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    Home » Recipes » Dairy-Free

    Updated: May 15, 2023 by Marc · 111 Comments

    California Roll

    The complete guide to making Calfornia Rolls including: How to select the filling ingredients, how to make sushi rice, how to roll the sushi, and how to slice the rolls.
    Recipe Video Pin
    Here's how to make California Rolls at home like a pro. All the techniques you need to make the rice and roll the roll.
    What is a California Roll?

    California Rolls are a type of maki sushi (巻き寿司 - rolled sushi) made by rolling ingredients such as imitation crab sticks and avocado in nori and seasoned rice. Although rolled sushi originates in Japan, California Rolls are not from Japan.

    Where are California Rolls from?

    There's some debate over who invented the California Roll. Several chefs in the United States from Los Angeles, California claim to be the inventor, including Ichiro Mashita, and Ken Seusa. More recently, Hidekazu Tojo who ran a restaurant in Vancouver, Canada, has laid claim to the dish. While it's unclear who invented it, it does appear to have been created in the early 1970s.

    What goes into a California Roll?

    Most versions of California Roll include crab and avocado. Although I prefer using real crab meat, if you don't have access to fresh seafood, imitation crab meat (a.k.a. surimi) will do in a pinch. I also like to add cucumbers. Any thin-skinned, seedless variety such as Japanese, Lebanese, and Persian will work. You can also use other varieties, like English cucumber, if you peel them first and remove the seeds. Some people also like to spread some tobiko (flying fish roe) on the rice, which garnishes the exterior of the roll a vibrant orange hue due to the food coloring that's often added to it. Instead of tobiko, I like using toasted sesame seeds, which gives the roll more flavor than tobiko.

    How do you make sushi rice?

    The phrase "sushi rice" can be a bit confusing because uncooked Japanese short-grain rice is often labeled as "sushi rice." For the purposes of making sushi, the phrase "sushi rice" refers to cooked Japanese short-grain rice that has been mixed with seasoned rice vinegar. Check out my tutorial on how to make sushi rice. With creamy avocado and flavorful king crab, this California Roll recipe is easy and delicious!

    What is uramaki?

    In Japan, most maki sushi (巻き寿司 - rolled sushi) is made with rice and filling rolled up in a sheet of nori. Uramaki (裏巻き) literally means "inside-out roll" and it's a style of rolling the sushi with the rice on the outside with the nori on the inside. Although there are examples of this inside-out style of sushi in Japan, it is not common, and it's thought to have become popular outside of Japan as a way of hiding the nori from people who may be turned off by the thought of eating seaweed.

    Are sushi rolls common in Japan?

    You're probably not too surprised by the fact that California Rolls weren't created in Japan, but did you know that rolls in general aren't especially popular in Japan? Known as makisushi (rolled sushi), most sushi restaurants in Japan only serve a handful of simple rolls, such as kappa maki (cucumber), tekka maki (tuna), or takuan maki(yellow pickle). For many, they're considered an inexpensive filler reserved for the end of a meal when you start to worry about the escalating bill.

    How do you pick out good nori?

    Nori sheets should be jet black with a slightly green hue. Brown or reddish-black nori is either old or made with the wrong type of seaweed. The seaweed sheet should also be the same thickness throughout, with no holes or thick areas; otherwise, it can be tough. Finally, the nori should be crisp enough to break in half by folding it. California rolls stuffed with avocado, king crab, and cucumber.

    How do you pick out a good avocado?

    Generally speaking, the more oblong an avocado, the smaller the seed is. The more egg-shaped ones tend to have a larger seed. You also want to look for avocado with relatively smooth satiny looking skin that's relatively even in color without any wrinkles. Avocados start out green, but they darken as they get ripe, so a dark color is one good indicator that it is ready to eat. The problem with relying on the color of the skin alone is that overripe avocados are also dark. The most reliable method I've found for telling when an avocado is just right is to remove the stem and look at the color of the navel. If the stem is difficult to remove and the exposed area is green, this means the avocado is not ripe. If the stem is not present, or the navel is brown, the avocado is most likely overripe. If the stem is easy to remove and the navel is a yellowish color, it should be perfect!

    More Ways to Enjoy

    Sushi takes time and practice to master. If for any reason you can't manage to make rolls, you can always enjoy the flavors of sushi in a California Bowl. You may also like to try Chirashi Sushi, a family-style version of a sushi bowl.

    Other Sushi Recipes

    • Spicy Tuna Roll
    • Caterpillar Roll
    • Tempura Shrimp Sushi
    • Pickled Sushi Ginger
    • Temaki Sushi

    📖 Recipe

    With creamy avocado and flavorful king crab, this California Roll recipe is easy and delicious!

    California Roll

    4.43 from 21 votes
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 20 minutes mins
    Yield 6 rolls

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 1 batch prepared sushi rice
    • 1 avocado (sliced into 16 wedges)
    • 200 grams crab meat (or immitation crab)
    • 1 small cucumber (julienned)
    • 3 sheets unseasoned nori
    • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

    Instructions

    • Prepare a batch of sushi rice.
    • Because a California Roll gets rolled inside out, you need to cover your makisu (bamboo mat) with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking to the mat. You'll also want to prepare a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in to keep the rice from sticking to them.
      Wrapping sushi matt with plastic wrap keeps the rice from sticking.
    • Carefully fold your nori in half, if the nori is fresh, it should split in half along the fold to give you two 3.75 inch x 8 inch pieces. If your nori is stale and refusing to split, you can toast it by gently waving it over an open flame, or simply use a pair of scissors.
      Cutting sheet of nori in half.
    • Lay one sheet of nori towards the bottom of the mat. Lightly wet your fingers in the bowl of water and top with a small amount of rice.
      Spread an even layer of rice onto the nori.
    • Making sure your fingers are moist to prevent the rice from sticking, use your fingertips to gently spread the rice out to the edges of the nori in a thin even layer. Don't use too much pressure, or you'll end up with mushy rice.
      Spread the rice using the tips of your fingers.
    • Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds, then flip the rice and nori over so that the rice is on the bottom and the nori is facing up.
      Sprinkle sesame seeds onto the rice.
    • Along the bottom edge of the nori, put a few strips of cucumber down, followed by a few strips of avocado. Finish, by spreading some crabmeat across the roll. Be careful not to add too much filling or your roll won't seal properly.
      Flip the sheet of nori and rice over and add the crab, cucumber and avocado.
    • To roll, tuck your thumbs under the bamboo mat and use them to lift the mat and rice over the filling, while using the rest of your fingers to hold the filling in place.
      Roll one edge of the rice and nori over the fillings.
    • Use the mat to continue rolling the rice over the filling until the rice hits the nori.
    • At this point you'll probably need to start pealing the mat back away as you continue to roll, otherwise you'll end up rolling the mat into the rice.
      Use the sushi matt to roll the California Roll.
    • Once, the rice has been completely rolled into a cylinder. Give the matt a firm hug with your fingers to compress the rice a little so it doesn't fall apart when you cut it.
      The bamboo sushi matt helps shape the sushi roll.
    • If you're not going to eat the roll right away, wrap it in plastic wrap until you are ready to eat your California Roll. Putting the rolls in the refrigerator will make the rice hard and is not recommended, but if it's going to be more than an hour before you're going to eat the roll, you should put it in the fridge to keep the crab from spoiling.
    • To slice the rolls, use a long sharp knife, and place the back edge of the blade at the very center of the roll. Pull the knife towards you, letting the weight of the knife cut through the roll. If put pressure on the knife, it will squish the roll and the filling will come out. Repeat cutting each half into thirds to make 6 pieces of sushi.
      Slice the California Roll into 8 pieces using a sharp knife.
    • Serve your California roll with soy sauce and wasabi.
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    Nutrition

    Calories 112kcalCarbohydrates 5gProtein 9gFat 7gSaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 17mgSodium 339mgPotassium 327mgFiber 3gSugar 1gVitamin A 163IUVitamin C 8mgCalcium 43mgIron 1mg

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      Recipe Rating




    1. narayan bahadur says

      February 03, 2015 at 11:12 am

      chef narayan bahadur

      Reply
    2. Peter says

      April 19, 2015 at 4:10 am

      Very good recipe and I love the sushi rice recipe too. Thank you. I used thin carrot strips, red peppers and green peppers instead of the crab meat and it was really good.

      Personally, I was using a whole sheet of seaweed and making larger rolls with the rice on the inside. I found that doing this made making them quicker. The half sheets were pretty hard for me to roll for some reason.

      Thanks again.

      Reply
    3. darkinvader doomirken says

      June 16, 2015 at 8:45 pm

      Remove Google plus remove twitter remove Facebook and remove DMCA and remove eula and remove nsa and remove the safe harbor worshippers and it's terrible acts and remove apple technology and remove Skype and remove Microsoft technology and remove netflix and remove DRM and remove Hulu and remove red box and remove the ndaa and remove all copyright acts and remove all the utility bills and insurance commercials and remove all the taxes and fees and remove mpaa and remove riaa and remove IRS and Remove Fbi and remove Sony and remove ACTA and remove COPPA and remove AOL and remove ACA and remove Verizon and remove AT&T and remove etrust and remove FOIA and remove adobe and remove Spotify and remove TPP and remove governments and remove congresses and remove FDA and remove DEA and remove ACLU and remove verisign and remove Kindle and remove nook and remove Mozilla Firefox and remove safari too and save the link from the FCC and remove TRUSTe and stay in business

      Reply
    4. Khaled says

      August 16, 2015 at 10:17 pm

      dont you have to cook the meat?

      Reply
    5. Khaled says

      August 16, 2015 at 10:18 pm

      Rice, too

      Reply
    6. Marc Matsumoto says

      August 16, 2015 at 10:51 pm

      In the US most stores sell crab pre-cooked. If its not pre-cooked where you live, you should look up a recipe for boiling crab

      Reply
    7. Marc Matsumoto says

      August 16, 2015 at 10:52 pm

      Click the link for "sushi rice" in the ingredients list for the preparation steps for the rice.

      Reply
    8. Tara Clark says

      January 29, 2016 at 9:09 pm

      Hi

      Reply
    9. Tara Clark says

      January 29, 2016 at 9:10 pm

      Sorry, I'm not sure where the rest of my message went in the previous post. For this recipe, how many rolls (not yet cut into pieces) will this make? Thank you 🙂

      Reply
    10. Marc Matsumoto says

      February 02, 2016 at 7:59 am

      Hi Tara, there should be enough crab and avocado for 4-5 rolls. You will likely have some rice left over though.

      Reply
    11. Kit Berris says

      February 21, 2016 at 5:06 pm

      Wow. I admit, the California roll that I know of (I'm from the Philippines) uses sliced mangoes instead of avocados and fish roe (orange in color) instead of sesame seeds. I should try this sometime. Thanks.

      Reply
    12. Vanessa Cummings says

      June 10, 2016 at 11:11 pm

      It was NOT originated in California, it was originally from Vancouver, BC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tojo-1.3628563

      Reply
    13. DSantos Marcio says

      June 11, 2016 at 1:50 am

      i just wanna leave a comment, california roll was created in Vancouver, Canada.

      Reply
    14. Jane H. says

      December 16, 2019 at 11:00 pm

      Made CA rolls a few weeks ago and they were marvelous (had used your tutorial from a few years back). Have to say, while I love this version of sushi, I also love making inari sushi which is FAR less labor intensive. I enjoy the sweetness of the tofu pouches for a change in pace. 🙂

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        December 17, 2019 at 7:38 pm

        Hi Jane, that's a great idea for a post! I'll put that on the list of things to make. Fair warning, I'm not going to use canned Inari wrappers so there's going to be a bit of effort involved in cooking the wrapper😉

        Reply
    15. JAN says

      April 12, 2020 at 1:35 am

      THIS looks like red pepper or is there a red cucumber?

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        April 12, 2020 at 2:55 pm

        Hi Jan, I’m assuming you’re referring to the crab... The cucumber is julienned and wedged in there between the avocado and crab.

        Reply
    16. Michael Zwalley says

      July 04, 2020 at 1:52 am

      Very helpful. Thanks

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        July 05, 2020 at 11:09 am

        Glad to hear it was helpful!

        Reply
    17. Joe M. says

      March 29, 2022 at 11:24 pm

      Hello. This all looks very interesting. Is there any vegan options as I only eat meat.

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Marc Matsumoto says

        March 29, 2022 at 11:43 pm

        Hi Joe, it wouldn't be a California roll without the crab, but you can add what ever you like into a sushi roll. My recommendation would be seasoned inari. It's a sheet of fried tofu that's seasoned with soy sauce, sugar and sake. You can slice it into strips and add it to the roll. I have a recipe for making inari age here (it's for a noodle soup but you can use just the topping): https://norecipes.com/kitsune-udon-vegan/

        Reply
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