California rolls

This recipe is complements of my friend, Junko Terada, who makes fantastic sushi. She has shared deliciously tasty sushi she's made, many a time with me. Here's her recipe.

WARNING: If you're making sushi for the first time, you may not consider this a quick or easy make.

California rolls

Preparing sushi rice

3 cups of Japanese rice

A strip of kelp called ‘konbu’

Vinegar mixture (1/3 cup of rice vinegar, 3 T. of sugar, 2 t. of salt)

Wash rice and drain 30 min before cooking. Put rice in a rice cooker and add water to the water line. Put kelp and start cooking, Right before it gets boiled remove the kelp. The time will vary according to the cooker. (It takes about 20 minutes to get boiled.)

When rice is cooked, add vinegar mixture and put it out in a wooden bowl. As you mix, fan the rice vigorously. The fanning will make the rice look shiny!

What to put in California Rolls

Imitation crab meat

Rolled eggs

To make rolled eggs mix 3 eggs, 1T.sugar, a pinch of salt, 1T sake (Japanese wine) and white pepper. Panfry this mixture to make a roll by adding the mixture little by little.(Could be scrambled.)

Leaf lettuce

Avocado

Mayonnaise

White sesame seeds

Seaweed (yaki-nori)

How to roll

Place a sheet of seaweed cut in ¾ lengthwise on a bamboo mat, putting shiny side down. Spread sushi rice on seaweed by wetting fingers with vinegar water. Be careful not to press rice too much while spreading gently. Remember to put your fingers in the water plus vinegar mixture (1:1) each time as you work with your sticky rice.

Sprinkle white sesame seeds over rice and flip this over on the mat. Add an inch more rice on the far end. Put small amount of sushi rice in the middle part of the seaweed part in order to hold the ingredients. Put the above ingredients on top and start rolling by pulling the bamboo mat against you. Press it when you rolled half way through and keep rolling till the end.

How to cut the rolls

Clean the knife with wet towel each time you cut the roll. This will eliminate having the knife from getting sticky and messy.