I don't know about you, but sushi is one of my all time favorite Japanese meals. I'm still learning to appreciate sashimi since the thought of eating raw fish makes my stomach turn a little. But I love California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, and my favorite--crunchy rolls! Since sushi can be a little expensive, I tried making California rolls at home. The process was a bit daunting at first, but after a couple of practice, they came out better than I expected. I thought I'd share the recipe with you all =)
Ingredients needed:
2 cups short grain rice
1 cucumber
1 avocado
Several sheets of nori (seaweed)
Imitation crab meat
2 cups of water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
Soy sauce
Sesame seeds (optional)
Japanese mayo (optional)
Masago, or fish eggs (optional)
Materials needed:
Rice cooker
Bamboo mat wrapped in saran wrap
Wooden spoon
Large (bamboo) plate
Small bowl filled with water
A very sharp knife
Directions:
1) First, rinse the rice 3 times and let soak for 30 minutes so moisture is sealed in.
2) Drain water from rice.
3) Add 2 cups of water to rice and cook in rice cooker for 15 minutes.
4) While rice is cooking, mix rice vinegar, salt, and sugar into a small pan and heat until salt and sugar dissolves.
5) Once the rice is done cooking, immediately remove the rice and place into a large plate.
6) Take the sushi vinegar mixture and drizzle over the hot rice. Mix the two together by "slicing" the rice with a wooden spoon. This slicing motion mixes the rice and vinegar together without breaking the rice grains.
7) Once everything is mixed, let the rice cool for about 30 minutes, or until it's room temperature.
8) Cut a sheet of nori in half and place it on the bamboo mat.
9) Wet hands in the small bowl of water, grab a small portion of rice, and press the rice on top of the nori. Sprinkle sesame seeds if desired.
10) Flip the nori over, so the rice is on the bottom. If desired, spread a small amount of Japanese mayo on the bare side of the nori. I discovered that the mayo is actually the magic ingredient that makes the sushi taste even better! But that's just my opinion =P
11) Begin slicing the avocado, cucumber, and imitation crab meat. Please excuse my poorly sliced avocado...I need to work on my knife craftsmanship x.x
12) Assemble the sliced avocado, cucumber, and imitation crab meat on the nori. The crab meat should be on top, then the cucumbers, and lastly the avocado. The reason why the cucumbers are in the middle is because they contain the most moisture and move around easily. If they're in between the crab meat and avocado, it'll be easier to roll the sushi without the ingredients falling out.
13) Once everything is placed, start rolling! This is the fun part =) You should end up with a sushi roll that looks like this:
14) Take a sharp knife and wet it. This makes it easier to slice the sushi roll. If desired, you can sprinkle some masago on top of the roll before slicing, but I personally don't like fish eggs. Slice the roll into 8 pieces.
15) Last but not least, enjoy! They taste even better with soy sauce =)
I think the tricky part is cooking the rice. Sometimes it'll come out too wet or too dry so it's difficult to get the right combination of rice and water. The general ratio is 1:1. Hope this recipe helps and hope your California rolls turn out delicious!
<3,
Juju
