Food

California Rolls

I am absolutely obsessed with Sushi, and I always end up spending at least £10 on 8 pieces. Although I am never guilty of spending that much money on Sushi (it’s worth it), I had to take a more logical approach and to spend my £10 wisely. Therefore I decided to make homemade Sushi, and to save all you other young ladies and gents (from buying expensive luxury Sushi), I want to share this recipe I used with you. It is from a recipe book called “Sushi” published by Parragon.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 quantity freshly cooked rice
  • 6 small sheets of toasted nori
  • 1/2  ripe avocado, cut into batons
  • 6 crab sticks, split in half lengthways
  • 5-cm/2-inch piece of cucumber, peeled and cut into batons
  • wasabi paste, plus extra to garnish

Instructions: 

  1. Divide the rice into 6 equal portions. Put a sheet of nori shiny-side down on a rolling mat with the longest end towards you and, using wet hands, spread 1 portion of the rice in an even layer on the nori, leaving 2 cm/ 3/4 inch of nori visible at the end farthest away from you. Don’t squash the rich or make the layer too thick – you should be able to see the nori through the rice.
  2. Spread a small amount of wasabi onto the rice at the end nearest you (this is optional). Lay 2 avocado batons down on top of the wasabi/rice, keeping  them parallel to the edge of the nori nearest you, then put 2 pieces of crab next to them. Add a line of cucumber batons.
  3. To roll the sushi, fold the mat over, starting at the end where the ingredients are and tucking in the end of the nori to start the roll. Keep rolling, lifting up the mat as you go and keeping the pressure even but gentle until you have finished the roll.
  4. Moisten the top edge of the nori with water and seal the sushi roll closed. Don’t worry if anything falls out of the sides; just push it back in. The edges may well look ragged, but don’t worry.
  5. Remove the roll from the mat and cut it into 4 even-sized pieces with a wet, very sharp knife. If you don’t use a sharp knife, the roll will squash as you cut it.
  6. Arrange the rolls on a plate. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Serve with shoyu, pickled ginger and some extra wasabi paste.

By Isabella Santamaria