No Seven Fillings or Bamboo Mat Needed: Ryuji's "Screw-It Ehomaki"

According to Ryuji, an ehomaki isn't an ehomaki unless it has seven kinds of fillings. So trying to make one means gathering seven ingredients, which leads to the question, "Who's gonna make that?" That, Ryuji says, is why they had avoided it until now.

Ryuji decided to make it anyway because the appeal of ehomaki is its shape, so maybe the seven fillings aren't necessary. But if they changed the definition and called it "Ultimate," people would flood in asking whether Ryuji even knows what an ehomaki is. So, Ryuji jokes, if you call it "screw-it," you can do whatever you want. Ryuji laughs at themself, saying, "This kind of thinking is why the purists flame me," but the staff said that making it at home is a high bar, so they'd be happier with something this low-effort.

The recipe wasn't decided in advance; the staff bought a variety of ingredients, and Ryuji put it together on the spot. The stars are seafood: negitoro, and tuna with avocado. From a conversation about how meat is good too, a kimbap-style roll with ground pork and carrot was added, making three kinds in total.

Ryuji explains that each roll needs about 160 g of rice. This time, about 600 g of frozen rice is fully thawed for use. They started by heating it at 600 W for about 2 minutes.

They wanted yellow for color, so egg went in too, but Ryuji says rolling tamagoyaki is "seriously a pain." Their position is that if you tell people "roll an omelet," they know nobody will do it. So they tried thinly oiling a flat food container, spreading beaten egg in it, and microwaving it. Two eggs are used, with 1 tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt added so it doesn't get too firm. When the staff asked whether the cooking time changes with the amount of egg, Ryuji answered, "I've never done it, so I don't know," adding that this is screw-it cooking, so that's fine. Ryuji also said that improvising like this is when they're happiest cooking.

The cooked egg is removed from the container and cut into long strips. Thanks to the container's shape, it came out like the egg you find in supermarket ehomaki. Even if the shape is a little off, Ryuji says, no one can tell once it's inside.

Partway through, Ryuji talked about supermarket ehomaki. It's long been said that large quantities go unsold and a lot gets thrown away. So why not just make it ourselves? Ryuji also added that as long as an ehomaki is stick-shaped, that's good enough.

Each ingredient's cut and choice came with a reason. The cucumber is cut lengthwise into long, thin strips. It's paired with negitoro because negitoro has a soft texture, so something crunchy helps. A block of tuna costs about 1,000 yen near Ryuji's home. It's not something they buy often, but they say the day they buy it makes them happy all day, and they cut it lengthwise to use.

The avocado is split by running the knife all the way around the pit. But it's cut right before rolling, because if left sitting after cutting it oxidizes and turns black.

For the carrot in the kimbap-style roll, about 80 g is julienned with a julienne slicer. Long pieces are hard, so it's julienned and microwaved for 1–2 minutes to make something like namul. It can be eaten raw, but Ryuji explains that the carrot in kimbap is always cooked and seasoned namul-style. Ryuji also noted that kimbap is now sold even at convenience stores, and if it's sold everywhere, that means it can be made anywhere.

About 100 g of ground pork is used. Season lightly with salt and pepper, add about 2 tablespoons of yakiniku sauce, and just stir-fry it sweet and savory. If moisture remains it gets soggy, so it's important to cook it off thoroughly. Ryuji told viewers there's no need to make all of them, and to pick only the ones that look tasty.

Rice vinegar is preferable for sushi rice, but that day there was only regular vinegar. Ryuji explains that rice vinegar has a milder acidity and tastes better. For 600 g of rice, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 pinches of salt, and a little MSG. Ryuji says they learned this ratio from the father of their friend "Miya," who is a sushi chef.

Ryuji elaborates later on why MSG is added. It removes vinegar's unpleasant sourness and makes it easier to eat. Store-bought sushi vinegar also contains umami seasoning, so the aim is to get closer to that.

The key point is to mix in the vinegar while the rice is still warm, then let it cool and settle. A sushi tub would really be best, but Ryuji proceeds on the assumption that most people don't own one. If you only want to make one roll, use a third of the ingredients. This sushi rice is good enough for hand-rolled sushi too, and you can add more vinegar to taste.

During rolling, too, Ryuji repeats that "everyone overthinks it." The idea that you can't do it without a bamboo mat is a misconception; there are many ways, such as using a plastic wrap tube. And it doesn't need to be rolled neatly in the first place.

Full-size nori sheets have a front and a back. The shiny side is the front, but honestly, Ryuji says, either side is fine. The taste doesn't change, only the appearance.

Place the nori on plastic wrap, divide the cooled sushi rice into three portions, and spread it thinly. How you spread it can be rough, but if you use too much rice, "it just turns into rice," so it's best to keep it moderate.

The first roll is tuna and avocado, with tuna, egg, and avocado lined up. If the egg is too long, just cut it. At one point Ryuji misspoke about the combination of fillings, but carried on without worrying about it. Push the fillings toward you, lift the wrap and all to bring it together, roll once more, and it's done. You can carry it around still wrapped. When cut, the fillings sat right in the center, and the staff agreed that a bamboo mat is unnecessary. Bamboo mats are "for professionals," Ryuji says.

The tuna and avocado combination is also delicious with cream cheese added, and the variations are endless. Ryuji also says this doesn't have to be limited to February; you can eat it any time as a nori roll.

The second roll pairs negitoro with cucumber for texture. Then, in a "it's gotta be natto" moment, natto was added, and green onion was sprinkled on too. Ryuji emphasized that store-bought ehomaki rarely contains natto, so this is a combination you can only do at home. About four fillings is plenty for an ehomaki.

A tip for when there are lots of fillings was also shown. Place the fillings slightly toward you, and use the plastic wrap to set the shape with the first turn, as if drawing the hiragana character "の." Lift it once, roll it again, shape it, and then just roll it up. You can bite into it whole, but Ryuji personally thinks it's easier to eat cut. It's also good for making with kids, and all you need is full-size toasted nori. Ehomaki is expensive, so this ends up more lavish than buying a mediocre one, Ryuji said.

For the kimbap-style third roll, the cooked carrot was tossed with 2 pinches of salt, 2 shakes of Ajinomoto, and 1½ tablespoons of sesame oil to make namul. It goes well with the ground pork and becomes a bit bibimbap-like. With three rolls, that much variation in flavor is a good idea, Ryuji judged.

During this, Ryuji said, "Making dishes I've never made is the most fun." Since they also did nanakusa-gayu this year, Ryuji said they intend to keep doing seasonal dishes like this regardless of whether the videos get views. Incidentally, Ryuji doesn't eat ehomaki every year and wouldn't make it just for themself; they only make it if someone says they want to eat it.

Divided into three, the rice came out to exactly about 200 g per roll. Carrot and the stir-fried ground pork were added, along with the leftover egg and sesame seeds. Then a line of gochujang was squeezed from a tube, and mayonnaise was added too. The fillings got to be too much, but in the end Ryuji pressed down firmly and managed to roll it up.

The three rolls were cut and the cross-sections checked. Time had passed, so the nori had gone soft, but every roll had its fillings in the center. Ryuji said, "It's so pretty you'd never think it was screw-it," and reflected that spinach would have been nice too. On Setsubun, the custom is to face the lucky direction and eat the roll whole, and anyone who wants to should do that. But Ryuji's opinion is that ehomaki is definitely tastier cut.

There were also suggestions on how to eat them. The tuna-avocado roll is eaten with mayonnaise and soy sauce, because mayo goes well with avocado; Ryuji admits it's "a little unorthodox." The natto roll should be cut a bit thinner and eaten in one bite with just soy sauce. The kimbap-style roll is already seasoned with gochujang and mayo, so eat it as is or with just a little dip.

The tuna-avocado roll was "the most standard one," and everyone said it was "delicious." The biggest reaction was to the natto roll. Ryuji kept saying, "Why is this so good?" and "I'm glad we did this." The staff said it was good enough that they'd buy it if it were sold, some asked for seconds, and "natto was a huge hit."

Ryuji had predicted beforehand that the kimbap-style roll would "probably be the best." After eating it, Ryuji said, "Effort and flavor really aren't proportional, huh," and rated it so highly that it could have been turned into a recipe simply as kimbap. However, everyone agreed that it was less an ehomaki and more just kimbap.

Making all three took less than an hour. The fillings can be anything, imitation crab or tuna mayo, and once you know how to roll and how to make the rice, you can adapt it freely. Ryuji cited this as the recipe's advantage. When a staff member said they had imagined something sloppier from the word "screw-it," Ryuji replied that even without being sloppy, you can roll it this nicely. And the vinegar used was regular vinegar, not rice vinegar.

Filming took place on January 26, with the hope that everyone would make it now ahead of Setsubun. When a staff member said, "Won't this get a lot of views?" Ryuji replied that views aside, once an easy ehomaki is introduced, the video stays up. Next year and the year after, there may be people searching for an easy ehomaki. That's why Ryuji wants to strengthen seasonal recipes this year.

Ryuji revealed that they had initially considered getting by with just cucumber and imitation crab, but reconsidered, since ehomaki is, after all, a celebration, so it's better if everyone is happy. The staff said that watching this would change people's perception of how hard ehomaki is, and Ryuji responded that their own thinking had changed quite a bit from 30 minutes earlier.

Finally, Ryuji encouraged viewers to make the same thing or to adapt it, such as putting lettuce in the kimbap. It's fun to make with kids and can be done like hand-rolled sushi, so try it with your favorite fillings, Ryuji said, closing the video.