Hosomaki (細巻き) – Thin Sushi Rolls with Cucumber and Salmon

Hosomaki are the thin maki rolls with the nori sheet on the outside and exactly one filling. With cucumber they are called kappamaki, with salmon sakemaki. For one roll you need half a nori sheet, about 100 g sushi rice and a strip of filling as thick as a pencil. You cut six pieces from each roll.

By Laura Chen · November 4, 2026

1 Stdtotal

3servings

470kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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Lay the rough side of the nori up and spread the rice thinly over it with wet fingers. At the top leave a 1 cm border, where the roll later seals shut. Do not press the rice down firmly, or the roll turns hard. With the bamboo mat you form the roll in one motion and then press it lightly square. For clean cuts, wipe the knife with a damp cloth before every cut.

The basis is sushi rice with seasoned vinegar. Once the thin rolls work, try uramaki with the rice on the outside or shape nigiri by hand. Without a mat, temaki works, and you roll the cones right in your hand.

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Hosomaki (細巻き) – Thin Sushi Rolls with Cucumber and Salmon

Name: Hosomaki (細巻き) – Thin Sushi Rolls with Cucumber and Salmon
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 300 g sushi rice (Japanese short-grain rice); 360 ml water; 3 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 3 nori sheets (roasted seaweed sheets), halved; 1/2 salad cucumber; 150 g sushi-grade salmon fillet, skinless; 1 tsp wasabi paste; 1 tsp white sesame seeds, optional; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 30 g pickled ginger (gari)

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

40 minutes

Cook time

20 minutes

Calories

470

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

For the rice:

300 g sushi rice (Japanese short-grain rice)
360 ml water
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

For the rolls:

3 nori sheets (roasted seaweed sheets), halved
1/2 salad cucumber
150 g sushi-grade salmon fillet, skinless
1 tsp wasabi paste
1 tsp white sesame seeds, optional

To serve:

4 tbsp soy sauce
30 g pickled ginger (gari)

Instructions

Cook the sushi rice as in the basic sushi rice recipe and mix it with the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it cool to room temperature.
Quarter the cucumber lengthwise, cut out the seeds and cut it into sticks 1 cm wide. Cut the salmon into strips 1 cm thick.
Set out a bowl of water with a splash of rice vinegar. Lay a nori half on the bamboo mat with the rough side up and the long side toward you.
With wet fingers spread about 100 g rice thinly over the nori and leave a 1 cm border at the top. Spread a thin line of wasabi across the middle.
Lay a cucumber or salmon strip on the wasabi. Lift the mat at the front edge and roll the rice over the filling until the lower edge of the rice meets the rice at the top.
Press the roll gently together in the mat, roll it on to the free border and let it lie seam side down for 1 minute. Form all six rolls this way.
With a wet, sharp knife, cut each roll first in half, lay the halves side by side and divide them into three pieces each. Serve them with soy sauce and ginger.

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Hosomaki (細巻き) – Thin Sushi Rolls with Cucumber and Salmon

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Hosomaki (細巻き) – Thin Sushi Rolls with Cucumber and Salmon

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