If you travel to Japan, you will discover that you cannot find this sushi recipe in Japan. In fact, it was invented in California, hence its name.
To make California roll at home, you will need a few basic tools that make up a sushi kit – which you can shop online for.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
Sushi rice:
- 135g sushi rice (Japanese short-grain rice)
- 375ml water
- 1 tablespoon Japanese rice vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Toasted white sesame seeds
Filling:
- 85g artificial crab meat or real crab lump meat
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 squirt of lemon juice
- 1 small cucumber, seeded and cut into 10cm strips
- 1 avocado, peeled and cut into strips
Condiments:
- Soy Sauce
- Wasabi
- Pickled sushi ginger
Method:
- Rinse the sushi rice with cold water until the water runs clear. Discard the cloudy water and add 375ml clean water to the rice.
- Then, cook the sushi rice in an electric rice cooker. Scoop it out onto a plate and let cool.
- Mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt together in a small bowl. Make sure the sugar is dissolved. Add the vinegar mixture to the rice and stir until it is evenly mixed. Set the sushi rice aside.
- Chop the crab and mix with mayonnaise and lemon juice. Stir to combine well.
- Lay the bamboo mat on a flat surface and cover it with plastic wrap. Lay a small sheet of nori (10cm x 20cm) at the bottom.
- Scoop the rice onto the seaweed and distribute it evenly in a thin layer. Use the back of the spoon to press and flatten the surface of the rice.
- Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on the rice and use the back of the spoon to press the sesame onto the rice.
- Turn the seaweed and rice over. Arrange four strips of cucumber and two strips of avocado on the nori, followed by the crab mixture. Make sure you don’t overfill.
- Roll up the California Roll using the bamboo mat, making sure you tug the sushi rolls very tight.
- Keep rolling using the bamboo mat until you have a nice roll.
- With a sharp knife, trim about 1cm off each end of the sushi roll. Before each slice, wipe off the residue from the knife and wet the knife with some water. Slice each roll into five or six pieces.
Repeat the steps above to make four sushi rolls. Arrange the sushi on a plate and serve immediately with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.
When rolling the sushi rolls, you want to make sure that each roll is really compact and tight.
Practice makes perfect, and in no time, you will be a pro!
This recipe first appeared in Rasa Malaysia.
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.