California Roll

Relax and take it one step at a time by following my recipe and tips. The key is not to overstuff the sushi and tug the roll compact enough for assembling.  It’s not difficult and you should be able to make decent sushi rolls with some practice. Maybe your first roll may not look pretty, but practice will make it easier!

CALIFORNIA ROLL

INGREDIENTS

- 6 cups sushi rice

- 9 oz cooked crab meat (255 g or 2 cans)

- 6 Tbsp Japanese mayonnaise

- ½ English cucumber (or Persian/Japanese cucumber)

- 2 avocados

- ½ lemon (for avocado)

- 8 sheets nori (seaweed)

- ¼ cup white sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)

Toppings:

- Ikura (salmon roe)

- Tobiko (flying fish roe)

Vinegar water for dipping hands (Tezu)

- ¼ cup water

- 2 tsp rice vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients.

Prepare the fillings:

1. Crab meat: combine the crab meat with Japanese mayonnaise and mix together.
2. Cucumber: Peel and remove seeds. Cut into thin long strips, same length as the nori sheet.
3. Avocado: Peel, pit, and cut into ¼" (0.5 cm) thick slices (See How To Cut Avocado). Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.
4. Nori: Cut off ⅓ and use ⅔ sheet of nori.
5. Cover the bamboo mat with plastic wrap and prepare vinegar water for dipping hands (Tezu).

Roll Sushi:

1. Lay a nori sheet, shiny side down, on the bamboo mat. Wet your fingers in tezu and spread 1 cup of the rice evenly onto nori sheet.
2. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds or tobiko.
3. Turn the nori sheet over so that the rice is facing down. LIne the edge of nori sheet at the bottom of the bamboo mat. Place the cucumber, crab meat, and avocado at the bottom of the nori sheet.
4. Grab the bottom edge of the mat while keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, roll it into a tight cylinder, tucking the fillings in firmly.
5. Lift the edge of the bamboo mat slightly and roll it forward while keeping gentle pressure on the mat.
6. With a very sharp knife, cut each roll in half and then cut each half into 3 pieces. Remember to clean the knife with a damp cloth after every few cuts.
7. You can use the left over ⅓ of nori sheet to make Ikura Sushi. Cut the nori sheet into half lengthwise. Make small balls with sushi rice and wrap it with nori sheet. Place ikura on top.

RECIPE NOTES

Sushi Rice: To see How To Make Sushi Rice from scratch, click here.  Cover the sushi rice and the completed rolls with a damp cloth at all times to prevent from drying.

You'll need:

• Bamboo mat, covered with plastic wrap

https://www.justonecookbook.com/california-roll/