This fried sushi recipe combines all the best parts of a traditional sushi roll, like sushi rice, tender surimi, fresh avocado, and crisp cucumbers. Then, it's battered, breaded, and fried to crispy golden perfection for a crunch that is just downright delicious!
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The Best Fried Sushi
If you love sushi - like I do - your mind is about to be blown by this fried sushi recipe. I mean, it's definitely not your average sushi roll.
This fried sushi recipe combines simple sushi elements to make the roll, and then it's coated in a sriracha and soy sauce egg mixture, followed by panko breadcrumbs. Then, the sushi gets deep fried for just a few minutes until it's incredibly crispy and crunchy.
Think of the best tempura roll you've ever had - this deep fried sushi is like that but 10x times. Seriously, it's that good!
Something else I love about this fried sushi recipe is the steps are super easy to follow. Even if you've never made homemade sushi before, you'll have no problem making this recipe. Sounds pretty great, right?
Honestly, it's so quick and easy that you can even make this potato mochi or these Chinese green beans to eat with the sushi without breaking a sweat. But with that said, this fried sushi is so darn good you could totally eat it on its own.
Ingredients You'll Need
To make the sushi roll:
- Sushi rice-my Instant Pot sushi rice recipe works great!
- Rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt
- Nori seaweed sheet
- Surimi- sliced into sticks. Imitation crab or crab stick work instead.
- Avocado and cucumber- sliced into sticks for the filling.
For the crunchy breading:
- Sriracha- optional for extra spice.
- Spicy mayonnaise/mayo with sriracha- or regular mayo, kewpie mayo, or cream cheese.
- Egg
- Oyster sauce
- Soy sauce
- Panko breadcrumbs- for the amazing crunch.
- Vegetable oil- or any neutral oil for deep frying.
How To Make Fried Sushi
Now, as I mentioned earlier, you can have this fried sushi roll on the table for dinner in under 15 minutes! And don't worry if you've never made sushi before because each step is so simple and easy to follow.
Basically, you roll out the sushi rice, layer the sushi ingredients on top, and then roll 'em up. After that, all that's left to do is batter the sushi roll and fry it to perfection. Making sushi has never been easier! Anyway, let's not waste any more time; let's get cooking.
Step 1: Make The Sushi Rice
First, if you haven't done so already, make sure you cook the sushi rice. Then, you can take out a bowl - or measuring cup - and combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in it. Next, you'll want to put the cooked rice in a bowl, pour the rice vinegar mixture over the rice, and give it a stir to coat the rice.
Now that the rice is good to go, you can place a sushi mat or bamboo mat on a flat working surface. Then, you'll want to cover the mat with plastic wrap, spread the rice over the bamboo mat, and cover the rice with another piece of plastic wrap.
After that, you can use a rolling pin to roll the rice until you have a rectangle that is slightly larger than your Nori sheet.
Step 2: Build The Sushi Roll
Once the rice is rolled out to a thin layer, you can place the nori sheet shiny side up on top of the rice.
Next, you'll want to spread the spicy mayonnaise in a strip down the center of the nori sheet. Follow that up by placing the surimi, cucumber, and avocado on top of the spicy mayonnaise, and then you can add the oyster sauce on top of the veggies.
Now that the sushi roll is assembled, you're going to roll the sushi firmly into a tight roll.
Step 3: Make The Batter
So, now that you have the sushi rolled, it's time to make the flavorful batter.
First, take out a dish that will be big enough to hold the roll. Then, you can add the egg, soy sauce, and sriracha to the dish - if you want a little spice - and beat them together to combine. After you've taken care of that, you can put all of the breadcrumbs in a separate dish - just make sure it's one that's big enough to hold the sushi.
Now you can coat the sushi on all sides in the egg mixture and roll it through the breadcrumbs so that it's completely covered all the way around the roll.
Step 4: Deep Fry The Sushi
Now it's time to fry the sushi! To start, you'll want to heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet over high heat and place a few paper towels on a plate. Also, just so you know, you can also use a deep fryer to make the fried rolls if you have one.
Anyway, once the oil is hot, you can add the entire sushi roll to it and fry it for a few minutes until it's golden brown. Then, once it's fried, you can transfer the roll to the plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess oil from it.
Step 5: Slice and Serve
Lastly, you're going to transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board and slice it with a sharp knife. Oh, and a little pro tip here is to make sure you coat the knife with some rice vinegar to prevent it from sticking to the sushi. Now you can finally serve your sliced fried rolls with some soy sauce, eel sauce, wasabi paste, or sushi ginger. Enjoy!
How To Store Fried Sushi
This recipe for fried sushi makes 1 large roll, so it's perfect as a large dinner for one or a small dinner for two. Now, your fried sushi is definitely best when it's eaten immediately, and it's so delicious I doubt you'll even have leftovers. However, if you do, you can store your leftover sushi in the fridge in an airtight container for 24 hours.
Then, whenever you want to eat it the next day, it's terrific cold, so you can take it out of the fridge and dig right in!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is fried sushi called?
Fried sushi has a few different names like tempura rolls, Godzilla rolls, uramaki rolls, and deep fried maki. Honestly, there are a ton of different types of fried sushi rolls depending on the filling in the roll and the bread crumbs on the outside.
What is fried sushi made of?
Fried sushi is made of the same ingredients you'd put in a traditional sushi roll. Then, it gets coated in an egg batter and rolled in breadcrumbs to give the sushi even more flavor and a deliciously crunchy crust.
Can you fry up sushi?
Yes, you can absolutely fry up sushi. If you follow this recipe, you can make fried sushi at home that tastes like it's from a restaurant!
More Asian Inspired Recipes
If you liked this easy sushi recipe, we have a bunch of other asian-inspired recipes you can try next!
Here are some of our reader's favorites:
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The ULTIMATE Fried Sushi Recipe (Made In Under 15 Minutes)
This fried sushi recipe combines all the best parts of a traditional sushi roll, like sushi rice, tender surimi, fresh avocado, and crisp cucumbers. Then, it's battered, breaded, and fried to crispy golden perfection for a crunch that is just downright delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked sushi rice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- Salt, to taste
- 1 sheet of Nori Seaweed Sheets
- 2 sticks of Surimi (or imitation crab), sliced into sticks
- ½ small avocado, sliced into sticks
- ½ small cucumber, sliced into sticks
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon spicy mayonnaise (mayo with sriracha)
- 1 small egg
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- Vegetable Oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Pour the mixture over the rice and stir to coat it.
- Place a bamboo mat in front of you. Cover the mat with plastic wrap. Spread the rice over the bamboo mat and cover it with another piece of plastic wrap. Roll the rice until you have a rectangle that is slightly larger than your Nori sheet.
- Once the rice is thinned, place the Nori sheet, shiny side up on top of the rice.
- Spread the spicy mayonnaise through the center. Place the Surimi, cucumber, and avocado over the spicy mayonnaise. Add oyster sauce on top of the veggies.
- Roll the sushi, firmly.
- In a dish that can hold the sushi, beat egg with soy sauce and Sriracha. Place the breadcrumbs in a separate large dish.
- Coat the sushi on all sides with the egg mixture, then roll it through the breadcrumbs.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a large skillet.
- Add sushi and fry until golden brown. Place the sushi on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.
- Slice the sushi with a sharp knife. Make sure you coat the knife with some rice vinegar to prevent it from sticking to the sushi.
- Serve sushi with more spicy mayonnaise, soy sauce, or anything you want.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 sushi rollAmount Per Serving: Calories: 668Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 27g
Maggie S
Made this fried sushi for dinner tonight…soooooooo good 🙂
Paul
I really never want to eat sushi another way again this was insane.
Kim
I made these with cucumber, asparagus, and avocado and the sushi was second to none.
Abigail Nogle
We are obsessed with how good this is. Highly recommend making!!