The Philadelphia roll is the perfect option for sushi beginners, not only to eat but to make at home. It’s beginner-friendly, kid-approved, and made with fully cooked ingredients you can easily snag at your local grocery store.
Ready to roll? Let’s dive into three fun twists on the classic Philadelphia roll that are so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner.
❤️What Makes a Philadelphia Roll Special?
We all know smoked salmon and cream cheese is a good combination and the popularity of the Philadelphia roll proves that cream cheese isn’t just a bagel MVP, it shines in makizushi too!
The smokiness of the salmon combined with the rich, creamy texture of the cream cheese, along with some crunchy, fresh slices of cucumber makes the roll really well balanced and mild enough for any sushi beginner, great for young kids as well. But the best part is the easily accessible ingredients!
Fresh, “sushi-grade” seafood is not always available for many people, especially here in the States. However, quality smoked salmon is usually available at any grocery store, making the Philly roll one of the easiest sushi rolls you can make at home!
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🍲Ingredients
Making sushi starts with good prep, and the right ingredients are key. However, the Philadelphia roll is very versatile and can easily be modified to your own preference. Feel free to add or swap out any of these ingredients to your liking!
Main Ingredients:
- Sushi rice: 2 cups (400g) (sushi rice tutorial here).
- Nori (dried seaweed): 3 half sheets
- Smoked Salmon: 6-8 oz (170-226g)
- Cream Cheese: 2-3 oz (57-85g)
- Cucumber (English or Japanese): 4 inches (10cm)
- Avocado: 1
Toppings and Sauces:
- Spicy mayo: Drizzle to add a bit of kick (my recipe here).
- Unagi sauce: Drizzle to add savoriness and umami (my recipe here).
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Kizami wasabi (chopped wasabi marinated in soy sauce).
Optional Condiments:
- Wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce for serving.
👩🍳Preparation
Very first thing you want to do is make the sushi rice, since that takes the longest. I usually start cooking the rice and then prep all the vegetables and other ingredients while the rice cooks.
Cucumber
- Peel and cut the cucumber with a katsuramuki technique (thin rotational peeling), watch my tutorial here if you want to learn how. Or keep it simple and slice it into half-inch wide sticks, cutting out the inner seed section.
Avocado
- Cut the avocado in half and carefully remove the seed.
- Peel the skin and cut one half into roughly half inch thick slices. These are going inside the rolls.
- The other half will be used to layer on top of the roll.
- Place the avocado (half) flat onto the cutting board and slice into ⅛ inch thin slices.
- It's best to do this after the roll is made to help minimize discoloration of the avocado. Tutorial video here.
Cream Cheese
- Cut a standard block-style cream cheese cross-wise into about half-inch thick pieces. We're going to need three of these for our three rolls.
- Take each piece and cut it lengthwise into thirds. This should give you three small sticks that fits perfectly across a sheet of nori.
Now let's get rolling! 😉
🍣Rolling the Philadelphia Rolls
All three of these rolls are made as an uramaki (inside-out roll), which has the rice wrapped around on the outside and the seaweed rolled in the inside.
Step 1: Preparing the Makisu
Since the rice is on the exterior, we need to wrap the makisu (bamboo rolling mat) in plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking. You can watch this video here to learn how to do this properly.
Step 2: Preparing the Nori and Rice
- Place a sheet of nori horizontally with the rough-side-up onto the makisu, leaving about an inch of space between the nori and the bottom of the makisu.
- Dip your hands into a bowl of cold water and spread it around evenly.
- Grab a ball of sushi rice (about the size of an apple) and evenly spread it across the nori, reaching all the way to the edges and corners. Try not to squish the rice and keep it as fluffy as possible.
- Sprinkle a layer of toasted sesame seeds over the rice (optional), then flip the nori so the rice side is down.
Step 3: Adding Fillings
Roll #1: The Classic Philadelphia Roll
- Add cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumber slices evenly across the middle of the nori, from one end to the other.
- Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
- Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
- Apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
- Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
- Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.
Roll #2: Salmon Layered on Top
In this variation, instead of adding smoked salmon inside the roll, we're going to layer it on top so that it wraps the outside of the rice.
- Add cream cheese, cucumber, and avocado evenly across the middle of the nori, from one end to the other.
- Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
- Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
- Apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
- Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
- Layer sheets of smoked salmon on top and around the roll (excluding the bottom) so that they slightly overlap and cover the rice.
- Gently shape the roll again using the plastic-wrapped makisu.
- Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.
Roll #3: Avocado Layered on Top
Our last roll is very similar to Roll #2, but we swap the smoked salmon topping for thin avocado slices.
- Add cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumber evenly across the middle of the nori, from one end to the other.
- Wrap the nori around the fillings by using your thumbs to guide the makisu while tucking the filling gently with your forefingers.
- Pull on the top (far) end of the makisu away from you while using your other hand to support the roll. This will help tighten the roll so the fillings won't fall out.
- Apply even and gentle pressure from all sides to shape the roll.
- Press in on the rice on each ends of the roll to make the edges cleaner.
- Cut the half avocado into thin slices (as mentioned above under Preparations).
- Spread it out carefully until it's the same length as the roll.
- Carefully slide your knife under the spread out avocado slices and place it on top of the roll. Be extra cautious when removing the knife.
- Gently shape the roll again using the plastic-wrapped makisu.
- Wrap in plastic if not cutting right away.
🔪Cutting and Plating
Cutting the rolls can be one of the trickiest parts of sushi making, and often seen as the most difficult part for beginners. Here are some quick tips to help you not mangle your hard work.
- Use a sharp knife. Learn how to properly sharpen Japanese knives with this tutorial here.
- Keep the plastic wrap on while cutting rolls with toppings (like salmon or avocado). Leave the top section of the plastic still intact though so it can easily be removed in one piece.
- You can skip the plastic wrap for rolls without toppings, but the wrap can help ensure cleaner cuts.
- Cut each roll into 8 pieces, starting by cutting right down the center in half, then each half into halves again, and so on.
- Wet and clean your knife between slices to prevent sticking.
After cutting, it’s time to plate. Arrange the rolls neatly (get creative with it), and drizzle on some spicy mayo and unagi sauce, optional of course. Garnish each piece with some kizami wasabi and then add wasabi and pickled ginger on the side. Serve with a small dish of soy sauce.
🥑Customize Your Rolls
Feel free to add your own twist to these rolls. Some of my favorite additions include:
- Fresh jalapeño slices for an extra kick.
- Masago or tobiko for a pop of flavor and texture.
- Blanched asparagus for a nice veggie option.
The best part of making sushi at home is that it's endlessly customizable and you can experiment with whatever you think may go well. So get your culinary creative juices flowing and test it out!
🪄Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to wet your hands thoroughly (but not drenched) before touching the sushi rice.
- When flipping the nori and rice, leave about an inch of space from the bottom of the makisu to the bottom of the nori. This leaves just enough space which makes it easier to roll.
- Tighten the roll after the initial wrapping of the fillings by pulling the upper end of the makisu away from you while holding the roll with the other hand.
- Clean and wet the knife right before cutting.
🗒Best served with
- Miso soup: Always a good pairing with pretty much any type of sushi. The warm and savory soup can act as a nice palate cleanser in between different types of sushi as well.
- Seaweed Salad: The tangy and umami-rich flavors in seaweed salad is always a nice complement to sushi.
- Sake: A chilled junmai or junmai ginjo will be a perfect companion to Philly rolls. Here's one that I tried very recently that I recommend.
✍️Final Thoughts
Making Philadelphia rolls at home is not only easy but also very budget friendly. Whether you’re hosting a sushi night or just looking to whip up a fun dinner, these rolls are a great way to wow friends and family, including the little ones! Enjoy!
🤔Common Questions
I get asked this a lot and I get it, brown rice does have it's great health benefits but I personally would not recommend using it for sushi. Texture is a very important part of sushi and brown rice tends to be too dense and not sticky enough. Traditional white Japanese short grain rice has the perfect consistency and texture. Brown rice also has a earthy flavor to it which can overpower more delicate types of sushi.
Now that said, the best part of making sushi on your own is so that you can make however you like. So by all means, if brown rice is your thing, then go for it. Just know that it may not come out the same.
Typically yes, but there are so many varieties when it comes to smoked salmon so be sure to check the label. Plain cream cheese is also gluten-free but it's good to double check.
Condiments such as spicy mayo and unagi sauce are a lot of times NOT gluten-free. Kewpie mayo (used to make spicy mayo in my recipe) made in the US should be gluten free, however the original ones made in Japan are not. If you live in the States, you'll most likely find US-made Kewpie mayo but just something to be aware of.
Sushi is a very difficult food to keep for later. It needs to be stored in the fridge because of the seafood, but then the sushi rice hardens and gets cold. It's best to eat it as soon as you can but if you have to save it, then make sure to wrap it tightly and keep it in the cooler.
Philadelphia Roll
VIDEO
EQUIPMENT
- 1 Makisu (bamboo mat)
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl For cold water to wet hands
- 1 Serving plate
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation
- Gather all ingredients.
- Prepare the cucumber by cutting it into half-inch wide sticks or peel it using the katsuramuki technique (refer to above).
- Cut avocado in half and use one side to make ½-inch thick slices while the other half is cut into ⅛-inch slices (refer to above).
- Cut block of cream cheese cross-wise into ½-inch thick pieces (3 pieces). Now take each piece and cut it into thirds lengthwise.
Preparing the Roll
- Prepare the makisu (bamboo rolling mat) by wrapping it with plastic.
- Lay the makisu down onto a cutting board with the bamboo sticks running horizontally.
- Place a sheet of nori onto the makisu with the rough side up.
- Wet both hands lightly and grab a ball of sushi rice about the size of an apple.
- Spread it across evenly on the nori, making sure to get all the way to the edges and corners.
- Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds onto the rice (optional).
- Flip the nori over so that the rice side is down. Leave about an inch of space from the bottom of the makisu to the bottom of the nori (this makes it easier to roll).
Adding Fillings (Roll #1 - Classic Philadelphia Roll)
- Add cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumber slices evenly across the middle of the nori, from one end to the other.
Rolling
- Lift the bottom end of the makisu with your thumbs while holding the fillings in place with your forefingers.
- Bring the mat up and over the fillings until the nori wraps around them completely.
- Pull the makisu from the top (far) end with one hand, while holding the roll in place with the other. This helps tighten the roll so the fillings don't fall out.
- Continue rolling the mat until the nori overlaps onto itself, and then gently apply pressure from all sides using the makisu.
- Press in on the ends of the roll to clean the edges.
Roll #2 - Salmon Layered on Top
- Follow the same process for the second roll, but the fillings are cream cheese, cucumber, and avocado.
- After making the roll, layer sheets of smoked salmon on top of the rice. Slightly overlap each piece so that it covers the entire roll (excluding the bottom).
- Gently shape the roll again using the plastic-wrapped makisu.
Roll #3 - Avocado Layered on Top
- Follow the same process for the other rolls but the fillings are cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumber.
- After making the roll, cut the other half of avocado into thin slices (refer to instructions above).
- Spread the slices out carefully until it's roughly the same length as the roll.
- Carefully slide your knife under the spread out avocado slices and place it on top of the roll. Be extra cautious when removing the knife.
- Gently shape the roll again using the plastic-wrapped makisu.
Cutting and Plating
- Place roll onto the cutting board without the makisu.
- Keep the plastic wrap on while cutting rolls with toppings (like salmon or avocado). Leave the top section of the plastic still intact though so it can easily be removed in one piece.
- Make sure knife is clean and wet it right before you start cutting.
- Cut the roll right down the center in half first, and then each half into halves again, and now each quarter into halves again. This should total 8 even pieces.
- Arrange the rolls neatly on a plate and add a drizzle of spicy mayo and unagi sauce (optional). Serve with some wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce on the side.
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