California Rolls

 
I’ve seen many variations of a California Roll, but the basic ingredients in most California Rolls are Nori seaweed, sushi rice, imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado.  My mom’s idea of great Japanese Food is enjoying a nice big fat California Roll with ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce.  Everyone else in the family disagrees, but California Rolls make her happy since she doesn’t really like the raw fish in sushi.

California Rolls are available everywhere and probably one of the most well known rolls around here.  Sometimes I wonder how popular this roll is outside of California.  For those of you interested in the history of the California Roll, according to Wikipedia, “In the 1960s, Los Angeles became the entry point for sushi chefs from Japan seeking to make their fortune in the United States. The Tokyo Kaifeng restaurant then featured one of the first sushi bars in Los Angeles. Ichiro Mashita, a sushi chef at the Kaitlyn, began substituting avocado for fatty tuna (toro) and after further experimentation, the California roll was born.”

In this recipe, you’ll notice that the Nori is on the outside and not on the inside of the roll.  That is how Jane likes to roll it and I think that’s what makes our California Roll unique.   I had a hard time listing the exact amount of ingredients used for this recipe because we just prepared all the ingredients and rolled until we ran out of Nori or rice.  This is a fun cooking activity to do with family and friends.  Try it!

Ingredients:

4 cups medium-grain white rice (sushi rice)
4-5 cups water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 sheets of Nori (dried seaweed)
2 avocados
2 cucumbers
1 cup imitation crab
3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt

Steps:

1. Cook sushi rice according to instructions on the package.
2. Peel avocados, remove the pit,  and cut into strips
3. Peel cucumber, remove seeds and cut into strips
4. Put imitation crab in a bowl and mix with mayonnaise.
5. Cover a bamboo mat with plastic wrap (Optional).
6. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat.
7. Spread sushi rice on top of the seaweed and press firmly.
8. Place avocado, cucumber, and crab horizontally on the seaweed.
9. Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients firmly inside the cylinder-shaped sushi.
10. Cut the sushi roll into bite-size pieces.