Sushi

Some good friends of ours came over for homemade Chinese food & Sushi (California rolls) and taught us how to make the sushi!  So they say the best way to learn how to do something is to teach someone else.  So I will share with you the recipe & instructions to an AMAZING California roll.
This link is to the blog where my friends learned how to make it , the instructions/recipe with my modifications are below.

Wrapper/Rice/Seasoning:

• 1 package nori (seaweed)
• 2 cups Jasmine “sushi” (short-grain) rice
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Filling:

• 1/2 lb. crab
• thinly sliced avocado & cucumber
• cream cheese 

You will Also need:

• bamboo mat

• plastic wrap (Saran wrap)
• small bowl of water (about 1 cup) mixed with 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Prep-

Rinse and drain the rice under cold water a few times until the water is no longer milky. Then cook the rice.

While it cooks, prepare the rice seasoning mixture. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together the rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Once the rice is cooked, remove it from the rice cooker and spread it out in a pan (or cookie sheet, or whatever works), and sprinkle with the rice seasoning mixture. Then cover it with a damp towel and let it cool until the rice is room-temperature. (You can pop it in the fridge to speed this up.)

 Finally, prepare your bamboo mat. (You can either use little sushi mats, or just get a large bamboo place mat found at Dollar Tree.) Basically, you just need to completely wrap it in plastic (Saran) wrap.This helps the rice not stick to the mat during the assembly/rolling process (my friends didn't use this and didn't seem to have a problem with it sticking)

Now for the assembly!

Lay the seaweed wrapper on the mat and spread rice completely on top. 

Next place thinly sliced strips of cream cheese along one end, and top with crab meat. (shredded or not either way is fine)

On top of the crap place your sliced avocado and cucumber

Now it's time to roll!  Using the mat roll up the end, then pull back the mat so you don't roll it up with the sushi and continue using it to tightly roll everything.  

Once you get to the end roll back the mat and dip your finger in a little water and draw a line along the edge of the wrapper then roll it to seal it closed.

This is what they will look like- now all you have to do is cut them into sushi sized bites!

DELISH! Dip them into soy sauce if you like.  They are amazing!

Thanks for teaching us Ryan!! You're the man!