California rolls

This recipe uses a wide variety of fillings to power up the flavour: prawn, chives, pickled ginger and wasabi. Mix and match to suit your taste.

California rolls Credit: Richo's Bar Snacks

• makes

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

You can expect to find crabmeat, cucumber and avocado in a classic California roll, but this recipe uses a wide variety of fillings to power up the flavour: prawn, chives, pickled ginger and wasabi. Mix and match to suit your taste.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked sushi rice
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp mirin
• nori sheets
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 10 prawns, cooked, shelled, intestinal tract removed, halved lengthways
• 250g crabmeat
• 1 cucumber, cut into long strips
• 1 bunch chives
• 1 avocado, peeled, sliced lengthways
• 1 tbsp wasabi paste
• pickled daikon, cut into long thin strips
• 1 tbsp bonito flakes, crushed
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp flying fish roe
• ¼-⅓ cup pickled ginger
• 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

Instructions

1. Spread rice onto a wooden board, using your hands or a wooden spoon (metal will taint the rice).
2. Mix rice vinegar and mirin in a bowl and sprinkle over rice. Cut through rice with a wooden spoon to distribute vinegar. Allow rice cool.
3. Place 1 nori sheet on a bamboo mat. Spread a thin layer of rice over nori, leaving about 3 cm at one end. Dip fingers in water as you spread rice to prevent it from sticking to you.
4. Drizzle a small amount of mayonnaise over rice. Layer pieces of prawn, crabmeat, cucumber, chives, avocado, wasabi, daikon, bonito flakes, sesame seeds, roe or ginger onto rice, 3 cm in from edge. You want lots of flavours without making the roll so big it won’t fold.
5. To roll, dip fingers in water and brush exposed nori sheet. This will help it stick once rolled. Using the bamboo mat, roll nori over itself, pushing ingredients in and tightly rolling over.
6. Slice roll in half and then into pieces, cleaning knife each time to stop rice sticking to outside of sushi.
7. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

 

This recipe is from Richo's Bar Snacks on SBS Food (Channel 33). Stream episodes via SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

You can expect to find crabmeat, cucumber and avocado in a classic California roll, but this recipe uses a wide variety of fillings to power up the flavour: prawn, chives, pickled ginger and wasabi. Mix and match to suit your taste.