Homemade Sushi: 5 Easy Steps to Creating a California Roll

Do you crave sushi all the time? I’ve been known to have sushi cravings at all hours of the day— sometimes even for breakfast. I mean, hey, some sushi rolls are made with scrambled egg!

The only issue is that ordering sushi at restaurants can become bit pricey. So what’s a sushi addict to do? Why, make your own at home, of course!

A California Roll is so easy to make, and even finicky eaters who shy away from the raw fish nigiri will like the simple ingredients. This usually takes me about 20 minutes to create, from start to finish, and that’s including the time to cook the rice since I use a Pampered Chef microwavable rice cooker.

You don’t even need one of those cute bamboo rolling mats (although they do help make the rolls more tight and attractive-looking). All you need are the following ingredients to create your own California Roll:

—nori seaweed sheets

—Japanese medium-grain sushi rice

—cucumber

—avocado

—a block of cream cheese

—imitation crab sticks (or real crab if you want to go for the gold)

Bonus ingredients:

—rice vinegar to season the sushi rice

—wasabi

—soy sauce

—pickled ginger

Here are the 5 steps I do when I make my sushi at home:

1. Pre-chop the avocado and cucumber, then set aside for later.

2. Cook the sushi rice. I typically measure 1 c. of rice to 1 c. of water, and then cook it the appropriate amount of time. I do season my rice by mixing the cooked rice with 1 tbs. of rice vinegar, and sometimes I’ll sprinkle in a little granulated sugar and salt.

3. Lay out the nori, then assemble your sushi! I like to create mine by laying on the cream cheese first, placing the imitation crab stick next, then adding the cucumber and avocado. You can finish it off by putting on a blob of sushi rice, which is nice and sticky so it holds its shape. 

4. Roll it all up into a burrito, which is actually the opposite of how traditional California Rolls are created — typically you will see the rice on the outside, but I’m cheating because this way is faster.

5. Slice your sushi rolls. I usually nick the roll first with the tip of a sharp knife, then gently saw it so it doesn’t smush everything too much. Serve your rolls with wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger. Enjoy your sushi!