The Ultimate Sushi Party Guide: Tips, Recipes, and Ideas

Planning to host a sushi party? Here’s a comprehensive guide just for you. You’ll learn how to make sushi rice, a selection of sushi to serve, equipment & tools, snack & beverage ideas, and many other useful tips for a successful sushi feast. 

Are you gearing up for the holiday party season? Today’s theme is all about how to host a sushi party. I promise it’s going to be a fun, hands-on culinary experience that your guests will never forget!

Are you ready to invite your foodie friends and enjoy a memorable sushi feast? Let’s get rolling!

How to Host a Successful Sushi Party

Feeling intimidated? Don’t be. Rolling sushi is easier than you think. You can keep the party as simple or as elaborate as you like.

The guide I’ve put together below will help jump-start your planning. You’ll learn how to cook sushi rice, select sushi to prepare, gather must-have equipment, and more. There are also delicious Japanese snack ideas, a salad with carrot-ginger dressing, matcha ice cream, and cookies on the menu.

Step 1: How to Cook Sushi Rice

Perfect sushi rice is the key to a successful sushi party. You can make the sushi rice up to 4 hours ahead; cover and let it stand at room temperature until ready to serve. For directions on how to make sushi rice, you can watch this video or read the recipe from the How to Make Sushi Rice post.

Step 2: Identify Types of Sushi and Fillings to Serve

There are many different types of sushi you can make for the party. Below are some of the easy sushi recipes with step-by-step instructions, video tutorials, and plenty of good tips for you to choose from.

Temaki Sushi (Hand Roll)

Made of cone-shaped seaweed filled with rice and fillings, Temaki Sushi (手巻き寿司), or Hand Roll Sushi, can be assembled without any slicing involved. It is my favorite type of sushi to serve at parties. Since it doesn’t require any bamboo mat or slicing, your guests just need to place some rice and their favorite ingredients in the corner of the nori sheet, then roll into a cone, and dig in!

Hosomaki (Thin Sushi Rolls)

To make Hosomaki (細巻き), or Thin Sushi Rolls, you can choose a few easy ingredients—cucumber, tuna, avocado, bell pepper, asparagus, carrot, Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette), or imitation crab—as the main fillings and slice them into small pieces. Have the bamboo mats ready and let the guests do the rolling and slicing. These popular sushi rolls are perfect for first-timers to practice their sushi-making skill.

Nigiri Sushi

Another common type of sushi, Nigiri Sushi (握り寿司), refers to sushi with a slice of raw fish on top of a rice pillow. This sushi makes a special treat for guests that appreciate raw fish and seafood.

Mosaic Sushi

This colorful Mosaic Sushi (モザイク寿司) features sashimi, Tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelette), and vegetables arranged in a checkerboard pattern over sushi rice. It’s a feast for the senses! Despite its exquisite presentation, anyone can make this modern take on sushi at home. Vegetarian/vegan-friendly toppings are included!

Temari Sushi

Named after the traditional Japanese embroidered balls, this colorful ball-shaped Temari Sushi is often served during happy occasions like Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day) in Japan. Kids & adults alike will have fun making and eating these beautiful sushi balls!

Other Popular Sushi

• California Roll
• Dragon Roll
• Vegetarian Sushi
• Spicy Tuna Roll
• Futomaki (Thick Sushi Roll)
• Browse more sushi recipes on Just One Cookbook

Tips on Choosing the Sushi Fillings:

• Be flexible and creative with your sushi fillings. From vegetarian to gluten-free, you can easily consider the diet preferences of your guests. If there are kids at the party, you can even use seasonal fruits, omelet, ham/turkey slices, or cheese as fillings.
• Pick around 6-8 ingredients that are easily accessible to you.

Step 3: Prepare the Condiments

You will have to enjoy your homemade sushi with some condiments such as:

• Soy sauce or tamari
• Homemade spicy mayo
• Ponzu sauce (citrus soy sauce)
• Homemade pickled ginger or store-bought
• Wasabi

Step 4: The Extras (Appetizers, Sides, Desserts, and Snacks)

When your guests ask what to bring along for the sushi party, don’t be shy to enlist them to bring some snacks, appetizers, desserts, or beverages. Most of these items are available at Japanese grocery stores, Asian grocery stores, or some major grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s or Costco. And if you are up for it, you can make two or three sides to round up the feast.

Appetizers:

• Homemade Gyoza (or store-bought)
• Chicken Karaage
• Salted Chicken Wings
• Japanese Sake-Steamed Clams
• Agedashi Tofu

Salads:

• Cucumber Salad
• Crab Salad with Ponzu-Mayonnaise Dressing
• Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
• Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing
• Hijiki Seaweed Salad

Soups:

• Miso Soup
• Clear Clam Soup
• Vegan Miso Soup

Desserts:

• Mochi Ice Cream or Green Tea Ice Cream
• Matcha Cookies or homemade Green Tea Chocolate
• Castella (Japanese Sponge Cake) 
• Coffee Jelly or Hojicha Jelly

Fun Snacks:

• Edamame or Spicy Edamame
• Furikake Chex Mix
• Wasabi-flavored rice crackers or Homemade Rice Crackers
• Various nuts
• An assortment of Japanese snacks you can pick up from Japanese or Asian grocery stores – Pocky sticks, Japanese-flavored Kit Kat, wasabi peas, Japanese potato chips, etc.

Beverages:

• Matcha (traditional green tea)
• Iced Green Tea Latte or hot green tea
• Beer (Read our Japanese Beer Guide)
• Sake or Sake Mojito
• Rose wine or champagne

Step 5: Equipment and Tools

You will need:

• A few cutting boards (one for every 2-3 people).
• A few pairs of sharp knives.
• A few sets of bamboo sushi mats for making sushi rolls. I found this cool set of sushi oke/hangiri, bamboo mat, and rice paddles on Amazon. If you’re planning to throw a sushi party often, this is a must!
• Small bowls of hand-dipping water by combining ¼ cup of water with 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar. This helps to prevent rice from sticking to your hands.
• Utensils (chopsticks), dinnerware (plates and dipping sauce plates), and serveware (large platters).

You can also ask your guests to bring along any of the equipment they might have at home.

Step 6: Setting the Table and Decorations

Arrange all the sushi ingredients at the center of your table or the serving station. Set up each cutting board with a small bowl of vinegar hand-dipping water and the other equipment you may need.

For decorations, you can accent the sets with origami, Japanese lanterns, river rock pebbles, or paper fans. Bonsai makes an impressive centerpiece too.

Step 7: Prepping the Ingredients

You can make the sushi rice 4 hours before your guests arrive. Cover it with a moist kitchen towel. Pre-cut your ingredients into small or thin slices and place them on serving platters. You can also make it a team effort to help with the preparation as part of the activity.

Step 8: Enjoy the Sushi Party!

Once you have everything spread out at the table, it’s time to do the spreading, layering, tucking, and rolling the sushi! Enjoy with any extras you might be serving, like salad, gyoza, or soup. Not every sushi will turn out to be picture-perfect, but they will still taste delicious, and most importantly everyone has fun at the sushi party!

Itadakimasu (bon appetite)!

Games and Activities for Your Sushi Party

We recommend these Japanese-designed and Japanese-themed board games, such as:

• Tokaido Board Game, a popular exploration game for adults and kids, ages 8+
• Hanami card game, a quick unique fun game for up to 5 players
• Sushi Go Game, this one lives up to the sushi party!
• Machi Koro Board Game, a fast-paced dice rolling strategy game, ages 10+
• Ticket to Ride Japan Family Board Game, the best game to explore and learn about Japan
• Arcane Wonders Onitama Board Game
• Takenoko Board Game
• Funforge Namiji Board Game

Other fun activities:

• Origami – Set up activity corners with origami papers (with instructions) and everyone can hone their skills in this Japanese art.
• Trivia – Place trivia questions about Japan at different corners of the house. They make some really good conversation starters!
• A Japanese-themed photo booth – Set out a colorful backdrop and fun props (kimonos, yukata, or ninja costumes). Your guests will love striking a pose!

More Party Recipes You’ll Love

• Our Best Holiday Recipes for The Unforgettable Feast
• 15 Japanese Desserts to Celebrate the Seasons
• 10 Easy Holiday Appetizers, Salads, & Desserts

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