"They love the precision." But sushi isn't too tricky to make at home, says Yuki, "if you have a few essential tools and ingredients. I buy everything in UK supermarkets."

For OFM, she is making ura hosomaki, small sushi rolled "inside out", concealing the black seaweed (nori) within a rice exterior. It combines marinated mackerel with shiso (a Japanese leaf that looks like a nettle, tastes like mint and grows easily indoors). An easy introduction to homemade sushi.

Get yourself a starter kit. Bamboo mats are available in supermarkets and you won't need any equipment you don't have already, just a saucepan, baking tray, clingfilm and a sharp knife. Plus a bowl of water to dip your fingers into – to stop rice sticking to your hands.

Japanese brands such as Clearspring are available in supermarkets and make sushi rice, wasabi, rice vinegar and nori (seaweed) squares. For specialist items including tobiko or powdered seaweed, try London's Japan Centre or the website kazari.co.uk. Lastly, make sure your fish is the best quality and sustainably sourced. Interview by Mina Holland

Shime saba and shiso ura hosomaki

A small inside-out roll with mackerel, shiso leaves and white sesame seeds

Makes 4-6 rolls (24-36 pieces)
For the sushi rolls
a sushi mat (if using a bamboo mat, cover it tightly with clingfilm to stop the rice sticking in the grooves)
a bowl of cold water to stop rice sticking to your hands
marinated mackerel 2 x 100g fillets (see below)
nori 2-3 sheets
sushi rice 4-6 handfuls (roughly 320-480g)
white sesame seeds 4-6 tsp
shiso leaves or coriander leaves 6-9 cut in half lengthways

For the marinated mackerel
mackerel fillets 2 x 100g fillets
sea salt 2 big handfuls (60g)
rice vinegar or brown rice vinegar 400-500ml (or sufficient to cover the fillets)

For the sushi rice
Japanese rice 3 cups
water 3 cups
rice vinegar or brown rice vinegar 120ml
sugar 3 tbsp
sea salt 1 tbsp

Step one: Marinade, soak and slice

To marinate the mackerel, place fillets on a flat plate, sprinkle salt on both sides and rub in gently. Leave for 1 hour and then rinse under cold running water and pat dry with a paper towel. Put fillets into a deeper dish, cover with the rice vinegar and leave for 45 minutes. Remove mackerel and pat dry.

Run your finger along the fillet and remove any bones with tweezers. Then slice the mackerel into pieces as long as a nori sheet and 1cm wide.

Step two: Wash and cook the rice. Plug in hairdryer

To cook your sushi rice, first wash it several times in a sieve until the water runs clear. Drain the rice then soak in cold water for at least half an hour (1-2 hours gives the perfect result). Put rice into a pan with an equal volume of water and bring to the boil, put the lid on and reduce the heat then simmer on the lowest heat for 8-10 minutes (set a timer). All the water should be absorbed. Next, put the rice into a flat-based bowl, carefully add the rice vinegar, sugar and salt and cool down the rice with a hairdryer on a cool setting.

Step three: Work the mat

Take your bamboo mat and cover it tightly with clingfilm to stop the rice sticking to the grooves of the mat. Take a nori sheet and, following the central line running across it, cut it in half before laying half a sheet along the bottom half of the bamboo mat.

Dip your fingers into the bowl of water and scoop up a half handful of rice. Put a thin layer of rice all over the nori sheet, leaving the bottom 1cm of the sheet clear. Make sure you distribute the rice evenly, pressing down gently.

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of white sesame seeds over the rice - these will end up on the outside of the roll. Hold the left side of the nori with both hands and flip over on the mat, so that the rice is facing down. Place 3 shiso leaves over the area without rice, and top this with a line of mackerel.

Step four: Ready to roll

To roll your hosomaki, hold the mackerel and shiso leaves with your index fingers and start rolling with the mat from the bottom edge, little by little. Keep rolling 3 or 4 times, each time opening the mat to make sure it is tightly rolled. There should be no gaps between the rice and the filling.

Step five: Slice and wipe

Remove the sushi from the mat and place it on a clean, dry chopping board. Cut into 6 pieces with a sharp, wet knife, quickly and smoothly. Wipe the knife clean with every cut.

Step six: Serve!

Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Sushi at Home: The Beginner's Guide to Perfect, Simple Sushi (Penguin, £18.99). To order a copy for £15.19 with free UK p&p go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop. yukiskitchen.com