific technique to sharpen and use a special type of wet stone.
To achieve the sharpest edge, you need to sharpen your knife with a lower grit and work your way up to a higher grit. I usually start with 1000, then 6000, and then finish with an 8000 grit wet stone.
You can find a good wet stone online for an average of about $40-$80. While not required, I highly recommend adding this to your sushi supplies list.
Sushi Plates
Not essential to your sushi supplies list, but what’s the point of taking extra care to make beautiful sushi when you’re just going to put it on a regular plate? That’s like drinking a glass of fine wine out of a coffee mug or an artisan beer out of a plastic cup – it just doesn’t feel right.
I think spending an additional $20-$40 on a sushi plate set to be perfectly reasonable, especially if you plan on having dinner guests over. You could even go all out and purchase a wooden block set (called Geta)!
