The Kappa Sushi classic: Corn mayo gunkan maki

Kappa Sushi is having a moment. The Japanese conveyor belt giant knows exactly what people actually want to eat. You do not always need a master chef and a hushed omakase counter. Sometimes you just want cheap, cheerful, unpretentious comfort. The undeniable king of this category is the corn mayo gunkan maki. It is sweet. It is rich. It is the plate everyone secretly grabs off the belt first. You do not need to book a flight to Tokyo to eat it. You just need ten minutes, zero knife skills, and a decent jar of mayonnaise.

Ingredients

• 300g cooked sushi rice, warm and seasoned with sushi vinegar
• 2 sheets of roasted nori seaweed, cut into thick strips (about 3cm wide)
• 150g tinned sweetcorn, thoroughly drained
• 2 generous tablespoons of Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie is mandatory)
• A pinch of white pepper
• Soy sauce, to serve

Method

1. Drain the sweetcorn. Get rid of as much moisture as possible, otherwise your sushi will fall apart.
2. Mix the sweetcorn in a small bowl with the Japanese mayonnaise and a pinch of white pepper until well coated.
3. Wet your hands slightly with water to stop the rice from sticking. Take a small handful of seasoned sushi rice (about 20g) and shape it into a neat, firm oval.
4. Take a strip of nori and wrap it around the outside of the rice oval. The nori should be taller than the rice, creating a small wall or 'battleship' shape. Press a single grain of squashed rice at the overlap to glue the ends together.
5. Spoon a generous heap of the corn mayo mixture into the empty space on top of the rice.
6. Repeat until you run out of rice or toppings.

Makes roughly 10 pieces; serve immediately alongside cold beer and soy sauce, before the seaweed loses its snap.