...California & Tamago Sushi Rolls (Maki)

We love sushi. Outside of Japan, probably the most popular is "maki", sushi rice rolled with a nori sheet containing different fillings from seafood to even meat, depending on your taste. I happen to love the creaminess of imitation crab and mayo mixture with ripe avocado in the California roll. So we decided to get the ingredients necessary to make our own sushi at home. Since my favourite food/ingredient is egg, we also made tamago (sweet egg 'omelette') to use as a filling. We were pleasantly surprised at the results- our sushi tasted just as good or even better than sushi we've had at different restaurants. We hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients (Yields 4-5 rolls)

-2 cups of sushi rice

-2 & 1/4 cup of water

-1/2 cup rice vinegar

-1/4 cup white sugar

-2 eggs, beaten with 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt

-Half a cucumber

-1 avocado

-250g imitation crab

-2 tbsp mayonaise
-Toasted sesame seeds (1 tbsp per roll)

-Pickled ginger

-Wasabi
-Soy sauce

-Bamboo mat

-*Optional: Put your bamboo mat in a ziplock bag to prevent the mat from getting sticky

Method

1. Make the sushi rice in a rice cooker with the water.

2. While the rice is cooking, prepare the tamago. Beat the egg with sugar and salt. Heat a non-stick pan with a bit of oil and add a third of the egg and spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. Once cooked, roll it to one end of the pan. Quickly add another third of the egg, spreading it evenly on the pan, making sure some gets underneath the already cooked egg. When cooked, roll it again and repeat the procedure with the last portion of egg.

3. Place the rolled egg on the bamboo mat and shape it.

Let it cool and then slice into thin strips.

4. Thinly slice the cucumber and avocado.

We used a food processor to finely chop the imitation crab meat. Then mix in the mayo and taste- add more if desired.

5. When it is ready mix the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Spread out the cooked rice on a large platter and pour the vinegar mixture over it while mixing the rice with a rice paddle in a "slicing" motion. This will prevent the rice clumping together.

6. TAMAGO ROLL:

a) Place a sheet of nori on your mat and on it, spread a thin, even layer of rice, leaving an inch free of rice at the top. Dip your fingers in a bowl of water every so often, so your fingers don't get too sticky.

b) Then add a strip of tamago and cucumber about an inch away from the end closest to you. Lift the bamboo mat and roll up, gently squeezing the roll as you go.

c) Once you reach the top, use some water or rice grains to seal the end. Wet your knife and cut the roll, making sure to wipe the blade with a wet cloth after each cut so the knife doesn't get sticky.

7. CALIFORNIA ROLL:

a) Spread rice on a sheet of nori, making sure the whole sheet is covered. Then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Then place a sheet of plastic wrap on top and flip over.

b) Place imitation crab, cucumber and avocado slices in a line, an inch from the end closest to you.