I think pretend cooking is wonderful. Setting aside the benefits like boosting imagination, language development, and expressiveness, I find it truly amazing that children get exposed to essential daily activities like cooking and eating from a young age, and naturally learn them through play.
My daughter loved pretend cooking from a very young age. The moment I headed to the kitchen, she’d spread out all her materials and busily cook meals for her stuffed animals. She’d use dried beans as rice, leaves as vegetables, and sticks as pasta. Combining natural materials, she’d create wonderfully imaginative dishes. And when I looked at what she’d made, I’d see my way of plating food and the whole meal scene perfectly recreated in her play. It always impressed me how closely she observed what we did.
The paper sushi rolls I made for my daughter’s school Winter Faire were created specifically for the pretend play repertoire of children living here in LA. Japanese foods like rice balls and sushi rolls are very popular among the children around us. Cucumber rolls, in particular, are perfect for accommodating options like vegan and gluten-free, and we often bring them to events like potlucks. I wanted to bring Japan’s beloved cucumber roll into their everyday pretend play. That’s the thought behind the paper sushi rolls I made with love. It’s very easy to make and you can enjoy creating it with your little ones. It turned out great, so I’d like to share the instructions here.

Instructions for making

Step 1. Cut the Materials

Cut the white single-sided cardboard for the rice into 25mm x 300mm pieces, the green single-sided cardboard for the cucumber into 25mm x 170–180mm pieces, and the black paper for the seaweed into 25mm x 100mm pieces.

Step 2. Roll the Cucumber

Roll the green paper into a cucumber shape. Start from one end and roll it as tightly and firmly as possible. Finally, secure it with a glue gun. You don’t need a thick layer of glue; just a small amount is enough to hold the paper in place.
*Glue sticks or something similar take too long to set, so we recommend using a glue gun or double-sided tape.

Step 3. Roll the Rice

Next, roll the rice. Attach the white paper to the green cucumber using a glue gun, then roll it up tightly. Secure the end with a glue gun.

Step 4. Rolling the Seaweed

Finally, the seaweed. Roll the black paper in the same manner, then adhere it at the end.
*For a beautiful finish, I used double-sided tape to adhere it at the end.

Step 5. Let’s Play

Place it on a plate, and your luxurious cucumber roll dish is complete.

The Cucumber rolls made for the school festival come in sets of five in a special sushi box. The sushi box itself was made by rolled cardboard. Wooden chopsticks, sharpened at the tips with a pencil sharpener, are included. Made with love, hoping everyone will have fun playing.

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