Need a utensil to roll the sushi ? Here is the makisu, a very practical bamboo mat that takes up little space, presentation :
Makisu, bamboo mat
A makisu 巻き簾 is a rectangular shaped mat made of bamboo stalks connected by a white cotton string. These stalks are either round, flat or triangular in shape.
They come in different sizes, usually 20cm x 22cm for rolling sushi, one side pale which is laid on the outside while the other side is shiny.
Other sizes of makisu are much larger and thicker to make patterns on the rolls.
They are available in silicone plastic but the bamboo version is still the most traditional. It can be easily washed by hand with a sponge, and is dishwasher safe.
Its uses
This utensil is generally used to make maki ! The maki are rice rolls surrounded by a sheet of nori (seaweed) and filled with raw fish, vegetables wasabidepending on the recipe. The makisu makes it possible to make stick the rice and its filling with the sheet of nori. This is a very important step in the making of maki because it is here that the roll is given its shape.
You can also make california roll (the nori sheet is then inside), futo maki, very big maki with a lot of ingredients inside… as well as all the maki variants.
The makisu is also used to make tamagoyaki. The makisu is also used to make a Japanese omelette which, once rolled up, is compressed thanks to the makisu. You just have to roll it up and tie it with rubber bands to cool the tamagoyaki. Depending on the makisu used, you can create original shapes to this omelet.
The makisu is also used to remove excess water. In particular, it can be used to squeeze out vegetables by rolling them up directly after cooking, like spinach for example.
A piece of advice: the makisu allows to maintain the whole of your preparation, it is thus necessary neither to exaggerate by crushing the products nor to miss grip. You have to find the right balance so that the maki, the tamagoyaki and the vegetables hold together in the mouth but the whole thing is light.
Where to get it?
In France, you can easily find makisu under the name of sushi mat in Asian grocery stores, in cooking stores, in bookshops with sushi boxes. It is a common utensil in France thanks to the sushi boom.
In Japan, you can easily find it in kitchen stores and especially in 100 yen shops, stores that we can compare to BHV, Casa, Hema… but where each product costs 100 yen, about 0.80 euro cents according to the yen rate, so it’s not expensive!
And of course you can easily find them on the internet for about 3€ and in silicone for about 12€.
