California Rolls

Making your own sushi can be fun, inexpensive and delicious. Sarah and I have been making these rolls for years. I started out using a recipe from the Best of Bridge, but the one included here is from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Julie Van Rosendaal.

Ingredients:

1 cup sushi rice

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tb. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into long, thin slices

OR 1 small English cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into long, thin slices

2 Tb. lemon juice

6 sheets nori (seaweed)

1/2 lb Alaskan king crab meat of imitation crab (pollock)

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

For dipping:

soy sauce

wasabi (optional)

I like using sushi rice because it is so sticky, making it perfect for rolling. My previous recipe called for a fairly complicated way of making the rice, but I have started using my rice cooker and it works just fine.

• Wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear. Into the rice cooker put 1 cup sushi rice and 1 2/3 cups water. Turn on and let it cook until ready.
• Once cooked, transfer the rice to a large bowl.
• Combine 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1 Tb. sugar, and 1 tsp. salt in a small microwave safe bowl and cook for a few minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Cool and add to the warm rice, stirring gently. Let the rice cool completely before you use it.

Meanwhile, slice the cucumber (or avocado) into thin slices. My family prefers cucumber, so that is what I generally use. If you are using avocado, you can toss it with lemon juice to avoid discoloring.

You can use crabmeat or imitation crab

You can find nori (or seaweed) in the Asian section of your local grocery store

Using a bamboo mat is helpful when rolling the sushi. I like to put my bamboo mat into a large ziplock bag as it makes for easy clean up.

Lay a bamboo sushi mat on the counter with the slats running horizontally. Put a piece of the nori on it wth the nori's long side facing you. With dampened hands, spread 1/2 cup of the rice over it, leaving a 1" border across the top edge.

I like to have a bowl of water nearby for me to use to wet my hands.

Arrange avocado or cucumber across the nori

Add pieces of crab

You can either mix the crab with the mayonnaise beforehand or squeeze the mayonnaise across the crab.

Using a pastry brush, wet the far end of the nori, which will aid in sticking.

Take the edge of the mat closest to you and roll the nori away from you as tightly as you can, pressing the roll as you go so it keeps its shape.

After each roll, lift the sushi mat off the nori and re-roll, so you do not end up rolling the mat into the sushi.

You can eat the sushi right away or make it for later. When you are ready to eat them, cut the rolls into 1" slices using a sharp, serrated knife.

I make lots for our annual Christmas open house, as you can see in the photo below.

And we love leftovers. Sarah loves to take these in her lunch and eats it just like a wrap. My 85 year old mother in law enjoys these too.

• You can put just about anything you like in a sushi roll, so get creative.
• I have heard of people having sushi making parties, where the ingredients are prepped ahead of time and people make their own sushi. I think this is a great idea, yet have not tried it yet.
• I've said this before, but I think it is worth saying again: Getting children involved in preparing their own food is so important. Not only are they learning valuable life skills, they are more likely to be interested in trying what they have prepared.