California Rolls Recipe
Portion: 6 California rolls
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 minutes
For the rice:
- 2 cups short grain Japanese rice
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 Kombu, 1 x 2 inches, cleaned with damp towel
Vinegar mixture:
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional ingredients:
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces
- 1 avocado, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces
- 1/2 lemon
- 6 imitated crabs, halved
- 3 nori sheet, halved
- 6 teaspoons white toasted sesame seeds
Sides:
- Soy sauce
- Pickled ginger
- Wasabi
Tools:
- 1 rice cooker, can be replaced with a pot
- 1 small pan
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 clean kitchen towel
- 1 rice paddle
- 1 bowl water
- 1 bamboo rolling mat
- 1 large ziploc bag
- 1 shape knife
Instruction
To cook the rice:
Rinse the rice under running water until the water becomes clear, 10 times. (We do this to remove the surface starch on the rice and to prevent it from becoming overly sticky). Let it drain, 10 minutes.
Transfer the rice to a rice cooker. Add the filtered water in the pot. Place the kombu in the pot as well. Use the setting for use and cook until done, roughly 30 minutes.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, place the rice and water in a pot, and cover the lid. Cook over medium-high heat, bring just to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, continue to cover and let it rest for 15 more minutes.
To prepare other ingredients:
Squeeze the lemon juice over avocado to prevent browning.
To make the vinegar mixture, in a small pan, add the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cook over low heat until dissolved. Turn off the heat before it reaches boiling point.
To mix the rice:
Pour the rice into a large mixing bowl, preferably flat surface. (Traditionally Japanese use a wooden mixing tub.) Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice paddle and then spread over the rice. Use cut and fold motion to gently mix the rice without smashing the grains. Fan it occasionally. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let the rice cool to just slightly above room temperature.
To assembly the sushi:
Before making the sushi, prepare a bowl of water on the side. Cover a bamboo rolling mat with a large ziploc bag. Lay a nori sheet, the shiny side down, on the covered mat. Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice. Turn the nori sheet over so that the rice side is down.
Place 3 pieces of avocado, 2 slices of imitated crab sticks, and 1 slice of cucumber in the center of the sheet. Grab the edge of the mat closest to you and roll it into a tight cylinder.
Cut each roll into 8 pieces.
Serve:
Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.
