How to Roll Your Own Sushi (California Rolls)

Ingredients
-2 cups medium-grain brown rice, cooked
-1 tsp. sea salt (for cooking rice)
-2 sheets nori
-6 to 8 oz. fresh crab
-1 avocado
-1 cucumber, peeled
-bamboo mat
-sharp kitchen knife
-sesame seeds, optional
-wasabi low sodium soy sauce or wheat-free tamari

Sushi Vinegar Ingredients
-1/3 cup rice vinegar
-2 T. sweetener, such as Sucanat (1 tsp. Stevia may be used as a sugar substitute)
-dash of sea salt

Directions: Over medium heat, warm vinegar on stove and mix in sweetener and sea salt (don’t boil because sugar can burn). Mixture is done when all the ingredients have dissolved. Add 1 T. vinegar mix to every one cup of cooked rice.

Vinegar Rice Prep

1. While the rice is cooking, prep the other ingredients. Cut up the crab, julienne the cucumber, and slice the avocado. Make sure to peel the cucumber. The skin does not go well with the sushi.
2. Prepare the vinegar mixture (this will eventually be mixed with the rice). You can either buy it in the store and heat it up in a pot or make your own (see recipe above).
   
3. Transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl.
4. While the rice is hot, fold vinegar into rice. This is called “cutting the rice”. Be sure to fold and not stir, as you do not want to break the kernels and have the rice turn mushy. Let cool to room temperature.
   

Sushi Roll Prep

1. On a bamboo mat, place a ½ sheet of nori smooth side down, rough side up. Using 3 to 4 ounces, spread rice lightly across the rough side, completely covering the seaweed. If desired, sprinkle the sesame seeds across the rice.
2. Flip the nori over so the smooth side of the seaweed is facing up. You can line the mat with plastic wrap if you prefer.
3. Place a few pieces of cucumber and avocado lengthwise and add crab. Make sure to squeeze out any liquid out of the crab, otherwise it will make the roll soggy and possibly fall apart.
4. Using the bamboo mat, begin to tightly roll the sushi. Start at the side closest to you and roll away from yourself. Also, make sure your hands are damp; if you touch the rice you don’t want it sticking to your hands.
5. Using a very sharp knife, cut roll into 8 pieces. Serve with wasabi and sodium-reduced soy sauce or tamari.

YIELD: 4 rolls
HANDS ON TIME: 45 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour