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Quick Ice Cube Tray Homemade Sushi

Name: Quick Ice Cube Tray Homemade Sushi
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked short grain rice (1 cup dry rice cooked with 3 cups water); 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp black sesame seeds; 1/4-1/2 cucumber, sliced or shaved thin; 1 avocado, thinly sliced into square/rectangles; 1/2 fresh mango, thinly sliced into square/rectangles; 1-2 slices smoked salmon, cut into square/rectangles; crispy onions or garlic; 1/4 cup vegan or regular mayonnaise; 1/4 cup hot sauce; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tsp rice vinegar; soy sauce, tamari and seaweed crisps for serving; black or white sesame seeds for garnish

Last Updated: September 29, 2023

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Prep

10 minutes

Yield

14 sushi pieces

This homemade sushi recipe uses the ultimate sushi hack - an ice cube tray! Making it an easy, 10-minute lunch to whip up.

If you don’t love sushi then there must be something wrong with you. Okay, that’s a bold statement. But seriously, sushi is so dang delicious. The bite-sized salty, and fresh pieces of sushi make for such a great quick lunch that’s filling and satisfying. Many people don’t realize how easy it can actually be to make your own sushi at home so I’m here to show you my ultimate sushi hack for homemade sushi – how to make sushi in ice cube tray! Yep, you heard correctly, AN ICE CUBE TRAY!

Why you’ll love this homemade sushi:

Easy: This homemade sushi will only take you 10-minutes to put together. It’s that easy!
Equipment: You’ll need limited equipment for this sushi recipe. You won’t need a fancy rolling mat or anything like that, just an ice cube tray!
Delicious: This ice cub tray sushi is a delicious and unique lunch for when you want to switch it up a little bit

Ingredient Notes:

Rice Vinegar: Rice vinegar is essential to seasoning your rice when making sushi. This vinegar is made from fermented rice and is used for seasoning, dressing, and dipping in many cuisines and dishes.

Tamari: Tamari is the Japanese version and soy sauce is the more commonly known Chinese variety. It’s a little thicker and less salty than soy sauce but you can use these two interchangeably if you have one over the other.

Smoked Salmon: You can obviously make/top your sushi with anything you like but I love the smokiness of smoked salmon. This can be found in the fish section of your grocery store. Costco also sells prepacked smoked salmon that is individually wrapped and you can take it out as you need it.

How to make sushi in ice cube tray:

Make the rice in your preferred method (we like the ratio of 1 cup short grain rice to 3 cups water to ensure its a stick rice), then mix in black sesame seeds and rice vinegar. Set aside.
Make the mayonnaise hot sauce by combining all of the ingredients, mixing together and then set aside.
Prepare the ice cube tray but lining it with plastic wrap and press down into each ice cube section so each slot is covered (our ice cube tray had 14 slots).
To assemble the sushi, line the bottom of the tray with desired ingredients, for example: thinly sliced cucumber & avocado, smoked salmon and avocado, mango etc. Make whichever combinations of ingredients you like – we find that 1-2 layers works well. Sprinkle in crispy onion or garlic to each slot if desired or save them for a garnish.
Once all of the layers are created / all of the ice cube slots are full, add in the rice to each section, pressing down to help flatten the rice and adhere it to the first layer of toppings.
Place a cutting board or plate on top of the ice cube tray and quickly flip it over. Life the ice cube tray up and off of the sushi, then gently remove the plastic wrap. The sushi pieces should stay together but if some don’t, just gently put them back together.
Top the sushi pieces with spicy mayonnaise, crispy onions or garlic (if you didn’t use when making the sushi) and sesame seeds. Use a seaweed crisp to pickup pieces or dip into soy sauce or tamari and enjoy!

Expert Tips & FAQ:

What can I freeze in an ice cube tray? Ice cube trays are so versatile and can be used for way more than just ice. Some other ways you can use them is by freezing leftover tomato paste, wine (to use in recipes like stews), coffee (to add to your iced coffees to avoid watering it down), milk (especially creams or coconut milk that you may only use part of when making a recipe), and those are just a few to name.

Is it cheaper to make your own sushi? This entirely depends on what kind of sushi you are planning to make but generally, yes. Ingredients like nori sheets, and sushi rice are not expensive at all and you can buy a ton for a low price. If you are making veggie sushi, that’s inexpensive as well, the only time it can get pricey is if you are needing certain kinds of premium raw fish.

Is rice vinegar a must for sushi? Rice vinegar is an essential ingredient for seasoning your sushi rice to give it flavor. You don’t HAVE to use it but it’ll make your sushi rice very bland without it.

What makes sushi rice sticky? When using sushi rice specifically, it has a higher starch content than other varieties which gives it a sticky texture, allowing you to easily shape it into rolls, etc.

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