California Sushi Roll Recipe

Sushi is a famous Japanese dish featuring small rice cakes wrapped in seaweed, traditionally served with fish or vegetables. It's typically enjoyed with a dipping sauce of sweet soy sauce and wasabi, and pickled ginger on the side. Surprisingly, making sushi requires very little equipment and is quite easy. All you need is a bamboo sushi mat and a rice cooker. Many people associate sushi with raw fish, but California rolls are a simple and popular version with a few readily available ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked sushi rice (recipe below)
• 2 sheets toasted nori
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 avocado, cut into thin strips
• 4 crab sticks, sliced or shredded
• 1/2 cucumber, cut into thin strips

Directions:

1.    Place a bamboo mat in front of you. Put one of the nori sheets onto the mat.

2.    With wet hands, take 2-3 tbsp of sushi rice and spread it evenly over the nori sheet, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

3.    Spread 1 tsp of mayonnaise over the rice.

4.    Arrange the crab sticks, avocado strips, and cucumber strips along the center of the rice.

5.    Using the bamboo mat, roll the nori sheet over the fillings to meet the other side, ensuring the rice stays inside the nori. Roll and press the mat into a cylinder shape, slightly squeezing side-to-side.

6.    Transfer the roll to a cutting board and repeat with the remaining nori and fillings.

To Serve:

• Cut each roll into 6 pieces.
• Serve with soy sauce for dipping. The soy dipping sauce: the ponzu sauce or tempura dipping sauce can be bought. You can make the soy dipping sauce at home by combining soy sauce, sugar vinegar, and mirin.

Sushi Rice Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup short-grain rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp sushi rice seasoning (store-bought) or homemade (see below)

Directions:

1.    Wash the rice three times to remove starch.

2.    In a rice cooker, combine the rice and water. Cook according to the rice cooker's instructions.

3.    Once done, transfer the rice to a wooden bowl and add the sake. Stir in the sushi rice seasoning.

Tip:

• This is an easy version to make California rolls. You can buy pre-made sushi rice and sushi vinegar.
• Wasabi is a spicy Japanese horseradish.
• To make sushi vinegar, combine 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt.