California Roll

California roll was born in Los Angeles, California in the 1960s by a Japanese sushi chef who came
to the US to introduce sushi. Uramaki (inside-out roll) was also created this time as Americans did not like seeing the nori on the outside of the roll. Since then, all the Americanized rolls like Rainbow roll and Dragon roll have become very popular, and now some of sushi restaurants in Japan even serve Americanized sushi rolls, such as California roll.

Author: Namiko Chen

Serves: 8 rolls

Ingredients

• 6 cups prepared sushi rice (Click the link to see How To Make Sushi Rice)
• 9 oz (255 g, or 2 cans) cooked crab meat
• 6 Tbsp. Japanese mayonnaise
• ½ English cucumber
• 2 avocados
• ½ lemon for avocado
• 8 sheets nori
• ¼ cup white sesame seeds

Toppings

• Ikura (salmon roe)
• Tobiko (flying fish roe)
  

You will need:

• Bamboo mat, covered with plastic wrap
• Tezu (vinegared hand-dipping water): ¼ cup water + 2 tsp. rice vinegar

Instructions

PREPARE INGREDIENTS:

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. Prepare the bamboo mat, covered with plastic wrap and Tezu (vinegared hand-dipping water).
   

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.
   

Notes

Cover the sushi rice and the completed rolls with a damp cloth at all times to prevent from drying.

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