14 Ingredients That Will Elevate Your Homemade Sushi

Making sushi at home can seem overwhelming, but it's really not so hard once you get the hang of making perfect rice and rolling it all up — remember that you want those bites to remain delicate and airy; too much pressure, and you'll end up with a solid mass. But what if you've mastered your California rolls and cucumber avocado maki? It might just be time to level up, sushi lovers.

Take a spin through the online menu of any higher-end sushi restaurant, and you'll likely see all kinds of things that you've never heard of or ingredients that you'd never think of putting into your next roll. From mango to pickled plums or sea urchins to eel, we have loads of suggestions for you to take your little bites higher. You'll be flavoring your rice like a pro and pickling veggies perfectly before you know it.

If you've ever made your own miso soup or the dashi base, you'll be well acquainted with kombu. Japan is surrounded by water, and because of this, Japanese food makes use of not only seafood and shellfish but also many kinds of vegetation found in the ocean. Kombu is one of the longest-lasting and economical umami staples you should have in your pantry, too. Depending on where you live, you can often find it pickled or fresh, but, for the rest of us, a bag of the deep green, leathery seaweed will work just as well to add a bit of aquatic, umami punch to your sushi.

The easiest way to upgrade your sushi is by adding a slice of dried kombu while your rice is soaking and boiling, either in a pot or a basic rice cooker (more advanced rice cookers don't always have a soak function, which is needed here). Cook as you normally would, removing the softened seaweed before seasoning and mixing the rice. Cooked kombu can be sliced thinly and added to salads if you don't want to waste it — it will retain some flavor and a lot of the nutrients that make it such an important part of Japanese cooking.

Mango sushi isn't often seen in Japan, but it does occasionally appear. Mangoes aren't as available or affordable as many other ingredients you'll often see in Japanese dishes, but the sweet fruit is still much loved. Using a slice of mango in a sushi roll adds sweetness, often making them better served at the end of the meal. However, mangoes also work incredibly well with anything spicy, so you'll often see that combination make an appearance, too. For vegetarian rolls, try mixing mango with carrots, avocado, or cucumber for a lovely, clean finish.

Feeling more adventurous? Mango partners with seafood beautifully, especially crab, salmon, and tempura shrimp. A sprinkle of shiso or toasted sesame, and you're set. Think about using thinly sliced mangoes to decorate the exterior of your inside-out rolls instead of salmon as a colorful alternative for non-fish eaters (perfect for kids, vegetarians, or pregnant individuals). Finally, mango is a terrific base for a smooth, sweet-tangy sauce that can be drizzled on all kinds of sushi. A little rice vinegar and maybe some sesame oil whizzed into mango purée, and you've got yourself a dazzling drizzle to amp up nearly anything.

Like eel, octopus might be one of those ingredients that you want to try but have misgivings about. Both ingredients are pretty uncommon in North American food, depending on your background. Beloved in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, octopus is incredibly tasty. And if you've been eating calamari, you're really only one step away. Still not convinced? On your next outing to a Japanese restaurant, give the takoyaki a try — deep-fried balls of dough stuffed with octopus meat, sprinkled with bonito flakes, seaweed flakes, tangy mayo, and a sweet sauce — it might just change your mind.

For your at-home experience, frozen octopus is getting easier to find. Vacuum-sealed and raw, you will need to decide how you want to proceed. Octopus (tako in Japanese) can be served raw, but you can also lightly boil it before adding it to sushi. However, don't tackle this if you're not a super-experienced home chef. As you might know, octopus can be awfully chewy without proper preparation. Japanese chefs will often massage the meat with salt and bits of daikon radish before gently boiling; this helps tenderize it while also bringing out the delicate flavor. It is possible to find octopus prepared specifically for sushi, generally online, so if you're busting to give it a go with the troublesome prep, fire up that search engine.

Pickled plums are used in many Japanese foods because, well, they're absolutely delightful in a mouth-puckeringly good way, and when placed on a bed of rice, they're rather reminiscent of the Japanese flag. Known as ume, this little fruit (which is actually closer to an apricot than a plum) is rarely eaten raw, but once salted and pickled, they find their way into all sorts of consumables that could use a touch of savory flavor. Pickling them in sugar and alcohol makes a sweet plum liqueur as well, but most often, they get the salt treatment. The addition of shiso leaves (read on for even more info) to pickled ume is a combination that works perfectly in vegetarian sushi because of the savory umami punch.

While you can use ume paste for your sushi rolls, chopping whole pickled plums (once you remove the pits) will give you a better texture and taste. Be aware that these little fruits aren't as sweet as you might expect — in fact, they're incredibly salty and sour — so don't overload your rolls with them on your first try. They work well in a sushi roll that might be considered a palate cleanser between two fattier fish rolls because of the clean taste and finish.

Another gorgeous way to add color and flavor to your sushi is roe, specifically flying fish roe. Known as tobiko, these delightful little balls come in a range of colors and flavors, which add another dimension to homemade sushi. You may have tried sushi with fish eggs in the past, possibly from smelt or sturgeon. If you enjoyed those, we urge you to search out tobiko, too. Tobiko has a very small size and fine texture, and it's known for its crisp pop when eaten, much like caviar. Unlike caviar, however, the minuscule size of the eggs (less than one millimeter) and the mild flavor make tobiko better suited to being used as a topping rather than eaten on its own.

However, one of the best parts about tobiko might just be the range of colors and flavors that can be found. Naturally found in orange to gold shades, if you want that extra punch, you can also find bright green (flavored with wasabi), yellow (from yuzu fruit and ginger), or black (colored with squid ink). Looking for red? You can go two ways here, so be sure to read the label before you start popping them in your mouth. Producers of tobiko will generally use either beetroot or chilies to get that shade, giving you two very different flavors.

Shiso is used in so many Japanese dishes that we'd never frame it as a sushi-only ingredient. But if you're looking to upgrade anything you're whipping up, this should definitely be on your radar. Commonly called perilla or beefsteak plant stateside, shiso is widely used in Asian cooking for flavor but also for its ability to give a gorgeous hue to foods like plum vinegar. Shiso comes in both purple and green varieties; both are widely used in Asia, where green is more palatable, but purple is prized for the color. Depending on where you are, you might be able to grow it if you can't buy it fresh. However, even a sprinkle of dried shiso will do.

The large leaves have a distinctive edge that makes them a lovely decoration on your sushi platter, but they're more than that. Finely chopped, they'll add a freshly herbaceous twist to sushi filling. Shiso and pickled plums have a long history together, so they're a natural pairing. And just like fried sage leaves in Italian cooking, shiso takes the tempura treatment exceptionally well, so go ahead and add some the next time you've got batter and hot oil on the go. When consumed raw, their astringency pairs perfectly with fish, especially fattier types. They make a perfect layer between salted mackerel and rice, too.

This final one might give you pause, as it's not incredibly well-known over here. But hear us out — it's definitely worth your time, just for the sake of your tastebuds. Yuzu is probably something you know if you're acquainted with Japanese food. A small citrus fruit, much like a floral lemon and grapefruit cross, yuzu has made its way to North America slowly and steadily. Yuzu kosho is a condiment that combines that fragrant little fruit with chili and the magic of fermentation to make something out of this world. This fermented Japanese ingredient can elevate almost any dish, just based on umami power alone. Salty, citrusy, and just spicy enough, we honestly think you're going to love it.

It might not be as easy to find as other Japanese condiments, but we beseech you to keep an eye out for this funky paste. If you can't find it, you can add a dash of hot sauce to ponzu (yuzu juice and fermented soy sauce) for something pretty close. If you can get some fresh yuzu fruit, you can also try making it at home — plan ahead, as you'll need at least a week for the fermentation process.