California Rolls With A Twist

My inspiration for today’s adventure in the kitchen is this California Roll from a sushi place near where I live. Cali Rolls (with avocado, imitation crab sticks and cucumber) are a tasty and inexpensive lunch option when I’m in a hurry. Depending on the restaurant and the size of the roll they’re usually priced under $2.00. If the roll is smaller it may take two for a meal but that’s still pretty cheap!

I have to admit, I’m not the world’s biggest seaweed fan. I’ve come to appreciate it but if it’s too strong smelling or too sticky I’ll pick it off. That is why I thought I’d try and make California Rolls with Spring Roll Wrappers instead of Nori (seaweed wrappers). Here are pictures of two of the rolls I ended up making.

The only difference between the two is I added a layer of leaf lettuce on one.

Using Spring Roll Wrappers is kind of like making a little burrito instead of just an open ended sushi roll.

California Rolls

Imitation Crab Sticks
Avocado, peeled & sliced into 1/4″ slices
Cucumber, peeled & cut into 1/4″ strips
Sushi Rice (sticky white rice)
Nori (seaweed wrappers)
Soy Sauce (optional in case you want more flavor)

OR if you don’t want to use seaweed wrappers (nori) substitute them with Spring Roll Wrappers
Leaf Lettuce (optional for when you don’t want to use seaweed wrappers)

Spread a layer of sticky rice on a rectangle of nori. It’s helpful to wet your fingers with water while placing small chunks of rice in a layer. (If you’re using the Spring Roll wrappers place a layer of leaf lettuce on the wrapper before the rice. It gives more texture and helps the roll not be so rice flavored.)

Lay 2 or 3 slices of cucumber and the imitation crab stick onto the rice.

Starting at one end of the nori, roll layers up into a fairly tight roll so its solid. Some people use a bamboo mat but I’ve never had one to use (something to try later). If you’re using Spring Roll wrappers soften the wrappers (1 at a time) in a bowl of warm water before layering other ingredients. Fold wrapper sides in towards the middle like a burrito before rolling the rice & veggies. Check the photos below as an example.

Eat rolls right away or refrigerate until you serve them. The rolls made with the rice flour spring roll wrappers needed more flavor so we added soy sauce when eating them. I also tried them with a basalmic vinegar dressing but the soy sauce was better.

I like convenience and one of the benefits of living where there’s a high population of rice consumers is now you can precooked rice that you just heat and serve. Here’s the brand I buy at Sam’s Club. The little trays are just enough for one meal with no leftovers a-n-d NO sticky rice pan to clean. (Notice I said “sticky” rice. In Hawaii you don’t find flaky light rice like the rice served on the mainland US. – a.k.a. Uncle Bens & Minute Rice.)

Here’s what nori packages look like when you’re buying it at the grocery store. It comes in large square sheets or half sized sheets that make snack sized rolls or cones (depending on how you roll them)