California Roll

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Wake Up Little Sushi

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (15)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
8 appetizer servings

Times:

Prep: 45 min
Inactive Prep: 1 hr 0 min
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 2 hr 5 min

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Directions

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces

4 sheets nori

1/2 batch sushi rice, recipe follows

1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces

4 crabsticks, torn into pieces

Pickled ginger, for serving

Wasabi, for serving

Soy sauce, for serving

Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap. Cut nori sheets in half crosswise. Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat. Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1/2 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Turn the sheet of nori over so that the rice side is down. Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet. Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth. Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

Ingredients

Sushi Rice:

2 cups sushi or short grain rice

2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi or sashimi.

Yield: 4 cups

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Comments & Reviews

recipe California Roll
Jon Torrance, CA 09-07-2009
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California Roll
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thought this recipe was out of this world. My Family and I love California rolls,and decided to try and make our own.I was a... little hit and miss on the amount of fillings to use,so that when rolled,it would close all the way,but what the heck.We also minced some krab,and mixed with Vegenaise(mayo's sub.) along with a pinch of cayenne and paprika. Mmmm , Good Eats......Read more
recipe California Roll
Marisol El Paso, TX 07-05-2009
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Great Recipe!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My husband and I are sushi lovers, and I always wanted to try making sushi. Never found someone who could explain the method... plain and simple. But then AB came around and did it!!! After watching this episode I felt enough confidence to try it. The rice recipe is not complicated at all. We did use the Tablespoon of KOSHER salt. It was not salty at all. I think the difference rests on the kind of salt you use, if you use table salt it's probably to much, but with the KOSHER salt it's just the right amount. We just got finished eating the sushi and I couldn't wait to come and write a review on it. We also added some cream cheese to the rolls (greatly recomended if you like cream cheese). Great flavor and so easy even my eight year old daughter made her own rolls. ALTON ROCKS!!!!Read more
recipe California Roll
Brett Simi Valley, CA 07-02-2009
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Excellent Recipe - Great Show Alton!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thanks Alton for helping me overcome my fear of making sushi! While admittedly, I'm not the biggest sushi fan, my wife IS. ... You know the saying, "Happy Wife, Happy Life." Anyway, this episode was the absolute perfect "step-by-step" outline for making sushi. The rice was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Great flavor, texture and workability! I must admit that I strained the sugar and kosher salt that did not blend with the vinegar through a fine mesh strainer (& make sure you get the california style short grain rice as mentioned in the show, and DO NOT AGITATE it when mixing in the vinegar - FOLD it in.) I also took a little creative license and toasted some black & white sesame seeds - YUM! Toasting the seeds makes ALL the difference! The greatest tip for me was the bowl of water for both your fingers and the knife - "Dip Early and Dip Often." I've found that all the flavors were excellent, but my own personal skills need improvement. The rolls were nice & round, but somehow didn't "close" together where the Nori & Rice were should have met back up. Good thing we have forks to clean up all the goodies that fell out from my lack of skillz. Anyway, I liked this California Roll better than ANY OTHER California Roll I've ever had! I also had enough rice to make a couple of MY favorites, the "Crunchy Roll" (Tempura Shrimp, Scallions and Tempura Sauce along with the rice & sesame seeds.) Thanks again. BrettRead more
recipe California Roll
Elspeth Van Nuys, CA 05-15-2009
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I never thought I would make sushi but...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

After spending $80 at a sushi bar, my husband and I decided it was time to try this recipe. These clear, detailed... instructions really break the process down enough so that we were actually able to make it with great success. Read more
recipe California Roll
ARNOLD LAFOLLETTE , TN 02-20-2008
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Wonderful show
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I wish his shows were available for download to the computer. I would love to download them and watch them over. Alton... Brown is brilliant. Arnold JonesRead more
recipe California Roll
Anonymous 01-03-2008
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Yummo
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

It was fabulous and I couldne't stop eating. Continue with your delicios recipes. Thanx, ... SydneyRead more