I know, I know. It isn’t officially “sushi.” There is no raw fish, nor is it entirely authentic. I don’t care. It’s delicious, and I can eat it without cleaning out my wallet. Don’t get me wrong – I loooooove “real” sushi. But a girl can only afford to eat so much “real” sushi before thinking real hard about her retirement fund.
So anyway…
Sushi rolls. The type that you can make at home with just a few basic tools. All you need is a little bamboo sushi mat for rolling, some sheets of dried seaweed, and some rice. The rest of it is entirely up to you. I’ll include what I used this time.
Ingredients
Sorry… there is no way I can include measurements. It all depends on how much sushi you want to make, so you can just estimate how much you want to use for your particular roll.
- Several sheets of dried seaweed. This is the “wrapper” on the outside. (Yes, it’s edible.) I bought a pack of 20 from World Market for a few dollars.
- Short-grain white rice (you can buy official “sushi rice,” but any short-grain white rice will do. Short-grain rice is more sticky than longer-grain varieties.
- Fake crab meat cut into thin slices (it comes in packages, it’s fully cooked, and it’s usually made out of other types of fish. It looks similar to crab meat, but it’s a lot cheaper.) You can also use cooked shrimp instead if you like.
- Avocado, cut into thin slices
- Carrot, shaved into thin strings with a vegetable peeler
- Cucumber, shaved into thin strings with a vegetable peeler
- Cream cheese, cut into really thin strips from a block of cream cheese
- Ground cayenne pepper
Directions
- Cook the rice the the recommended amount of time. Let it cool before using it for sushi, or else the heat will distort the seaweed wrapper.
- Slice everything into strings.
- Spread rice onto a seaweed wrapper, staying away from the edges so it doesn’t ooze out.
- Make a little indentation in the rice, and line up all the “innards.” I sprinkled a little cayenne pepper on it too, for some extra kick.
- Gently roll everything up using the mat. Press it gently, but don’t squeeze too hard or it will come out the sides.
- Slice with a damp knife. Using chopsticks. Dip in soy sauce and/or wasabi paste. Sigh with contentment.
bonjourhan 
Hannah,
This looks absolutely delicious! Craig & I have talked about trying to do this ourselves, but have never tried. I love sushi!
Laura
Something must have happened with the post office….. I never received my dinner invitation. 🙂
These look great! You make it look easy – I might have to give it a try.
My husband and I make sushi just like this at home (minus cayenne.) I love it, and with or without the fish, it’s great. We have tried it with salmon and tuna as well, which is really fantastic.
I love sushi and we also make it at home sometimes…Im craving it right now:) Yum…Have a fantastic day
Kisses
Ps: I’m hosting a beautiful dress GIVEAWAY today! Just in time for summer!
Ooohh, I hadn’t thought of using the peeler to make thin strips of vegetables! I’ll try that next time. My six-year-old and I made sushi without a mat, and it went okay, but after that post my mom gave us a mat, and that does make it a lot neater. My article includes instructions on how to turn any leftover cooked rice into sushi rice!
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