CALIFORNIA ROLL
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sushi Roll
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sushi rice
  • 1½ cup water
  • 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ avocado, sliced into thick strips
  • 1½ cut crab meat or 4 long sticks of imitation crab
  • ½ large cucumber, seeds removed and cut into thick strips
  • 2 sheets unseasoned seaweed (nori), split in half
  • Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
  1. To make sushi rice, rinse the rice until water is mostly clear. Put 1 cup of rice and cold tap water into rice cooker pot, stir with your fingers and carefully pour the water out as much as you can and repeat a couple times. Add 1 ½ cups of water. Cook it according to rice cooker's instructions.
  2. While waiting for the rice to cook, combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl.
  3. After rice is cooked, it should be firm but the core should not be crunchy. It should be sticky, but each grain should hold its own shape. Scoop the rice into a large bowl, gently spread it out to cool it a little.
  4. Pour the vinegar mixture over the hot rice. Use a spatula or flat wooden spoon to gently combine everything together.Let it cool. The rice should be fluffy, not wet and slippery. It should still be a little warm. Cover it with a damp towel until you're ready to roll it.
  5. Cover your bamboo mat with plastic wrap to keep rice from sticking to the mat. Have a small bowl of water to dip your fingers to keep rice from sticking to them.
  6. Carefully fold a sheet of seaweed in half, it should split. If not, cut it with kitchen scissors. Lay half a sheet of seaweed towards the bottom of the bamboo mat.
  7. Scoop a small amount of rice on the seaweed. Lightly wet your fingers in water and gently spread the rice out to the edges of the seaweed in a thin even layer. Don't use too much pressure, otherwise it will turn into mushy rice.
  8. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the rice. Flip the rice and seaweed over.
  9. Place a few strips of cucumber, avocado and crab meat (or imitation crab) across the roll. Be careful not to add too much filling, otherwise you won't be able to seal your roll.
  10. Start rolling by tucking your thumbs under the bamboo mat and use them to lift the mat and rice over the filling, while using other fingers to hold the filling in place. Keep rolling until the rice has folded over and stuck to the seaweed on the other end. Peal the mat back away as you continue to roll.
  11. Once the roll has been completely rolled into a cylinder, give the mat a firm press to compress the rice to make sure the roll is tight so it doesn't fall apart when you cut it.
  12. Gently move the roll onto a cutting board. To slice the roll, dip a sharp knife into water. Gently slice the roll into about half inch thick pieces, start from the middle. Serve with some soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.
Notes
If you cook it on the stove, turn on the heat to high and bring the rice to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and cover with a lid. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then turn of the heat and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes.
Recipe by Let's Cook Some Food at https://www.letscooksomefood.com/california-roll/