Vegan sushi (kappa maki)

Slice the ends off a cucumber and cut it to the same length as the nori sheets (about 20cm). Cut the cucumber into quarters lengthwise and remove the seeds carefully with a spoon or a knife. Cut the sticks lengthwise into half again, so that you have 8 sticks of cucumber. You will need 4 sticks for this recipe, so wrap and store the rest in the fridge for 1-2 days to use in other sushi.

You will be able to see some thin lines on the nori sheets. Following one of these lines, cut each sheet in half with scissors, but be very careful as the sheets break easily. Add a half-sheet of nori, shiny-side down, on the bottom half of the sushi mat, with the lines of the sheet lying horizontally across the mat.

Wet your fingers in the bowl of water and shake off any excess. Damp fingers help when handling sticky sushi rice. Look for a line in the nori sheet about 1cm from the top. Keeping the top 1cm of the sheet clear, spread roughly 80g rice over the sheet evenly and gently press with your fingertips. It must be a very thin layer of rice (about the thickness of a grain of rice). Put the cucumber stick in the centre of the rice, then you can add some wasabi to the centre before you add the cucumber, if you like.