Instructions

Dying the Rice:

1. Divide warm, cooked sushi rice into 3 equal portions, roughly 1/2 cup each. Set one portion aside (this will be for the white candy cane stripes).
2. Green Rice: In a small bowl, combine 1 – 2 tablespoons of warm water with spirulina powder and mix until dissolved. Add your homemade dye to one portion of rice and mix until evenly colored. Feel free to add more spirulina until desired green color is achieved.
3. Red Rice: In a small bowl, combine 1 – 2 tablespoons of warm water with beet powder and mix until dissolved. Add your homemade dye to one portion of rice and mix until evenly colored. Feel free to add more beet powder until desired red color is achieved.

Assembling Sushi:

1. Fully wrap your bamboo sushi mat in plastic wrap, then lay it flat so that the slats are horizontal. Place half a sheet of nori (shiny side facing DOWN) on top of the sushi mat.
2. With clean, wet hands, begin to create a diagonal stripe pattern across the nori with the red, green, and white rice – you can follow the pattern provided in the image below, with stripes alternating between green-white-red-white. Simply use your hands to spread the rice into diagonal stripes, adding stripes until the entire sheet of nori is covered and you’re left with a candy cane pattern. Do your best to keep the stripes roughly the same size.
3. With wet hands, carefully pick up the nori and flip it over so that the rice side is facing down. Aim to place the nori near the bottom edge of the bamboo mat.
4. Place your fillings near the bottom-middle end of the nori, making sure to keep them tight together and horizontally aligned.
5. Grab the part of the sushi mat that’s closest to you and begin to roll your sushi away from you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers. Aim to cover your fillings with the first roll, then continue rolling until there’s no nori left, using the bamboo mat to tighten and shape the roll along the way. Adding a little bit of water along the vacant edge of nori at the end of your roll will help things stick together better.
6. With a sharp, wet knife, cut your sushi roll in half. Re-wet the knife by wiping it clean on a damp towel, then cut each half roll into 3 – 4 sushi rolls. Be sure to wet your knife again in between each cut.