I say sushi, you think raw fish. This, perhaps, is the reason why the Japanese delicacy, unlike the noodle or the stir-fry, has not become a staple of British home cooking. But all that is about to change – at least if Yuki Gomi, 37, a Japanese sushi chef living in London, has anything to do with it. “In Japan, going to a sushi restaurant costs hundreds of pounds and is a real treat,” she says when we meet at her flat in Crystal Palace, south-east London. “But Japanese people make it at home all the time, usually without raw fish.” When a Japanese family goes for a picnic, sushi will always make an appearance – but smoked fish will also be used, which is less likely to spoil (salmon and mackerel are favourites). Children take sushi to school in their lunch boxes, made with tinned tuna. There are vegetarian options, including tamagoyaki, grilled egg sushi. “If you want to go the whole way and use raw fish,” says Gomi, “there are safe ways of doing it. If you have the confidence, you can make friends with a local fishmonger and get him to promise you that the fish can be eaten raw.

But the easiest way is to buy sushi-grade fish on the internet.” She recommends Kazari, which will deliver guaranteed sushi-grade fish to your door. Sushi is easy to make, extremely healthy and highly portable. It is also flexible; there are, Gomi says, “no rules”, and new combinations of fish or vegetables are waiting to be discovered. And when it is home-made, sushi can also be an impressive addition to a party. “It is simple, so long as you are precise,” she says. “Architects and surgeons make the best sushi.” Yuki Gomi encourages home cooks to find sushi-grade fish online (HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY) Before thinking about the fish, however, it is important to get the rice right. It must be Japanese – which refers to the species rather than the country of origin – because it is high in starch, which makes it stickier than other varieties. Techniques for cooking perfect rice are closely guarded secrets for many Japanese chefs. Gomi, however, being “of a younger generation”, is happy to share her method, which she learnt from the masters (see right).

When the rice is ready, the creative part begins. where to buy sushi grade fish in laFirst, Gomi demonstrates how to make temari. watch sushi pack online free“When you go to a restaurant, you’ll probably have nigiri, rectangular slabs of rice with salmon or tuna on top,” she says. buy japanese knife toronto“Shaping the rice like that takes years of practice. where to buy sushi ingredients south africaTemari is the traditional home-made version, which is a lot easier.” Cutting a fillet of raw salmon is an art in itself (she points out that smoked salmon, mackerel or kipper can be substituted).

Gomi uses a traditional yanagi-ba sushi knife, which is flat on one side and very thin; The trick, she says, is to hold your breath and make the cut in one movement, as if you are playing a violin. When the fish is sliced, she covers her left hand with cling film – an improvement on the traditional muslin – and lies a sliver of fish in the centre. A bolus of rice is placed on top, then the cling film is closed around it and twisted to make a tight sphere. When this is unwrapped, a ball-shaped piece of sushi is revealed, which can be garnished with sesame seeds, a sprig of parsley, or fish roe (tobiko). Next, she makes the “inside-out roll”, also known as the “California roll”. For centuries, Japanese sushi roll had the nori (seaweed paper) on the outside. When it was introduced to California, however, the local chefs preferred to roll the sushi inside out so that the rice was on the outside. This was later exported back to Japan. She places a sheet of nori – she recommends the type produced by Clearspring (clearspring.co.uk) – on a board and covers it with a layer of rice.

The rice is sprinkled with roe or sesame seeds, turned upside down onto a bamboo mat (available from Tesco, £1.99) and covered with cling film, before arranging the salmon and avocado, rolling, and slicing with a light sawing motion. Lastly, Gomi introduces the temaki sushi, which she says is a great informal party option. In a large bowl, she mixes scallops, flying fish roe, mayonnaise and avocado. This, together with a bowl of sushi rice and another of sliced vegetables, is placed on the table with a stack of nori. Guests add the filling to the nori and roll it into a cone for instant, do-it-yourself sushi. “When I was a child and my mother said we were going to have sushi, I was always filled with excitement,” says Gomi. “I want to bring some of that excitement to Britain.” ’Sushi at Home’, by Yuki Gomi, is out now (Fig Tree; £18.99)Sushi is a Japanese artform with a freshness and simplicity that only sushi can give. Sushi has a natural beauty all of its own. Sushi is so popular thanks to its delicious taste and proven health benefits.

To make sushi yourself, simply buy the sushi starter kit and become part of the sushi generation! Don't miss our hand rolled sushi recipe for rolling your own sushi. Buy sushi in our online shop. Sushi packages and hand rolled sushi recipes There are several main types of sushi. Nigiri type has slices of raw or cooked fish sitting on top of an oblong piece of sushi rice. Norimaki, or sushi roll, where pieces of fish and vegetable are rolled with rice in nori. Chirashi-zushi has a variety of ingredients sitting on top of sushi rice. Mount Fuji sells many sushi packages and sushi recipes. Why not visit our restaurant in Birmingham and as our chef to prepare you some delicious sushi. More on Japanese sushi... Mount Fuji sushi starter packs are a great way to introduce you to this Japanese delicacy! Each pack comes complete with full instructions of how to prepare your sushi creations. For this hand rolled sushi recipe, you will need: Sushi Vinegar 120ml (code 5194).

4-5 dried Shiitake mushrooms (or any other type of mushroom). 2 tablespoon shoyu, plus extra for dipping (from 5196). 225g of fresh tuna 115g of smoked salmon. 8 raw king prawns. 1 punnet of cress. 8 sheets of NORI (code 5361). 1 tablespoon of Mirin (code 5338). Preparation of hand rolled sushi Make nice boiled rice with a rice cooker (see HOW TO COOK RICE) and sprinkle sushi vinegar on the rice. While the rice is boiling in the rice cooker, soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes then drain. Reserve 70ml of soaking water. Trim the stems off and cut the caps into thin strips. Place in a pan with the sugar, Mirin, 2 tablespoons shoyu and the reserved soaking water, cooking for 10 minutes. Slice the tuna and smoked salmon into 5 x 1 cm thin pieces. Peel, de-vein and lightly boil the prawns. Drain and slice horizontally in half. Peel, stone and thinly slice the avocado. How to serve hand rolled sushi.