Alix - I prefer pretty much all of my rolls to have the rice on the outside - I like to work my way towards the nori versus having that as the first flavor I get in my mouth (picky I know! lol)
texasgirl - Salmon would be a good one to start with - just take a cooler with you so you can keep it cold on the way home. Stick in freezer for at least 24 hours, thaw (takes very little time, especially if you cut slices while it is still frozen) and use in your roll along with whatever other ingredients you want. I LOVE cream cheese, salmon, and cilantro together.
Another good fish to start with would be sashimi grade tuna. No need to freeze this. Just get a piece that is either wrapped in the heavy-duty plastic already or if it's not, make sure it doesn't look soft and squisy - you want it to look firm - I think you'll be able to tell when you see both examples. I like tuna with cucumber, chives (and a lot of them! lol) and some eel.
The eel is cooked and is in a sweet sauce and is VERY good. You can buy it frozen in a lot of Asian markets. Thaw the eel and cut in larger pieces to serve on top of a quenelle (for lack of a better word but will give you an idea) of rice wrapped with a strip of nori - or slice it in small strips and add to any of the above-mentioned rolls. We like to get our money's worth when we make it at home and end up putting everything in a couple rolls (tuna, salmon, eel, cilantro, chives, cream cheese, cucumber, avocado....open wide though!!!! lol)
Any leftover raw fish wrap in plastic wrap and then put in baggies and place on top of a bowl of ice. I have kept my fish like this and eaten on the 4th day I had it - but I wouldn't really recommend using it after the 3rd day to be on the safe side. I usually buy enough to last this long because I'm going to go to the trouble to make the rice (not that it's that hard) but I make extra so I can eat sushi for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack for a couple days
It goes quite nicely with coffee!! lol
This is a picture of the eel - but most times it is darker and "saucier" and is always heated a bit before using. This can be done in the microwave or if you heat the whole piece at once in the oven or toaster oven
but this is the way I wrap mine with the strip of nori in the middle
You can also do ANY of the fish like this. It's good also to put a little dab of wasabi on top of the rice before you put the fish on top.
This is a picture of a California roll not showing the sesame seeds on the outside but some masago then the rice, nori, and whatever you put on the inside.
Also forgot to mention you need a small dish (can be found at any Asian market) for your soy sauce. You can use anything to get by but when you get into it you'll enjoy the whole dining experience with it.
And if you ever wondered what happened to Nemo?
(sorry)