In the 15 years that I've been teaching my beginner sushi class, I've always featured 5 sauces: spicy mayo, eel sauce, sweet chili sauce and sriracha. We do a deep dive on all 5 & I've always had to tell people that eel sauce is much easier to buy than it is to make. Until a couple of weeks ago I had to tell them they had to go to an Asian grocer for their favorite sauce, while the others are all available at their local grocery, but we've just started seeing Kikkoman Unagi Sauce on WalMart shelves! Check your local grocery Asian/International section and let the rest of us know if your store sells it🍣

Try a different style of rolling by making a "fat roll". These rolls are quick, easy and because we're rolling with the nori vertical, we can put more/larger ingredients inside. When I worked at the beach, we'd put an entire fried soft-shell crab inside a futo maki (with the legs sticking out of the ends). These are also great for a quick snack for the chef while you're prepping for a party or a group! Post pics if you make your own!

Years ago I taught a class and one of the students was the local owner of the chain restaurant that originated BangBang Shrimp. It became so popular that it seems like every menu has some version of it; whether they call it BoomBoom, Dynamite or something else the recipe is easy to make (especially if you're a sushi maker!). There are 5 ingredients but we only use the first 3 😙 Mayo Sriracha Sweet Chili Sauce ( the "official" restaurant recipe also contains lemon juice and seasoned rice wine vinegar) Mix your mayo + sriracha first to ensure you have the heat level you want then slowly stir in sweet chili, tasting as you go until you find that perfect sweet/heat combo that is so delicious on everything from shrimp to chicken nuggets. Note: if you've already made/bought spicy mayo, you only need to add sweet chili Did you know that you can make this sauce at ChickFilA? Ask for the sweet and spicy sriracha dipping sauce. It has a green top. Mix this with a mayo packet. Chef hack: Ask for a salad bowl, a lid, the sauce, the mayo and order nuggets. Toss everything in the salad bowl and enjoy. I like it with a kale salad! Pictured below: bang bang shrimp w/shelled edamame, topped with masago and microgreens

If you’ve taken a class with me in the past, I want to hear from you. 👉 Where did you take your class? 👉 About how long ago was it? 👉 Have you made sushi since then? I LOVE seeing familiar names pop back up ❤️ If you have a photo of something you’ve made, drop it below!

What brand of crab do you recommend for california rolls? If it matters, we actually prefer the "crab salad" style california rolls over the solid chunk of crab.