Subject: Sushi: California Roll
From: Dave <[email-masked]>
Date: 27 Feb 1997 06:11:29 -0700
Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes

submitted by: [email-masked]

Literally hundreds of people have asked me if we had any sushi recipes 
so I thought I would share this with everyone!!  Sushi is fun and easy to 
make -- after you've tried this one, try putting other ingredients in.  
Recently, I taught my girlfriend what I'm about to teach you in this 
message and she loves doing it!!  The results were very tasty, too :)

Sushi: California Roll

For two rolls or twelve pieces of sushi, you'll need the following:

==> For the rice...
1 cup glutinous rice
1 1/3 cups water

==> For the rest...
bamboo or sushi mat (can be found at most gourmet food stores -- only costs 
        about $2 US) 
2 sheets roasted seaweed or "Nori"
traces of mayonnaise (fat-free, if you prefer)
traces of seasoned rice vinegar
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds 
1/3 cucumber, chopped into thin slivers
1/2 cup avocado, sliced into thin slivers
3/4 cups crab meat, sliced into thin slivers (I have found that fake crab 
        meat actually looks better and is slightly easier to use)
traces of your favorite Oriental ginger sauce

==> To make the rice...

        A good proportion to make glutinous rice is 4 parts water to 3 
parts rice.  So, bring the water to a rapid boil.  Add the rice and lower 
the heat.  Then, cover the pot to let the rice simmer for about 30 
minutes.  Time might be longer or shorter, depending on the exact heat of 
your stove so keep an eye on it after 20 minutes or so.  Before you 
remove the rice from the heat, make certain that ALL of the water is 
absorbed by taking a spoon and peeking at the bottom of the pot.  If 
there is water remaining, give it a few more minutes.  If the bottom rice 
is a little crunchy, then it's been too long -- but it's a nice texture, 
nonetheless :) Allow the rice to cool before working with it.

==> To prepare the sushi...

1. Set the bamboo mat on a flat surface and place some plastic wrap 
above that.  Then, put the Nori on the plastic wrap, shiny side-down.  
You may notice some perforations on your Nori (some manufacturers do 
this).  This is done to make the final slicing easier.  So, if you 
prefer it this way, place down the Nori so that the perforations run 
vertically.  Spread some of the mayonnaise over the Nori so that it is 
completely covered.  You can use a spoon although I've noticed that 
using your fingers is actually more effective and you also do not need 
as much mayonnaise this way.  

2. Wet hands.  Take some of the cooled rice and distribute it 
evenly along the top of the mayonnaise-coated Nori.  Leave about a 
half-inch at the top.  Do not use too much rice -- it should only come 
up to about 1/8 of an inch or a little more than 1/2 a centimeter in 
when laid out.  If you discover that you have placed down too much rice, 
then simply press down the rice with your fingers.

3. Season the rice with the vinegar, splashing only traces of it on
the rice.  Then, scatter some sesame seeds on the rice, just as you 
did the vinegar.

4. At about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the sheet (by 'bottom', I'm 
referring to the part closest to you), arrange the cucumber, crab meat, 
avocado, and sauce in a thin horizontal line along the rice.  You are 
now read to roll the sushi.

==> To roll the sushi...

        With your hands, gather the end of the sheet that is closest to 
you (the bottom) and start to roll upwards, towards the edge of the sheet 
that is farthest from you.  Once you come across the cucumber, crab meat, 
and avocado -- which should be almost immediately -- start to tuck the 
ingredients under the part that you have already rolled.  About halfway 
through rolling, bring up the bamboo mat and curl it over the roll so 
that you're covering the rolled part of the sushi with the mat.  Squeeze 
this part of the mat so that the sushi becomes tightly packed.  Following 
this, continue up the sheet.  Once you have finished, repeat the process 
of tightening the roll with the bamboo mat.
        At this point, you might notice that the ends might seem either a 
little empty or over-filled.  This is fine but cut off the ends of the 
roll and discard (or eat).  Cut the roll first in half, and then each 
part in thirds, forming six pieces of sushi.
        Repeat the process for your second roll of sushi.

Note: Many people associate sushi with raw fish.  It is not always made 
this way, however if you would like to prepare the rolls using fish or 
other raw seafood, please first soak the flesh in lemon juice.  This will 
kill any bacteria that may be in the fish and actually perhaps make it 
taste even better.  If you prefer not to use lemon juice, use some other 
liquid that contains citric acid.

        If you have any questions or concerns about making this recipe, 
please feel free to drop me a message.  Also, if you have made sushi 
using this recipe, please tell me how it goes :-) Despite the long 
instructions with this message, sushi really becomes easy to make with 
minimal practice.  I will also to search for computer images that may 
help to teach people how to roll the sushi and then put them on my web 
page with this recipe.  Good Luck!!

                        Dave

 ... Cherry Hill, NJ, USA

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