The act of rolling sushi is far more art than science. And for many newbie sushi chefs it can be an infuriatingly difficult skill to even learn, much less master. But with these helpful sushi-assembling assistants, you'll be rolling like Jiro-sama in no time. Traditionally, sushi is assembled by laying down a sheet of Nori (sushi's seaweed wrapper) atop a bamboo mat, known as a Makisu, which helps the chef roll, compress, and form the heaping of rice, vegetables, and fish piled atop it into a familiar cylindrical shape. But seriously, who has time for that? These five devices will generate perfect Nigiri without the hassle of doing it by hand. If you can't manage to track down a bamboo sushi mat or don't want to invest in more culinary trappings when you've just started out in sushi-making, don't worry. You can get the same result from a folded-over tea towel. Take a tea towel (hand towels will work in a pinch as well), fold it in half lengthwise and lay flat on a counter.

Cover it in plastic wrap, stack your ingredients, and then roll them up using the towel to guide the process. Just don't press too hard, otherwise the nori wrapper will tear. Leifheit Perfect Sushi Roll ($7.78) is, in essence, an enormous joint-roller designed for raw fish and cooked rice. sushi los angeles chowhoundSimply lay a sheet of nori in the machine, load up your toppings, close the lid, and give the slip a tug to roll it all into a 9-inch long tube. sushi toronto delivery late nightThere's very little that can go wrong and demands virtually no prior sushi-making experience to use. healthiest order at sushi restaurantThe marketing says it works for other kinds of rolled food as well—miniature chocolate logs for everybody!sushi samba order online

If you need to feed a crowd, and fast, try the Sushezi. This tubular device compresses your rice and toppings into a sturdy cylindrical shape and the extrudes the nearly finished rice log into a sheet of nori for a final wrapping. There's an inordinate amount of clipping, twisting, capping, and squeezing involved but it appears to be pretty fool-proof. The biggest obstacle between you and a proper sushi roll is knowing how much rice to use. Too much and the roll will crack like an overstuffed burrito, too little and the roll will be limp. Sushiquik's patented training frame ensures that even first-time sushi chefs dole out the appropriate amount of rice while the included "roll cutter" attachment guarantees everybody will get an evenly-sized slice. If you would like to eventually get good enough to start rolling with the traditional bamboo mats, take a look atIt utilizes a silicon sheet designed to shape and evenly compress the roll as you twist the device's outer handles.

There's very little guesswork involved and it appears to produce fairly consistent sushi tubes. Plus, the sheet is nonstick so you won't spend too much time picking grains rice off of it during cleanup.You sit down at a sushi restaurant on a Sunday night, fill your soy sauce dish to the top and mix in a chunk of wasabi, then order a few rolls stuffed with cream cheese and fried bananas. You've just broken four of the 12 sushi commandments! Here's a rundown, as well as some advice on how to eat sushi without making the chef want to commit Hara-kiri. 1. Thou Shalt Not Drown Thy Sushi  You ordered sushi because you like the delicate and diverse flavors of raw fish, right? Submerging a piece of sushi in soy sauce kills the very taste of the fish that you have ordered — and in essence renders the differences between the $15 budget plate and the $150 omakase moot. While we’re on the subject, it is customary to fill the small soy sauce dish up only partially, and refill if needed — rather than filling it to the brim at first.

Also, the rice side of sushi should never touch the soy sauce. 2. Thou Shalt Use Chopsticks Those wooden sticks that you probably think are impossible to use? Yeah, those are for eating the fish that you order. Try eating with your fingers at the next upscale restaurant that you go to and see the looks that you get. Same principle with eating sushi and sashimi. 3. Honor Thy Ginger The fresh or pickled ginger that is provided with virtually every sushi dish is to cleanse the palate between different cuts of fish, or at the end of the meal. Heaping it on top of a slab of fresh tuna or yellowtail makes it impossible to taste the actual fish. 4. Thou Shalt Not Take More Than One Bite This is a common mistake, as a piece of sushi can be too large for one bite for some people. But not only can breaking up a piece of sushi cause a great mess, it is also considered bad etiquette. This belief stems from the principle that good sushi will be small enough to finish in one bite. That Monster Roll you picked up from Duane Reade yesterday sadly cannot be considered quality sushi.

5. Diversify Your Order Beginner sushi eaters will often order rolls, which many consider a tasty, and safe, bet. Experienced sushi eaters like sushi for the distinct tastes of each type of fish, and not for the disproportionate amounts of rice and seaweed you tend to get in a roll. We're not against ordering rolls. Just why not branch out next time? 6. Avoid the Insane Green Racoon Roll You’re not going to find any top quality sushi restaurants serving “Spicy Mexican” or “Crazy Dragon” rolls. That goes for any rolls named after American states, too. Not sure if an ingredient is unorthodox? 7. If You Order Rolls, Eat Them First This is without a doubt the most nitpicky commandment, and serves instead as a piece of advice. Hand rolls and gunkan maki — "battleship sushi" — are generally constructed by wrapping a large sheet of seaweed around the fish and rice, as if enclosing the ingredients in a blanket. This seaweed is often crisp, and hand rolls should be eaten first — not saved for last — to ensure that the seaweed does not become soggy, and to preserve maximum freshness.

8. And On The 7th Day, He Did Not Eat Sushi Try to avoid eating sushi on Sundays since Japanese restaurants do not typically get fresh fish delivered (and sometimes not even on Saturdays). Quality sushi restaurants are also usually closed on Mondays. 9. Beware Of Freshwater Fish (Maybe) Preliminary research points to raw freshwater fish potentially being unsafe for human consumption due to the presence of parasites. This topic remains open for debate, however, as more studies are conducted. But it's good to know regardless. 10. Thou Shalt Avoid All-You-Can-Eat Sushi There’s a reason you are getting a “bargain” for $12.95. Don’t even think of setting foot in an all-you-can-eat or buffet sushi establishment. 11. Thou Shalt Not Covet Wasabi Contrary to popular belief, it is not recommended to add wasabi to your dish of soy sauce. If you require a little extra kick to your sushi, administer the wasabi directly onto your cut of fish (there will likely already be a thin coating), rather than mixing more flavors.