California Roll Maki

California Roll

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 3/4 cup imitation crab
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups Japanese rice
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)
• white sesame seeds

* you will also need a bamboo sushi mat! it looks like this:

Preparation
Put the rice in a large bowl and wash it with cold water. Repeat washing until the water becomes almost clear. Drain the rice in a colander and set aside for 30 minutes. Place the rice in rice cooker and add water. Let the rice soak in the water at least 30 minutes. Start the cooker. When rice is cooked, let it steam for about 15 minutes.

Prepare sushi vinegar (sushi-zu) by mixing rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a sauce pan. Put the pan on low heat and heat until the sugar dissolves. Cool the vinegar mixture.

Spread the hot steamed rice into a large plate or a large bowl. Please use a non-metallic bowl to prevent any interaction with rice vinegar. It's best to use a wooden bowl called sushi-oke. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and fold the rice by shamoji (rice spatula) quickly. Be careful not to smash the rice. To cool and remove the moisture of the rice well, use a fan as you mix sushi rice. This will give sushi rice a shiny look. It's best to use sushi rice right away.

Peel an avocado and cut it into strips or mash it. Tear imitation crab into a bowl and season with salt and mayonnaise. Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat. Spread a quarter portion of sushi rice on top of the nori sheet. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the sushi rice. Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top. Place avocado and crab horizontally on the seaweed. Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients inside the cylinder-shaped sushi. Press firmly the bamboo mat with hands, then remove the rolled sushi. Make more rolls. Wipe a knife with a wet cloth before slicing sushi. Cut the sushi roll into bite-size pieces.