California Roll with Crab and Avocado
The classic inside-out roll: crab, avocado and cucumber wrapped in rice and bright tobiko roe.
The California roll is the friendliest way to start making sushi at home. There is no raw fish: inside you have crab, avocado and cucumber, while the outside is rice coated in bright orange roe. Rolls made with the rice on the outside are called uramaki.
What makes it work
- Use proper short-grain sushi rice; long-grain rice will not hold together.
- Season the rice while it is hot, but roll only once it has cooled.
- Wrapping the mat in cling film stops the rice from sticking.
Nutrition
Per serving (≈ 230 g). Approximate values.
How to make it
6 steps · start a timer right inside a step
Rinse the rice
Cover the rice with cold water, swirl it with your hand and drain. Repeat five or six times until the water runs clear, then leave the rice in a sieve for 15 minutes.
Cook the rice
Put the rice and measured water in a heavy pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Take it off the heat and let it stand for another 10 minutes.
Season the rice
Warm the vinegar with the sugar and salt until dissolved. Tip the rice into a wide bowl, pour over the seasoning and fold it through with cutting strokes of a spatula. Cool to room temperature.
Prepare the filling
Cut the avocado and cucumber into long, thin batons. Shred the crab into strands and mix it with the mayonnaise.
Roll it inside out
Wrap a bamboo mat in cling film and lay half a nori sheet on top. With damp hands, spread 130–140 g of rice thinly over it, then flip the sheet rice-side down. Line the filling along the near edge and roll up tightly using the mat.
Coat and slice
Roll the finished roll in tobiko or sesame seeds. Wet a sharp knife and cut the roll in half, then cut each half into four pieces.
Cook’s tips
- 1Wet the knife before every cut for neat slices.
- 2If you use crab sticks, pick ones that list crab or white fish first.
- 3Eat the rolls within an hour, while the rice is still soft.
- 4Place a piece of plastic wrap over your bamboo rolling mat before you begin so the sticky rice does not cling to the slats.
Serving & storage: Arrange the rolls on a platter with small mounds of pickled ginger, wasabi, and a dish of soy sauce. These are best served immediately, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Do not freeze the rolls as the rice texture will become hard and unpalatable upon thawing.
How to serve
Serve with soy sauce, a little wasabi and pickled ginger. The ginger is there to refresh your palate between different rolls.
The takeaway
Once you have rolled it once, the California roll quickly becomes a regular at home: the ingredients are simple, yet it looks restaurant-ready.
