Lettuce Maki Recipe: Fresh Japanese Salad Sushi Roll

🥗 Lettuce Maki (Salad Sushi Roll)

A Refreshing Modern Classic

Lettuce Maki is a popular variety of maki zushi (rolled sushi). While traditional sushi often features raw fish, rolled sushi offers a wide variety of fillings, such as:

1. Traditional: Simmered kanpyo (gourd strips), tamagoyaki, and cucumber sticks.
2. Natto: Fermented soybeans.
3. Negitoro: Minced raw tuna with green onions.
4. Tuna Mayo: Canned tuna mixed with mayonnaise.

This dish, also known as a “Salad Roll,” was born from the idea of creating a delicious sushi that incorporates vegetables to balance the typical lack of greens in sushi dishes. Today, it is a staple product found in supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan.

While the original inventor’s recipe used shrimp, the mainstream version today uses Kanikama (imitation crab made from Alaska pollock) for a more accessible and casual meal.

💡 Key Flavor Tips

• A slightly tangy mayonnaise (like Kewpie) pairs perfectly with this roll.
• For 2 cups (approx. 310g) of uncooked rice, the ideal ratio for sushi vinegar (Vinegar:Sugar:Salt) is 45:18:4.

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📊 Nutrition Facts (Per Recipe); Lettuce Maki (Salad Sushi Roll)

• Calories: 1804 kcal
• Protein: 43.9g
• Total Fat: 40.3g
• Total Carbohydrates: 328.4g
• Sodium: 7.2g

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🛒 Ingredients; Lettuce Maki (Salad Sushi Roll)

For the Sushi Rice

• Dry Rice: 2 cups / 310g (Yields approx. 800g cooked)
• Sushi Vinegar (Sushi-zu):
  • 45g Rice vinegar
  • 18g Sugar
  • 4.0g Salt

For the Tamagoyaki (Japanese Omelet)

• 2 Eggs (L size)
• 20cc Dashi soup (Using 1 Kayanoya dashi pack steeped in 600ml hot water, or a pinch of Hondashi granules dissolved in water)
• 5g Light soy sauce
• 5g Mirin
• 0.5g Salt
• 15g Oil (for frying)

For the Filling & Rolling

• 3 Nori Seaweed sheets (19cm x 19cm)
• 30g Lettuce (approx. 3 leaves), washed and dried
• 3 Kanikama (Crab sticks)
• 15g Kewpie Mayonnaise

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👩‍🍳 How to make Lettuce Maki (Salad Sushi Roll)

1. Prepare the Sushi Rice

1. Cook: Wash the rice and cook it in a rice cooker. When making sushi rice, use a slightly smaller amount of water (360g/ml) to keep the grains firm.
2. Season: Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Microwave for 20–30 seconds. This ensures the sugar dissolves completely and rounds off the sharp acidity of the vinegar for a mellower flavor.
3. Combine: Fold the vinegar mixture into the hot cooked rice using a shamoji (rice scoop). Use a “cutting” motion to avoid crushing the grains. It is better to use a flat tray (vat) rather than a deep bowl; in a bowl, the weight of the rice can cause the grains to clump and get crushed. Let it cool until the steam subsides.

2. Make the Tamagoyaki

1. Mix: Whisk the eggs with the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and salt.
2. Fry: Heat a frying pan with oil over medium heat.
3. Layer: Pour in a thin layer of egg mixture. When the surface is still slightly soft (half-cooked), roll it from the back toward the front.
4. Slide: Once rolled to the front, slide the omelet back to the far side of the pan.
5. Repeat: Add a little more oil, pour in more egg mixture (lifting the existing roll so the liquid flows underneath), and roll again.
6. Cool: Once finished, let the tamagoyaki cool completely before slicing into even, long sticks.

3. Assemble the Maki

1. Prep Lettuce: Use paper towels to thoroughly wipe away all moisture from the lettuce. This is a crucial step!
2. Spread Rice: Place a nori sheet (shiny side down) on a bamboo mat. Spread a thin layer of rice over the nori. Leave about the top 1/3 of the nori empty (as seen in the reference photos).
   • Tip: Using a shamoji helps keep the rice fluffy. Spoons tend to be sticky and difficult to use.
3. Add Fillings: Line up the lettuce, tamagoyaki, kanikama, and mayonnaise across the center of the rice.
4. Roll: Lift the mat from the front and roll toward the back. Force is key: If you grip too hard, you’ll crush the rice; if you’re too gentle, the roll will fall apart when cut. Aim for a moderate, firm pressure.
5. Rest & Cut: Let the rolls sit for about 5 minutes to stabilize. Using a sharp knife dipped in a little water, cut each roll into 6 equal pieces.

Ready for your next rolling challenge? Check out our step-by-step guide to making the Japanese classic: Natto Maki (Fermented Soybean Roll)! 👉 [Natto Roll Sushi (Natto maki)]

📖Related Link: Read the Japanese version of this article here! レタス巻き（サラダ巻き）の作り方｜黄金比の酢飯でプロの味！[]　　

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