Rinse rice in fine mesh strainer under cold water for a few minutes then shake off excess water. Place into large sauce pot along with water. Cook covered over low/medium heat, bring to a simmer, turn heat down to low and cook just until water is evaporated - about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
In small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook over low heat and stir until dissolved. Pour over prepared rice, stir with wooden spoon, cover rice and let stand for at least 30 minutes before using. Let the rice cool enough so it's just warm to touch.
Other ingredients/tools needed, all based on preference: wooden bamboo rolling mat dried nori seaweed sheets
fillings: sliced smoked salmon sushi-grade raw salmon, tuna, albacore or scallops (cannot be previously frozen!) cooked real crab, lobster or shrimp fresh tobiko (fish eggs) diced green onions sliced cucumber fresh asparagus avocado
sauces: cream cheese or sweet Japanese mayonnaise eel sauce wasabi sauce spicy mayo - combine regular mayonnaise with sirachyia sauce tamari/soy sauce
Some of my favorite combinations: (Tuna, Salmon, cream cheese, tobiko, avocado; topped with smoked salmon, eel sauce, sweet mayo, tobiko, green onions) (Cooked lobster with cream cheese, raw bay scallops; topped with tuna, sweet mayo, eel sauce and a touch of sriracha sauce) (Tuna, sriracha sauce or spicy mayo, asparagus, cream cheese; tempura deep-fried roll topped with spicy mayo, black tobiko, green onions, eel sauce)
