California Roll Recipe - Part 1 (Preparation)

Okay. I really didn't want to have to do this, but I am separating the California Roll recipe into 2 parts for a couple reasons. First, there are a lot of of pictures and steps I have for the recipe. Second, the method for spreading rice, rolling, and cutting the roll is very specific. For this reason, I wanted to make a post that people can refer back to in order to learn the technique for making rolls in the future. So here is this first part of the recipe for California Rolls.

As you may already know, California Rolls are not traditional Japanese style sushi. While most traditional sushi can date back a few hundred years ago, the California Roll was invented merely 40 years ago, around the 60's-70's. Still, it has become a sushi staple around the world ever since. California rolls are great for parties, fun to make, and they are a great place to start for learning to make sushi!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of sushi rice , dry measure(makes about 4 rolls).

-4 imitation crabsticks

-1 cucumber

-1 avocado

-4 nori sheets

-roasted sesame seeds

-wasabi & gari

Tools:

-makisu (bamboo mat)

-knife (a very sharp one)

-plastic wrap

A picture of everything you will need. (sushi rice not shown)

First, halve an avocado, then cut it in half. You will only need half of an avocado for 4 rolls.

Next, cut each piece in half one more time, peel the skin, and then cut in half again. You should end up with 8 pieces of avocado from the half (16 pieces from one whole avocado).

I have seen some sushi chefs just peel each half and then cut them into small slices. Though the method I am showing can be slightly more time consuming, I prefer it because you will end up with avocado slices that are equivalent in size and length.

Moving onto the cucumber. First, cut one end of the cucumber (about an 1/2 inch to an inch). After it's cut, measure the cucumber to the crab stick. This way, you know how much to cut off the other end. 

(I usually use my knife to measure the cucumber, but crab sticks work just fine.)

Cut off 4 corners of the cucumber length wise. (about 1/2 inch thick)

Slice each section of cucumber into 3-4 pieces. These should be about 1/3-1/2 inch thickness as well.

Lastly, peel the imitation crab sticks in half, length wise. You can also fine chop the crab meat and mix it with a little mayonnaise. My wife prefers it mixed with mayo while I prefer it just whole. Do whatever you like! I'll demonstrate how you can make the other version of a California roll another time. 

That's pretty much it for preparation. You can prepare all this while the rice is cooking, or even before you cook the rice, and then leave it in the refrigerator. 

Check out Part 2 to see how to finish making the roll.