The Absolute Best Nori For Sushi Rolling Beginners

One of the best features of sushi restaurants is the theatrics, but the showmanship of a good sushi chef often gives people the impression that sushi is too advanced to make for themselves. But while it takes a high level of skill to master sushi, making sushi at home isn't as difficult as you might think. We recently had a chance to talk to celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto who will be participating at Flavors of the Open presented by DOBEL at this year's U.S. Open and during that conversation we got to chatting about tips for sushi beginners.

There are many essential ingredients you need to make sushi at home, but nori is one of the most important. Nori is a type of dried seaweed typically sold in sheets and used to give structure to sushi rolls. When we asked Morimoto what the best nori was for beginners, he told Tasting Table, "I always recommend roasted seaweed as it is very user friendly. It has a very smooth texture and balanced flavor that I think is perfect for someone who is just learning how to roll sushi."

All nori is dried, but not all nori is roasted. When you purchase nori from the grocery store it should say on the packaging if it is roasted or not. Unroasted nori is somewhat chewy compared to roasted nori which isn't ideal for sushi, which is why roasted nori is often labeled as sushi nori.

Even though sushi has an aura of minimalism about it, you can get as artistic as you like when preparing sushi. There are tons of great sushi recipes and a wide variety of ways to put nori to use. If the bamboo mat that sushi chefs use makes you nervous and you want something simpler you could start by making hand rolls. But once you start rolling sushi rolls you'll quickly realize how easy they can be once you get a feel for it. While nori may not be the most exciting aspect of sushi, you will come to appreciate its role.

If you keep at it, you may eventually reach the point where you're ready to upgrade your nori. Most grocery stores won't have a whole lot of nori options so try to find an Asian grocery store in your area since they'll have a better selection. There are grades to nori not unlike how we give grades to wagyu beef, but you don't need to get that technical. The simplest way to determine quality is to take note of the coloration. Dark green nori is better than light green and the best nori will be almost black. But it's easy to overthink sushi to the point where it's no longer fun, so don't stress about it too much. Grab a bag of roasted nori wherever you shop for groceries and you're off to the races.