How to Make a California Roll

Most of us are familiar with the term sushi, which is one of the Japanese delicacies that is now popular all across the world. Sushi is available in various types, and is basically made of sushi rice and certain other ingredients rolled in seaweed.

As mentioned earlier, sushi is now served in restaurants all across the world. You may also find some popular regional versions of sushi in certain places. One such regional sushi version is the California roll. It can be described as an inverted form of regular sushi.

In this type of sushi, the rice is found outside and the seaweed and other ingredients at the center. It is very easy to make a California roll at home itself.

So, California rolls are variations of sushi that emerged in the United States. It is said that this type of sushi was invented during the 1970s, by Ichiro Mashita, a Japanese sushi chef, who worked at the Tokyo Kaikan restaurant in Los Angeles.

 In his new version of sushi, he replaced tuna with avocado. Later, he started making 'inside out' sushi (known as uramaki in Japan). These sushi with rice on the outside and the seaweed on the inside were termed California rolls.

This sushi version got famous in the United States during the latter part of the twentieth century, and is said to be responsible for the popularity of this dish in the country. Usually, these rolls are made of avocado, cucumber, crab meat and / or crab stick.

Ingredients

• Sushi rice - 4 cups
• Dried seaweed - 4 sheets
• Mayonnaise - 2 tablespoons
• Crab meat (or crab stick) - 1 cup
• Avocado - 1
• Salt - ½ teaspoon
• Sesame seeds (white) - 4 teaspoons

You have to make sushi rice, beforehand. For making sushi rice, you have to rinse and soak the rice for around thirty minutes. For this purpose, use medium grained sticky rice or sushi rice. After soaking, cook it with enough water in a pan or a rice cooker.

Once the rice is done, transfer it to a shallow dish and gently mix with vinegar dressing (made by heating six tablespoons of rice vinegar with two tablespoons of granulated sugar and two teaspoons salt. Cook on medium heat till the sugar dissolves. Don't let the mixture boil).

Once the rice is done, keep it aside and prepare the other ingredients. Wash and peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half (lengthwise), remove the seeds and slice them into long, thin pieces. Avocado should be cut lengthwise, in half. Remove the seed and the peel the fruit.

Cut into long, thin slices, like the cucumber. You may smear the avocado slices with lemon juice, in order to prevent discoloration. You can remove the meat from the thicker part of the crab leg. Cut the meat into two halves (lengthwise). Even the crab sticks have to be cut lengthwise into two halves.

As you are ready to make California rolls, take the bamboo sushi roll mat and spread it on a cutting board. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the mat and spread a cup of cooked sushi rice on it. It will be better to spread enough rice (with wet fingers) that can be covered with a sheet of seaweed.

The next step is to roll the mat horizontally, along with the sushi ingredients, in such a manner that the crab meat, avocado and cucumber filling make the center of the roll, with a covering of seaweed, followed by rice. The rice layer will be the outermost.

Once the roll is ready, remove the mat as well as the plastic wrap. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the roll. Cut them horizontally into thin slices and your California rolls are ready. You can serve this sushi with soy sauce, vinegared ginger, and / or wasabi (Japanese horseradish).

The above said is a simple and easy recipe for making California rolls. Once you get comfortable in making this sushi, you can try the different variations of this sushi roll recipe. So why wait? Get the required ingredients and prepare them right away.