Sourcing Ingredients for Sushi at Home

This page covers sourcing sushi ingredients other than fish and seafood, if you're looking for how to find sushi quality fish please see the Sourcing Fish for Sushi at Home guide! Please note, this guide is written assuming you're in the United States and may not be accurate for readers from other countries.

Finding the right ingredients for making sushi at home goes beyond just the fish. Other necessary ingredients like nori (seaweed wrapping), sushi rice, and some sauces may be difficult to find at your usual grocery store. Depending on where you live you may be able to find everything you need at local stores, but if that isn't the case, most shelf stable items can be found online through Amazon (likely with a markup).

First things first - What do you need?

The ingredients you need will vary depending on what you choose to make, but here's what you'll need to get started with most recipes. Once you decide what you want to make, check through the ingredients needed for each recipe and put together your list. Each recipe page has a list of ingredients with notes about where to find them, so make sure you read the information provided there!

Basic stuff you probably already have:

• Sugar (for seasoning sushi rice)
• Salt (for seasoning sushi rice)
• Lemon juice (for flavoring some filling mixes)
• Soy sauce
• Cream cheese

Stuff you might not have, but should be able to get at a regular grocery store:

• Rice vinegar (For seasoning sushi rice. I don't recommend substituting other kinds of vinegar because it will affect the taste of the rice.)
• Sriracha sauce (for making spicy tuna/salmon/crab)
• Imitation crab stick
• Toasted sesame oil
• Produce such as avocados, cucumbers, and green onion
• Toasted sesame seeds

Specialty items (you may have to search for these, which we'll discuss below):

• Nori (seaweed wrapping for sushi rolls)
• Sushi rice (particular varieties of rice are the best to use for sushi, I don't recommend substituting just any rice)
• Japanese mayo (this is different from normal mayo, I recommend getting Japanese mayo if possible)
• Other sauces such as: Spicy mayo (flavored Japanese mayo), Eel sauce, and Japanese BBQ sauce
• Toppings such as: black sesame seeds, chili crisp, and tempura crunch (tenkasu)

Finding Specialty Items in a Major Grocery Store

If you have access to a large, well stocked American grocery store (like a Kroger) it will likely have an "Asian foods" aisle. Here you can find many of the items you need, but likely at a higher cost (and with fewer options) than an Asian grocery store. The chain grocery store near my home carries nori, sushi rice, Japanese mayo, eel sauce, and more in their "Asian foods" aisle. Consider checking what yours has to offer before going out of your way, you may find everything you need!

Locating an Asian Grocery Store

An Asian grocery store (Japanese if possible) will be the best place to shop for specialty sushi ingredients, however they can be hard to come by in some areas. If you live near a major city you should have access to at least a few options, but if you're located in a smaller city this option may not be available to you. If you've read the How to Source Fish for Sushi guide, you already know that this is also my #1 recommendation for purchasing sushi fish.

A Japanese grocery store will have the best selection of ingredients for sushi, but all Asian grocery stores (Korean, Chinese, Pan-Asian, etc.) tend to carry the basics. Try searching for “Japanese grocery stores near me” on Google, or click this link to check! If you don't have luck with that, try searching for “Asian grocery stores near me” on Google, or click this link to check!

Finding Specialty Items Online

If you have trouble finding ingredients locally (or just want the convenience of delivery to your door), buying items online is another option available to you! Amazon carries pretty much everything you need to get started making sushi other than the fresh ingredients - so you can pick up nori, sushi rice, sauces, and more online. These items tend to be more expensive than buying locally, so consider seeking out a local source before you choose to buy online.

I provide links to most items on Amazon in the ingredient summaries before each recipe, and in the ingredient list of each recipe. You can use these links to get a feel for what the items look like and what brands I recommend, even if you plan to purchase the item locally. You can check out my lists of recommended items here!

Building up Your Pantry

When you first start making sushi at home, you'll have to buy many of the staple ingredients like the rice, sauces, and toppings. Most of these items keep for a long time when properly stored in the fridge or pantry, so they will last you through many batches. The initial upfront cost to purchase these items is much higher than the average cost per batch once you're making sushi somewhat regularly. Once you are well stocked, you'll typically be purchasing the fresh ingredients you need and maybe restocking one or two staple items with each batch. This means that initially it may feel like you're spending quite a bit on supplies, but once you're making sushi regularly the cost will average out to much less than it costs to get sushi from a restaurant.