High Rollers

Luxury kits let you make your own sushi right at home, using the freshest fish from around the world.

by Jeanne O’Brien Coffey

NEXT TIME you want to impress friends or family, consider whipping up a beautiful inside-out salmon-avocado roll encased in tobiko (flying fish roe) at your kitchen island. It sounds tricky—and it does take some practice—but high-end fish purveyors are making the process easier with at-home sushi kits. And after pandemic sourdough and jams, who doesn’t crave something a bit more elegant?

Buying from trusted purveyors ensures that your fish is fresh and safe. You can do the prep work beforehand to impress your guests when they arrive—or you can turn it into an evening activity for all. You just might find that making sushi at home is as much fun as eating it. Ready to roll? The following kits offer generous portions of fish and very fresh ingredients. For those who prefer to leave prepping to the pros, we’ve included one company that does the work for you.

Honolulu Fish Co.: This is the most comprehensive sushi kit on our list, starting with the Nanatsuboshi sushi rice, a highly prized brand imported from Hokkaido, Japan. The kit also comes with a rice paddle for stirring and cooling, a mold for making nigiri, a rolling mat, and premium soy sauce, vinegar, wasabi paste, and nori (of course). With one pound each of Hawaiian ahi, king salmon, and Hawaiian kanpachi, this kit makes a lot of sushi, so be sure to invite friends over for dinner. Even the packaging is gorgeous—the shipping box is covered in a holographic silver laminate skin that reflects 90 percent of radiant heat in transit. More proof of the product’s quality: HFC provides sushi-grade fish to several Michelin-starred restaurants, according to founder and CEO Wayne Samiere. honolulufish.com

Wulf’s Fish: The extensive website of this nearly century-old Boston seafood merchant marks every fish you can eat raw with a sushi logo, making it easy to branch out from tuna and salmon to scallops, Japanese madai, and—best of all—locally farmed and smoked unagi (eel). Availability can be limited for special offerings like firefly squid and madai, rarely found outside Japan. Unlike other brands, Wulf’s fish is shipped frozen, using a special technique to preserve texture and flavor, meaning you can decide when to eat it rather than rushing to consume the fresh products within a few days. Since the FDA recommends that all fish eaten raw should be flash-frozen to kill parasites, any sushi was likely frozen at some point anyway. wulfsfish.com

Blue Ribbon Sushi: This is a turnkey kit—the rice even comes cooked and seasoned, so you just have to gently reheat it. The fish arrive sliced, and the kit is shipped with a perfectly ripe avocado and sliced scallions, as well as the accoutrements that made Blue Ribbon famous, like barrel-aged soy sauce and real fresh-grated wasabi. Order the DIY kit for four to six and you’ll get grade-A tuna, Norwegian salmon, ebi shrimp, and Japanese hamachi—the same quality served at Blue Ribbon restaurants. Getting the consistency of the rice right can be tricky; try steaming rather than microwaving it to warm it. goldbelly.com

Ten Homakase does it all: Just invite your friends and enjoy a seasonal gourmet meal prepared in your home.

Ten Homakase: Whether you want a multicourse omakase menu served in your home or in-person rolling lessons taught by an expert chef, this pandemicinspired luxury home caterer has your back. Launched in 2020, it operates in markets along the East Coast, providing everything but a table, chairs, and glassware for a perfect evening in. Ten Homakase can even bring the sake. Menus are sourced seasonally, with a dinner typically consisting of appetizers like Wagyu beef tartare, hamachi with Serrano peppers, and whitefish and scallop ceviche, followed by a dozen or more pieces of nigiri. tenhomakase.com