Philadelphia Roll (Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Sushi Roll)

Ingredients · tick what you already have

• sushi rice1 cup
• water1¼ cup
• rice vinegar2 tbsp
• sugar1 tbsp
• salt½ tsp
• nori sheets2 sheet
• smoked salmon4 oz
• cream cheese, block3 oz
• English cucumber½
• sesame seeds (optional)1 tsp
• soy sauce, for serving2 tbsp

Method

1. Rinse the sushi rice in cold water until it runs mostly clear, then cook with 1 1/4 cups water (stovetop or rice cooker) and let it steam covered for 10 minutes.
2. Warm the rice vinegar, sugar and salt until dissolved, then fold into the hot rice with a cutting motion. Spread out and cool to room temperature.
3. Cut the cucumber into thin matchsticks and slice the cream cheese into strips; keep the salmon in strips.
4. Lay a nori sheet on a bamboo mat covered with plastic wrap. With wet hands, spread half the rice over the nori in a thin even layer, sprinkling with sesame seeds if you like.
5. Flip the sheet so the rice faces down. Lay half the salmon, cream cheese and cucumber in a line across the nori near the edge closest to you.
6. Roll tightly using the mat, pressing firmly to seal; for a rice-outside look like the photo, you can instead leave the rice side out and roll with the plastic wrap. Repeat with the second roll.
7. Slice each roll into 6 to 8 pieces with a sharp knife wiped with a wet cloth between cuts. Serve with soy sauce (plus wasabi and pickled ginger if desired).