Hand rolls (temaki sushi) are another kind of sushi that you can easily make at home. They are  a rolled cone of seaweed (nori) with filling and rice inside. It takes some practice to make a hand roll correctly. The directions below are a simple way to make small, bite-sized hand rolls.
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Hand Roll Directions
1. Cut a piece of seaweed paper (nori) into four equally-sized squares.
2. Take one of the squares and hold it at a diagonal (diamond shape) in the palm of a hand.
3. Add rice to the middle of the diamond shaped seaweed.
4. Add filling on top of the rice.
5. Begin rolling the seaweed paper with your thumb towards the middle. 
6. Continue rolling after the seaweed touches filling and rice to round out the cone.
7. Put the completed hand roll on a platter for serving.

When making sushi for friends and family, I enjoy surprising them with interesting rolls. Meal planning is required to create flavorful and colorful rolls. My wife and I often visit a local sushi restaurant for their specialty rolls. These sushi roll recipes are some of my favorite creations inspired by the restaurant. 

Rainbow Roll
Ingredients: Cucumber, Avocado, Imitation Crab, Salmon, Tuna
1. Create a California Roll (imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber) as filling with rice on the outside1. Add sushi rice to a piece of seaweed paper (nori).
2. Before flipping over the rice covered seaweed paper, lay pieces of salmon and tuna widthwise along the top half. 
​3. Turn the rice and fish covered seaweed paper over and add the filling of imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber (California Roll).
​4. Follow the normal steps of rolling it together.

Volcano Roll
Ingredients: Cucumber, Avocado, Imitation Crab, Cooked Shrimp, Siracha, Mayonnaise
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees on BAKE.
2. Cut up pieces of jumbo cooked shrimp and mix in a bowl with Siracha Mayo (Siracha and mayonnaise mixed together). 
3. Spread the spicy mayo shrimp mixture on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil.
4. Bake the shrimp mixture in the oven for 15 minutes. 
5. When the shrimp is done cooking, add more of the spicy mayo to it and BROIL for 1-2 more minutes.
5. While the shrimp is backing, make a California Roll ​with imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber as filling with rice on the outside. Other fillings such as salmon or tuna instead can be substituted for imitation crab. This step is the same as making the Rainbow Roll without adding salmon and tuna to the outside.
​6. Plate the California Roll and spoon the shrimp mixture on top.

401 Providence Roll
Ingredients: Cucumber, Avocado, Salmon, Tuna, Seaweed Salad
1. Create a sushi roll with cucumber, avocado, salmon, and tuna with rice on the outside.
2. Plate the roll pieces on their sides instead of flat.
3. Pinch pieces of seaweed salad (pre-made at grocery stores) and add to the top of the roll pieces. 

Philadelphia Maki Roll
Ingredients: Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
1. Cut a piece of seaweed paper in half.
2. Add rice to the seaweed paper and then add a thin line of cheese cheese as filling.
3. Add pieces of smoked salmon on top of the cream cheese.
4. Follow the normal steps of rolling it together.
*Note that you can use non-dairy almond cream cheese as well.*

Spicy Tuna Maki Roll
Ingredients: Tuna, Siracha, Mayonnaise
1. Mix together pieces of tuna with Siracha Mayo (Siracha and mayonnaise mixed) in a bowl. 
2. Cut a piece of seaweed paper in half.
3. Add rice to the seaweed paper and then add the tuna and spicy mayonnaise mixture as filling.
4. Follow the normal steps of rolling it together.

Rolling futomaki (large) and maki (small) rolls is a fun and creative process. When the rice has cooled and the filling ingredients are prepared, you can move forward to making sushi rolls.  In general, you should make two to three futomaki rolls or four to six maki rolls per person. Having the right tools for rolling will make the process as easy as possible. There are a few preparation steps before actual creating a roll. 

Preparation for Rolling Sushi
Before making rolls, you should prepare rolling space on a countertop or table. Begin with wrapping a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap. This will keep rice from sticking to the bamboo mat. Next, mix a splash of rice vinegar with water in a bowl or dish wide enough for dipping a knife. You will want to dip the cutting blade of a knife in the water mixture to prevent rice from sticking to the knife. Also, I recommend having ingredients in different containers as seen in the photo below. 

Rolling Futomaki
There are a few steps for rolling futomaki:
1. Take a full sheet of seaweed paper (nori) and lay it shiny side down on a bamboo mat.
2. Cover 2/3rds of the seaweed paper with a thin layer of sushi rice. 
3. Lay ingredients together across the roll. Try not to overfill a roll.
4. Begin rolling the mat away from you by forming a tight circle around the ingredients. Press firmly across the mat when the ingredients are fully wrapped. You will roll about 1/3rd of the seaweed paper around the ingredients.
5. Once the ingredients are firmly pressed, continue rolling the rest of the sushi roll until the entire roll is wrapped. Press firmly across the mat again once everything is rolled together. 
6. Unwrap the mat and transfer the roll to a cutting board. 
7. Dip a sharp knife into the water and rice vinegar mixture and shake off any excess water once removed. 
8. Cut the ends of the roll off to create uniform circled ends. Next, cut the roll into even pieces (between 6 and 8). 
9. Transfer the pieces to a platter for serving.

Inside-Out Rolls 
Creating rolls with rice on the outside is very easy. Follow steps 1 and 2 for making futomaki rolls, but put the seaweed sheet shiny side up. Next, flip the rice-covered seaweed paper over prior adding ingredients. You can also sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice before flipping the seaweed paper over. Continue to follow steps 3 - 9 to create a sushi roll with rice on the outside and nori on the inside.
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Rolling Maki
To create maki rolls, you will follow the same rolling steps as futomaki. The only exception is that you will use half of a sheet of seaweed paper. Cut a piece of seaweed paper in half (widthwise) and place it on a bamboo mat. Try using only one or two ingredients for maki rolls. They should be made as sushi pieces eaten in one bite. 

Making sushi at home requires a large amount of preparation work. There are multiple ingredients that require additional steps beyond purchasing them. Fortunately, you will have idle time while the sushi rice cooks in a device and cools to room temperature. I will cover some of the most common preparation steps for creating sushi rolls.

Cutting Individual Pieces of Fish
When purchasing sashimi grade salmon or tuna, you will likely buy one large fillet at the market. This piece of fish needs to be cut into bite-sized pieces for nigiri, sashimi, and sushi rolls. There are right and wrong approaches to cutting sashimi grade fish. I recommend watching videos on YouTube to learn how to correctly cut fillets with a knife. There are many helpful videos such as this one. In addition, you may want to sharpen your knife prior to starting this process. 

Cutting and Peeling Vegetables
​While this may seem obvious, vegetables require preparation. Cucumbers require peeling, deseeding, and slicing into strips. Carrots require peeling and shaving into thin pieces. Avacados should be cut into long, thin strips to fit into rolls. You should try to make individual pieces small for layering in sushi rolls. Other options include jalapenos (deseed), daikon radishes, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, yams, and picked vegetables.  

Preparing Cooked Ingredients
Some ingredients for sushi rolls require cooking. Examples include seared scallops and tempura fried shrimp. I recommend cooking ingredients while the rice cools to room temperature. You should have around an hour to work on other kitchen preparation prior to making sushi rolls. 

Setting the Table
One other step that requires preparation is setting the table for a sushi dinner. It can take quite a bit of time to lay out all of the dishes, glasses, and serve ware. This preparation can be done at any time, including prior to making sushi rice.  ​