Nigiri: the named shaping techniques

Mise en place — set out in the order it goes in

1. 

   Sushi ricebody temperature, under a damp towelStep 4

2. 

   Fishsliced, 16 piecesStep 3

3. 

   Wasabia small moundStep 5

4. 

   Tezucold water · rice vinegarStep 1

5. 

   To servesoy · gingerStep 23

Prep order — what happens when, and what overlaps

Slice the fish in small batches and keep the rest of the block covered in the fridge. Work fast: warm hands warm the fish, and every extra movement packs the rice.

Step by step

1. Before you shape (all techniques)

2. 

   

   1Tezu: wet the hands

   5 s

   For this step

   • Water (tezu)250 ml
   • Rice vinegar (tezu)1 tbsp

   • Mix the cold water and rice vinegar in a small bowl.
   • Dip the right middle finger to the first joint and rub the water over both palms.
   • Clap off the excess — one hand a loose fist, one open. Damp, not wet: too much water and the rice falls apart.

   

3. 

   2Slice the fish

   ~10 min

   For this step

   • Sashimi-grade tuna or salmon, a block (saku)~200 g (16 slices)

   • Cut across the grain (the faint white lines).
   • Tilt the knife 30–45°, set the heel on the far edge and draw it towards you in one long pull — don't saw.
   • Slices about 7–8 cm long, 3 cm wide and 3–5 mm thick, about 14 g each.

   

4. 

   3Fish onto the left fingers

   2 s

   • Lay a slice across the inner side of the left fingers, one end near the finger roots — not in the middle of the palm.
   • The neat cut face goes down, against the fingers; the side that will get the wasabi faces up.
   • The rice will sit over the second and third joints of the fingers.

5. 

   4Take the rice (shari)

   3 s

   For this step

   • Sushi rice~300 g (18–20 g each)

   • With the right fingertips, take about 18–20 g of rice from the tub.
   • Round it loosely into an oblong in the cupped right fingers — no squeezing.

   

6. 

   5Wasabi

   2 s

   For this step

   • Wasabia pea-sized dab per piece

   Still cradling the rice with the other right fingers, dab a pea of wasabi on the middle of the fish with the right index finger.

7. 

   6Rice onto the fish

   2 s

   • Set the rice on the fish. The left hand cups a little so the fish bends up to the rice.
   • The left thumb, raised slightly, flattens and spreads the rice over the fish.

   

8. 

   7The thumb dent

   1 s

   • The left thumb pushes a small hollow into the middle of the rice, straight down.
   • It keeps air inside so the rice falls apart in the mouth: firm outside, airy inside.

   

9. 

   8Basic shape

   2 s

   • The right index finger and thumb press the two short ends of the rice.
   • Then they press the long sides lightly — a rough rectangle.
   • Fish still underneath, rice on top, lying across the left fingers.

   

10. Kote-gaeshi — the standard

11. 

    9Enclose

    1 s

    Curl the left fingertips up around the piece (still fish down, rice up); the right hand hovers lightly over the top.

12. 

    

    10Roll it over

    1 s

    • Open and straighten the left fingers: the piece rolls forward over the fingertips, away from you, and turns over — it ends fish up, back on the left fingers.
    • The right index finger and thumb catch it and guide it back down.
    • It rolls around its long side (inferred from where the next presses land — no source states the axis).

    

13. 

    11Squeeze the sides

    1 s

    The right thumb and middle finger pinch the two long sides inward, wrapping the fish around the rice; the left hand cradles the piece.

    

14. 

    12Square the end, cap the top

    1 s

    • The left thumb presses the near short end square.
    • At the same time the right index and middle fingers rest on top of the fish like a lid — resting, not pushing down. The pressure comes from the left hand lifting into them.

    

15. 

    13Half-turn

    1 s

    The right index finger and thumb pick the piece up by its sides and turn it 180° clockwise (seen from above) on the left fingers, so the two ends swap.

    

16. 

    14Repeat

    2 s

    Squeeze the long sides again (they loosen when the end is pressed), then press the other short end with the left thumb, the right fingertips only resting on top.

17. 

    15Finish

    2 s

    • The right thumb and index finger wrap the fish snugly over the rice at its middle.
    • Lift the piece by its sides with the right hand onto the plate. From the side it looks like a boat: the fish draped over, the bottom rounded.

18. Tate-gaeshi — for slippery toppings

19. 

    16Right hand to the edges

    1 s

    • After the basic shape (step 8), open the right thumb and index finger to the width of the piece.
    • Take hold of it by the edges where the fish meets the rice. Which pair of edges isn't stated in the sources.

20. 

    

    17The hand-over flip

    1 s

    • The left hand turns over, back of the hand up, laying the piece into the right hand.
    • The piece now stands upright, fish up, held between the right thumb and index finger — the “vertical” in the name. The topping is barely touched, which is the point.
    • Exactly how the piece itself rotates isn't described by any source.

    

21. 

    18Back to the left hand, four edges

    3 s

    Set it back on the left fingers as it is, fish up, and squeeze all four edges as in kote-gaeshi (steps 11–14).

22. Hon-te-gaeshi — the old way

23. 

    19Both hands turn over together

    1 s

    • After the rice is on and flattened (step 6), the right index finger presses one short end.
    • The right index and middle fingers then take the piece onto the right hand, that end at the fingertips — the signature double turn.
    • How each wrist rolls isn't stated; the picture shows the left palm turning down over the right palm turning up (inferred).

    

24. 

    20Cover and swap

    1 s

    • The left hand covers the piece from above and takes it back: the hands swap top and bottom.
    • The piece lies on the left palm again, rice up, the end you pressed now at the little-finger side.

    

25. 

    21Roll forward, press the sides

    1 s

    Roll it forward over the left fingertips so the fish comes up (the kote-gaeshi roll), then press the long sides with the right index finger and thumb.

26. 

    22Half-turns and finish

    2 s

    • The right index finger and thumb turn the piece 180° clockwise; squeeze the sides again.
    • A second clockwise half-turn, then close the whole hand lightly around it and a last gentle squeeze of the sides.

27. Serve

28. 

    23Serve

    For this step

    • Soy sauceto dip
    • Pickled ginger (gari)optional

    • Fish draped over the top with a little overhang, a rounded boat-shaped bottom, one bite.
    • Serve straight away with soy sauce and ginger. Dip the fish side, not the rice.