California Rolls

California rolls are the "sushi" that I usually start sushi virgins off with. There are no strange ingredients and the roll gets a novice used to the flavors of nori and vinegared rice. I will sometimes even wrap it inside out so that the rice, and not the seaweed, is visible on the outside. I really think this is unnecessary and actually prefer the regular maki instead of the uramaki. After I get sushi virgins to enjoy California rolls, I will venture out and maybe do a tempura roll, rainbow roll, or caterpillar roll. The tempura is a baby step since it just introduces fried shrimp into the mix and is drizzled with a yummy tempura sauce. The rainbow is a bigger step because it introduces different types of sashimi and the novice can now decide on the fish they like. The caterpillar roll is an even bigger step since it introduces eel into the mix. The eel is actually very good and people usually like the taste until they find out that unagi is eel.

As for the ingredients for California roll, these are the typical things I use: nori, sushi rice, cucumber, avocado, imitation crab, mayo, black sesame seeds, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Tobiko creeps as few people out.



Rice: I keep about 8 different kinds of rice in my pantry (jasmine, brown jasmine, sticky, brown, basmati, brown basmati, sushi or short grain, and black). I buy 5 pounds bags of each except for the jasmine and the sticky rices. Those I purchase in 25 pound bags (my mom does 50 pound bags and at any given time she has an excess of 10 bags in her garage). I store my rice in large food grade buckets or smaller plastic containers. For the sushi I am using a short grain rice. The brand I always turn to is Kokuho Rose. Most American grocery stores carry a brand called Shirakiku. I'm not too thrilled about their products. I keep the Kokuho Rose for when I make sushi or a Japanese or Korean dish.

Imitation crab: I like to buy the imitation crab from Korean of Japanese stores. The crab sticks are long, skinny, and come individually wrapped. The Crab Classic stuff will work in a pinch.

Perfect length for the nori.

Mayo: The ideal mayo to use is the Kewpie brand mayonnaise. It makes an awesome Honey Walnut Prawn dish. I didn't have Kewpie so I used the canola mayo from Whole Foods. This mayo is a requirement for their cranberry tuna salad.

Cucumbers: I don't really have a preference just not the regular slicers cucumbers often found in grocery stores. I like to use pickling, persian or english cucumbers.

Nori: I usually buy the 10 pack since I can never use the 50 pack quickly enough. I don't think they keep very well after they are open. They start to oxidize and turn a purplish color. The funny thing about nori is that I never really associated it with this other algae that I grew up eating. They too were dried in sheets. It wasn't until I was at my aunt's house that I made the connection. I was eating this algae dish she made and she said she used Japanese nori but flavored it so that it would taste like the stuff my grandmother made. This is the same aunt that bought bags of italian meatballs from Costco and boiled them with her pho broth. I swore they were regular beef balls.

1 1/2 cups sushi rice, rinsed and cooked
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
5 strips cucumber
5 pieces imitation crab meat
1 avocado, cut into strips
black sesame seeds
mayo, as needed

1. Cook the sushi rice in rice cooker. Let the rice sit at "keep warm" setting for at least 15 minutes.
2. Pour rice into a flatter bowl. Add vinegar, sugar, and salt. Using a flat wooden spoon stir the rice while fanning to cool the rice. The rice should be nice and glossy.

3. Place nori on sushi mat. Gently and evenly spread rice on nori sheet. Be gently. The biggest mistake I see people make when I try to teach this is pressing too hard on the rice and squishing the rice grains. You want whole separate grains; not mochi.

4. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds. I often forget this step.

5. On the edge closest to you, place imitation crab, cucumber and avocado. Spread some mayo on the imitation crab. If you have the Kewpie mayo, you can just sqeeze it on. If using flake imitation crab, you will have to tear into smaller pieces and mix with mayo.

6. Starting from the edge closest to you, roll tightly. You want to roll, adjust on the mat, continue to roll, all the while using the mat to help you roll tightly.

7. Slice into about 1/2 inch pieces. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger. I am a pursist when it comes to many foods. I don't dip in soy sauce or wasabi. I don't even dip my dim sum in soy sauce or chili sauce. I don't like to drown my food with salty soy sauce. A lot of my friends will pour soy sauce all over their rice before they start eating. I think it interferes with the flavors of the rest of the dishes you are eating. I also never cook my rice with chicken broth when I am preparing rice for an asian meal.

What we like to call the "reject pieces" (end pieces). These pieces are often gobbled up immediately and never make it on to the serving platter.