Week 4: Make California Rolls yourself

It's no secret that I LOVE sushi. Actually, I didn't always. I hated the idea of raw fish up until -- you guessed it -- college, when everyone ate sushi and drank coffee at co-op coffee houses. What can I say, I'm a slave to the trends...

I pretty much eat sushi everywhere I go. I even once had it in Nashville (please don't judge, I know it's NOWHERE near an ocean, but imitation crab is readily available anywhere). I've tried so many different kinds, fish, textures and sauces, but would you believe I've never actually made it myself?

Which is why I decided to read up on sushi making and prepared my very own California Roll for my new thing this week. Looks like I'm chugging along pretty well with my "resolution" huh? The biggest surprise is how easy and delicious sushi-making can be! The hardest part was probably finding all the specialty ingredients.

Clearly I need to work on my rolling and cutting. But give me a break, it was my first-ever try!

After looking up how-to videos on YouTube (click on the link and it'll take you to the wealth of sushi-rolling knowledge YouTube has to offer), I got the general idea of the roll down. My next task was finding a place that sold sushi rolling mats. I looked at a few kitchen and home good stores and couldn't find it. Luckily a quick Internet search back at home pointed me in the direction of Sur la Table. A kitchen store I probably could live in. Kind of like Where the Heart Is, but less white trashy ;)

Next up, the recipe. I went with Alton Brown's California Roll recipe. Lucky for you, he also provides a sweet how-to video to brush up on sushi rolling skills.

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
• 4 sheets nori (seaweed wraps)
• 1/2 batch sushi rice, recipe follows
• 1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces
• 4 crabsticks, torn into pieces
• Pickled ginger, for serving
• Wasabi, for serving
• Soy sauce, for serving

(I omitted the sesame seeds and pickled ginger, can't stand the stuff)

Sushi Rice Recipe (start here first):

• 2 cups sushi or short grain rice
• 2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.

Directions for the sushi roll:

Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap. Cut nori sheets in half crosswise. Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat.Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1/2 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori.

Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Turn the sheet of nori over so that the rice side is down. Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet.

This was for J.D.'s "man roll" -- I wouldn't suggest making yours this size. Follow the directions and cut the nori in half, otherwise you'll be so full you won't be able to finish your roll. And there's also a logistical problem with fitting one of these bad boys into your mouth [[that's what she said]].

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder.

Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth. Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

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The rolling part took me a while and I didn't quite master it. When I make sushi again -- and trust me, I plan to soon -- I'll try to roll it super, super tight. It also needs a liberal spread of rice on the outside of the roll, that's why mine looks so tiny. And that's probably why it was sort of difficult for me to cut. Either way, it was delicious! I can't wait to play around with new flavors and fillings.

Next time you're craving sushi, why not try to make some yourself?! :) And be sure to catch up on all of my new weekly things in 2011!