Celebrate summer and impress your guests with a cool, classic California Roll created right in your own kitchen!
Make-at-home sushi, like this easy California Roll recipe, is fresh, healthy, and SO delicious! Avocado, imitation crab, and cucumber are the heart and soul of this simple 6-ingredient maki roll!
The California Roll is a Perennial Favorite!
Walk into any sushi restaurant, and the California Roll will almost certainly be at the top of the menu! It’s tasty, affordable, fresh, and fully cooked, making it an easy favorite for newbies and people who don’t eat raw fish.
With simple ingredients like surimi sticks (imitation crab or kani), rice, cucumber and avocado, the California Roll is tasty all by itself! But its mild flavor makes it a perfect foundation for other umami-rich Japanese flavors and sauces like soy, wasabi, ginger, spicy mayo, etc.
Other Recipes to Serve with a California Roll
- Yum Yum Sauce is a cool, creamy favorite with sushi lovers! You probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry!
- Shrimp Fried Rice – a one-pot meal that is easy to make and goes perfectly with sushi!
California Roll Ingredients
Protein: Surimi sticks (or imitation crab) are the foundation for virtually every California Roll!
Veggies: Cucumber and avocado! So, avocado is technically a fruit, but we’re grouping it here for this recipe.
Rice: Sushi rice works best for sushi. It’s short-grain white rice easily found at your local grocery store.
Nori: Nori is the dried, edible sheets of seaweed that are a staple in sushi making.
Garnish: Sesame seeds – black or white – are optional, but add interest and a nutty little crunch to the finished roll! Also, wasabi paste and pickled ginger served on the side complete the authentic sushi experience!
Sauce: Serve dark soy sauce in small dipping bowls, and don’t forget the chopsticks!
How to Make a California Roll
STEP ONE: Make sure the rice is cooked and ready. Cover your bamboo sushi mat in plastic wrap. Prep 2 small bowls – one for sesame seeds and one as a water bowl for your fingers. Peel and slice the cucumber and avocado into long strips.
STEP TWO: Slice the sheets of nori in half and place half on the lower end of the rolling mat with the rough side up. Add a generous amount of cooked rice to the nori. Wet your fingertips to help spread the sushi rice evenly over the nori sheet.
STEP THREE: Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Fold the top half of the mat over and turn it around so the rice side is facing down.
STEP FOUR: Place 2 pieces of surimi and strips of cucumber and avocado onto the nori. Roll the sushi away from you using the rolling mat, keeping the filling tightly in place. Add pressure as needed so everything will stick together and be easy to cut.
STEP FIVE: Wet the blade of a sharp knife and cut the roll in half. Cut each half in half again. Then, cut the quarters into halves. (Continue to wet the blade between cuts if needed). You should have eight evenly cut, beautiful pieces of sushi! Congratulations!
STEP SIX: Plate the rolls on a platter in a row with the rice up, or serve the slices on their side with the filling facing up. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger. Enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Lightly toasting the sesame seeds will give them a rich depth of flavor.
- You can chop the surimi sticks into tiny pieces or thin strips. For easy prep, you can slice the avocado and cucumber as thin or thick as you like.
- The addition of finely chopped carrots adds more filling, more color, and more nutrients!
- Using real crab elevates this dish to an impressive level.
- A variety of dipping sauces like yum yum sauce, sriracha or horseradish mayo, ponzu sauce and wasabi turn this simple sushi roll into a flavor-filled experience!
Is Sushi Good for You?
People always ask, “Is sushi healthy for you?” the answer is a resounding “YES!” Sushi contains nutrients like complex carbohydrates, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, lean proteins, and all the vitamins and minerals that fresh veggies (like cucumber, asparagus, carrots, and seaweed) have to offer!
Many sushi rolls are also low in calories. For example, with ponzu sauce or rice vinegar, the California Roll provides an entire meal for 300-350 calories! Be aware of the “Americanized” sushi rolls that are deep-fried or filled with cream cheese – these make the calorie count jump, so choose wisely!
What is Imitation Crab Made of?
Just what IS in imitation crab? Think of imitation crab (or surimi, kani, or krab with a K) as the seafood equivalent of deli meat. It mixes white fish (usually cod, pollock, and haddock), crab meat or crab flavoring, egg whites, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. It makes a dough-like paste fully cooked and then cut into sticks or flakes to look like real crab meat. Surimi has a firm texture and is a great, affordable substitute for crab or lobster in summer salads and sushi!
Other Awesome Asian-Inspired Recipes!
- Tuna Avocado Sushi Cups
- Roasted Miso Chicken
- Summer Veggie Udon Noodle Stir Fry
- Sesame Garlic Mushrooms
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
Equipment
- Prep Bowl
Ingredients
- 5 sheets nori
- 1 batch prepared sushi rice
- 20 surimi sticks (imitation crab sticks)
- ½ cucumber peeled
- 1 ½ avocados pitted
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- Black sesame seeds for garnish
For Serving
Instructions
- Cut the nori sheets in half horizontally (with the shorter side facing you) so that you have ten smaller rectangles. Cut the cucumber and avocado into thin strips. Leave the surimi sticks whole, cut them into small sticks, or chop them into fine pieces. Set aside.
- Add an equal amount of the white and black sesame seeds to a small bowl and mix together. Add some water to another small bowl. Set aside.
- Cover the bamboo sushi rolling mat in plastic wrap. Place a sheet of nori on the bottom half of the mat with the rough side facing up.
- Add a generous amount of sushi rice on top of the nori. Dip your fingertips in the water and press the rice evenly over the nori, edge to edge. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds if desired.
- Fold the top half of the rolling mat over the nori sheet and flip it over. Unfold the mat. Now, the rice side should be facing down.
- Place 2 of the surimi sticks, some cucumber, and some avocado in the line across the bottom half of the nori.
- Using the rolling mat, roll the sushi away from you. Keep the filling tightly in place. Add some pressure to the roll once it's rolled all the way to help everything stick and make it easy to cut.
- Wet the blade of a sharp knife and cut the roll in half. Cut those pieces in half again and then cut those pieces in half, for a total of 8 equally sized pieces.
- Arrange on a platter with small bowls of soy sauce for dipping and wasabi paste and pickled ginger on the side. Serve immediately.
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