The Safety Rules You Need To Follow When Making Sushi At Home

There comes a time in every sushi lover's life when they think, "Could I make this at home?" After all, a trip to your local sushi joint for a night of omakase, where the chef wows you with their most impressive dishes, is getting pretty costly these days. Sushi isn't all that difficult to make at home as long as you have the right tools, a good recipe for sushi rice, and a solid understanding of food safety (since you'll be serving raw fish). For some expert advice on safely making maki and nigiri at home, we reached out to George Ruan, the chef of Jōji in New York City. The most important practice, he said, is to keep things cold.

"Make sure the fish temperature stays below 42 degrees Fahrenheit," said the chef, whose sushi restaurant has earned a prestigious Michelin star. Keeping the temperature at the very low end of the temperature danger zone, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture says is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, is the safest way to handle raw fish.

The best way to keep your fish at cooler temperatures is to work with only a little bit at a time. Keep anything that you're not slicing or rolling into homemade maki (which is pretty easy, by the way) in the fridge, and if you feel the fish starting to warm up, pop it back in the cooler for a few minutes to chill it back to the proper temperature. This is why every sushi bar has that refrigerated glass case — it's not just for ogling the fish. It's also to keep the fish cold between orders.

The other important safety step when you're making sushi, according to chef George Ruan, is to pay extra attention to cleanliness, including your hands. "Always make sure all surfaces are wiped clean as often as possible," said Ruan, adding, "and always wear gloves." Keep in mind that once sushi ingredients are at the rolling stage, there won't be any more heat from cooking to kill any lingering foodborne pathogens (and in many cases the fish isn't cooked at all). So anything that touches your food, like a dirty knife, cutting board, or hands, can increase the chance that someone could get sick from your homemade sushi. Keep a bowl or small bucket of sanitizing liquid nearby so you can wipe things down quickly between rolls, and you won't have to worry about contaminating all your hard work.