This recipe makes 3 rolls, about 24 pieces. You will need a "makisu", which is a sushi rolling mat.
Ingredients:
- 1+1/2 American cups (400 cc or 340 g) California Rose Rice (short grain)
- 1 + 2/3 American cups (395 g) water
- 2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 tsp. (35 cc) rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. (20 g) granular sugar
- 1 + 4/5 tsp. (10 g) salt
- 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) Dashi Konbu (dried seaweed for broth)
- 8 oz. (224 g) imitation crab meat
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 cucumber
- 3 sheets of nori (dried seaweed sheets)
- 1 and a half avocado
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Making Sushi Rice
- Wash the rice until the water rinses clear.
- 1+1/2 American cups (400 cc or 340 g) California Rose Rice (short grain) or measure 2 cups with the rice cooker measuring cup (1 cup = 200 cc)
- Drain the rice in a colander and set aside for 20 minutes.
- Place the rice in a sauce pan or rice cooker and add water. Turn on a rice cooker or if you are cooking with a sauce pan, cover the pan with a lid and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, turn to low and let it simmer until the water is gone (about 20 minutes). Turn off the heat and let it rest with a lid for an additional 5 minutes.
- 1 + 2/3 American cups (395 g) water
- While the rice is cooking, in a small sauce pan, mix:
- 2 Tbsp. + 1 1/2 tsp. (35 cc) rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. (20 g) granular sugar
- 1 + 4/5 tsp. (10 g) salt
- Heat the vinegar mixture over low heat until sugar and salt are completely dissolved. Never let it boil. Add and leave for 30 minutes in the vinegar sauce:
- 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) Dashi Konbu (dried seaweed for broth)
- Spread the cooked hot rice into a large bowl. Immediately sprinkle the vinegar sauce over the rice and mix with a thin spatula. Cut the lumps of rice into small pieces so the vinegar will be evenly fold into rice. Mix quickly while the rice is very hot. Avoid unnecessary smashing or pressing motions.
- Cover the rice with a plastic and set aside.
Making California Rolls
- Chop finely:
- 8 oz. (224 g) imitation crab meat
- Add the seasoning to the above and mix well:
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds from the cucumber. Cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide strips. Sprinkle a dash of salt and set aside.
- 1 cucumber
- Peel, remove seeds and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch wide strips:
- Place a sushi rolling mat (makisu) on your working surface. Cover the mat with a sheet of plastic wrap.
- Spread 1/3 of rice thinly and evenly over the plastic. Press the rice with your finger tips using a sheet of plastic wrap so that the rice won't stick to your fingers.
- Place a sheet of nori (dried seaweed sheet) on top of the rice. Then on one end of the nori, add a strip of crab mixture, sliced cucumber and a few slices of avocado.
- Start rolling from the side with the filling (fig. 1), lifting up the rolling mat and pushing the filling with your finger tips so that they will not fall out (fig. 2). When the starting edge of the roll touches the seaweed (nori), start pulling the plastic sheet and rolling mat away from the sushi roll, because you do not want to include the plastic wrap and rolling mat in your sushi roll (fig. 3). Keep rolling forward as you pull the plastic sheet and rolling mat away from the sushi roll (fig. 4). After rolling all the way, open the mat, place the roll in the middle of the mat and give the final squeeze to make the rice stick together (fig. 5). Open the mat and remove the plastic sheet (fig. 6).
- Lightly toast sesame seeds in a frying pan.
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Sprinkle 1/3 of sesame seeds on a cutting board. Place the roll and roll on the board so the seeds will stick to the roll. Slice with a clean and wet knife, to prevent the rice from sticking to the knife.
FAQs
"The difference between California Rolls and Maki-zushi is the way it's rolled. The California Roll has the sushi rice on the outside with the nori on the inside. A Maki roll has the sushi rice on the inside with the nori on the outside.
What are the ingredients in a California roll? ›
A California roll is a fresh take on traditional Japanese rice rolls. Filled with avocado, crab, and cucumber, it's fresh and crunchy and makes a filling meal. You can use real or imitation crab.
Is there California Maki in Japan? ›
The California roll, nearly unknown in Japan but wildly popular abroad, is a reversed makizushi called ura-makizushi. The rice is on the outside and the seaweed on the inside. Inarizushi is sushi in a deep-fried tofu pocket that is stuffed with rice and sometimes other ingredients.
What is in makizushi sushi? ›
Makizushi is also known as rolled sushi or sushi rolls. This common type of sushi is made from seaweed and vinegared rice filled with different ingredients such as fish and vegetables. Seaweed is one of the main ingredients in this type of sushi so it is also often referred to as norimaki (seaweed roll).
What is a California roll in Japan? ›
California roll (加州巻き,カリフォルニアロール, kariforunia rōru) or California maki is an uramaki (inside-out makizushi roll) containing imitation crab (or rarely real crab), avocado, and cucumber.
What is the difference between Japanese sushi and California roll? ›
Unlike traditional sushi rolls, the California roll does not use raw fish as its main ingredient. Instead, it features avocado, imitation crab (also called kani), cucumber, and sushi rice, all wrapped in a sheet of nori (seaweed).
What does Japanese maki look like? ›
Maki sushi is made by layering a sheet of seaweed with vinegared rice and fillings. It's firmly rolled into thin tubes and sliced into bite-sized pieces. When you look at a slice of maki sushi, you'll see fillings on the inside, a coating of sticky rice, and a covering of thin seaweed paper (nori).
Can you order California rolls in Japan? ›
Yes, we do. They're sometimes called 裏巻き寿司 (Uramaki Sushi) which literally means Inside-out sushi, but they're mostly just called california rolls. They're really rare to see since most Japanese people prefer normal sushi than American sushi.
What is the orange stuff on California Maki? ›
The mysterious orange balls on sushi do have a name: tobiko. This translates to flying fish roe, which is used in Japanese cuisine and commonly in sushi. Tobiko are small fish eggs in comparison to salmon roe, for example. But Tobiko is larger than masago, which is capelin roe.
What are the 5 main ingredients in sushi? ›
The unavoidables
- Calrose sushi rice. Without a doubt, rice is the most important ingredient when making sushi. ...
- Nori sheets (algae leaves) You would like to make makis (sushi rolls) ? ...
- Sushi rice vinegar. Sushi rice vinegar is a very mild vinegar. ...
- Fish, seafood, proteins and/or vegetables.
In the Japanese language, some consonants need to be “hardened” when they serve as the first letter of a word with a prefix. “S”, for example, will be hardened to “Z”. Therefore, “sushi” is turned into “zushi” when it is used in words like “makizushi”, “chirashizushi”, or “edomaezushi”.
What is the difference between a roll and a maki roll? ›
The difference between a maki roll and a hand roll (temaki) is that maki sushi is firmly rolled and sliced into several bite-sized pieces. A hand roll is loosely rolled into a tube or cone shape and meant to be eaten whole as an individual serving.
Is maki the same as roll? ›
However, “sushi's” real name is Makizushi, or “Maki.” Maki refers to “rolled” sushi rice. The rice is rolled in a sheet of dry seaweed, called “nori.” It could occasionally be wrapped using other media, such as omelet, thin cucumber, and even soy paper.
What is California Maki made of? ›
California Maki is possibly one of the most popular non-traditional fusion recipes, showing up on dinner plates as early as the 70s. It's known for its inside-out style, brightly colored layer of tobiko or flying fish roe, and combination of fruit, kani, and cucumber inside.
Are there different types of California rolls? ›
Variations: The filling options for inside-out rolls are almost endless — smoked salmon, cooked shrimp, very fresh raw tuna and salmon, tofu (firm or silken), eggs (made into an omelet and cut into strips), scallions, mushrooms, snow pea sprouts, asparagus (lightly steamed), and grated carrot.