【Reading】うらまき

【English Name】Uramaki

Uramaki is a sushi technique in which, unlike an ordinary nori roll, the nori is placed on the inside and the vinegared rice on the outside. In English-speaking countries it is often called an "inside-out roll."

To make it, nori is placed on a rolling mat (makisu), the vinegared rice is spread evenly over it, the ingredients are placed on top, and it is rolled up after covering with plastic wrap. After rolling, fish roe such as tobiko or masago, or white sesame, may be sprinkled on the outside to add color.

It is said to have originally existed as one technique of decorative sushi (kazari-zushi). The trigger for its spread overseas is said to have been Westerners feeling resistance to the black appearance of nori. As sushi's popularity rose on the U.S. West Coast in the 1970s, the uramaki technique was actively incorporated into creative rolled sushi such as the California roll.

Today, much of the rolled sushi offered at sushi restaurants outside Japan is made in this uramaki style, making it one of the rolling methods symbolizing sushi culture abroad. Even at sushi restaurants within Japan, it is used for Western-style creative rolls such as the rainbow roll and the dragon roll.