Gunkan Maki (軍艦巻き) – Battleship Sushi with Salmon Roe and Tuna

Gunkan maki translates as battleship roll. You shape an oval rice ball, wrap a strip of nori around it as a tall collar and fill the space above with a topping that would fall off nigiri. Classic are ikura, which is salmon roe, and chopped tuna with scallions.

By Laura Chen · November 4, 2026

1 Std 5 Mintotal

4servings

290kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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For 24 pieces, the amount from our recipe for sushi rice with 200 g rice is enough. Cut the nori strips before shaping and keep a bowl of water with a little vinegar ready for your hands. One grain of rice glues the end of the strip down. The nori turns soft with time, so top the boats only shortly before serving. Use fish that is sold for raw consumption, and ask your fishmonger.

You shape the rice balls much like for nigiri sushi. You know the tuna topping as a bowl of negitoro don, and for rolling your own at the table, temaki sushi fits.

Image: AI-generated.

Gunkan Maki (軍艦巻き) – Battleship Sushi with Salmon Roe and Tuna

Name: Gunkan Maki (軍艦巻き) – Battleship Sushi with Salmon Roe and Tuna
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 200 g sushi rice; 240 ml water; 30 ml rice vinegar; 10 g sugar; 3 g salt; 4 nori sheets; 1 tsp wasabi paste; 100 g salmon roe (ikura); 150 g sushi-grade tuna; 2 scallions, green part only, in fine rings; 1 tsp light soy sauce; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp pickled ginger (gari)

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

45 minutes

Cook time

20 minutes

Calories

290

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

200 g sushi rice
240 ml water
30 ml rice vinegar
10 g sugar
3 g salt

For the boats:

4 nori sheets
1 tsp wasabi paste

For the topping:

100 g salmon roe (ikura)
150 g sushi-grade tuna
2 scallions, green part only, in fine rings
1 tsp light soy sauce

To serve:

4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp pickled ginger (gari)

Instructions

Cook the sushi rice with the water, fold in the rice vinegar, sugar and salt and let it cool covered to body temperature.
Cut each nori sheet lengthwise into 6 strips 3.5 cm wide and shorten them to 15 cm. You need 24 strips.
Chop the tuna finely with a sharp knife until it is almost a paste. Mix it with the scallions and 1 tsp soy sauce and chill it.
Wet your hands with vinegar water. Shape 18 g of rice each into an oval ball about 4 cm long and 2 cm high.
Wrap a nori strip, shiny side out, around the ball. At the bottom it sits flush with the rice, and at the top it stands 1.5 cm above. Glue the end down with a crushed grain of rice.
Dab a knife tip of wasabi onto the rice. Fill 12 boats with 1 tsp salmon roe each and 12 with 1 heaping tsp tuna each.
Serve the gunkan maki right away with soy sauce and gari.

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Gunkan Maki (軍艦巻き) – Battleship Sushi with Salmon Roe and Tuna

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

For the boats:

For the topping:

To serve:

Instructions

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Gunkan Maki (軍艦巻き) – Battleship Sushi with Salmon Roe and Tuna

Ingredients

For the sushi rice:

For the boats:

For the topping:

To serve:

Instructions

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