California Rolls

                                                   Courtesy Photo (http://www.thedailydishonline.com)

 Japan. It's one place that's high on my list to visit. The cuisine is so refined and they are, without a doubt, the most technologically advanced societies on the planet. For some reason, ever since I was young I've always had a lot of Asian friends. Especially Japanese friends. I've learned a lot about their cuisine, but unfortunately the only thing I know how to make is sushi. Which isn't the worst thing in the world!  Sushi in Japan is considered to be an art form, so I'm by know means trying to say that I'm a sushi master, but to make everyday sushi is not very difficult and can be fun for the whole family. 

The first thing you need to do is wash your rice. Asians consider not washing rice to be very unhygienic. The rice must be washed until the water runs clear. If you can, go down to your local asian market and pick up some Japanese sushi rice for a more authentic experience. So let's give it a go!

California Rolls

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups of Sushi Rice, prepared and cooled
1 avocado, slice into 1/4 inch slices4-6 sheets of Nori 

1 Cucumber, de-seeded, sliced into 1/8 slices

4-6 Crab sticks, sliced in half lengthwise

4  sheets of Nori

Wasabi, for serving 

Pickled Ginger, for serving

Sesame Seeds, toasted, for garnish

Soy Sauce, for serving

You can pick up many of these ingredients online or at your local Asian market. Many chain supermarkets also carry many of these items as well.

DIRECTIONS:

Peel and de-seed cucumber. Slice into 1/8 inch slices (lengthwise). Slice Crab sticks in half (length wise) and set aside. Slice the avocado in 1/4 inch slices and set aside. 

Take a bamboo mat and cover with plastic wrap. Lay one nori sheet shiny side down on the mat. With a spoon, spread about 1/2 cup of the rice covering the entire nori sheet. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice. Flip nori sheet rice side down. Place 2 cucumber slices, crab sticks and avocado slices about 1 inch from the edge of sheet facing you. 

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you and roll the mat over the ingredients tucking it under and firmly squeezing the mat to form the roll. Roll two more times and squeeze again to form sushi roll. Repeat once more until finished. 

Take of the mat and peel away the plastic. Voila! 

Repeat the process until all rice is used. Remember: Practice makes perfect!