Korean Avocado Tuna Sushi Roll.

You guys. I made us homemade sushi!

For the longest time, I was always afraid of homemade sushi. I mean, burritos are hard enough to roll, but swap the tortilla for nori? Ah yeah, way too outta my wheel house…or at least so I thought. Turns out that rolling sushi is really not all that hard, and I didn’t even need to buy any special equipment.

Over Christmas break when all of my family was in town, plus multiple friends, I somehow decided it would be a good idea to make everyone homemade sushi. Do not ask me why I thought it would be fun to make sushi, for the first time ever, for twenty plus people. It really was not the smartest idea. But I wanted to conquer homemade sushi and everyone in the house was down for it, so I decided to just go for it.

Thankfully it all turned out pretty good. No one got sick (which I was really worried about for reason) and the sushi was SO good. I knew I eventually wanted to share a recipe like it here on the site, so you guys, here it is! My Korean inspired tuna roll!

When I made sushi for the family back in December, I just made the basic rolls everyone knows about. They were great, but as I was rolling up all the rolls, my mind could not help but think up all the fun combos. While I had lots of ideas, ultimately this Korean roll was the one I knew I had to share.

I love Korean flavors and when paired with the makings of a sushi roll? It’s basically just perfection.

Let me break the roll down for you guys.

…first up – nori

…then rice

…thinly sliced pineapple

…thinly sliced avocado

…shredded carrots

…kimichi

…cilantro

…ahi tuna marinated in Korean chili sauce

The secret to these rolls is the Korean marinated tuna. It’s beyond good. I toned down some of the heat with sweet pineapple and served the rolls with a little special “mayo”, which is just tahini and gochujang (Korean chili paste), I buy the Mother In Law’s brand from Thrive Market.

Simple as that! I don’t own a sushi mat, so I used a kitchen towel and plastic wrap (see photos). It worked surprisingly well. Don’t fear the rolling process guys, it’s actually easier than trying to wrap an over-stuffed burrito. Your first roll might not be the prettiest, but by the time you get to your second or third, you’ll have the hang of it. My one tip is to make sure to dampen the nori sheets before you start rolling. The sheets are dried, so if you try to roll them they will crack. Wetting your hands and pressing them onto the nori, moistens the sheet just enough to be able to nicely roll them up.

These would be really fun to make on a Friday night date night or just to make as a healthy weeknight meal. Just be sure to plan a little time for preparing them. While these are not hard to prepare, rolling the sushi just takes a little time. It’s not a once a week kind of recipe, BUT it’s definitely one to try to have in your back pocket for when a mad sushi craving hits! <–especially if you’re like me and live in a town where the sushi joints are questionable…

Lastly, if you guys do not like to eat raw fish, try replacing the tuna with beef. Apparently there is such a thing as a beef sushi roll! I’ve never had it, but it sounds like something my brothers would greatly enjoy…well minus the seaweed.

I think I much prefer the seafood kind of sushi, I mean, for one, look at all those gorgeous colors!! Totally my kind of thing.

So can we make it a sushi night kind of Wednesday?!