I love Japanese food, especially sushi and sashimi. The idea for this easy sushi all came about when my mom bought these flavored seaweed snacks from the supermarket. My sister used the seaweed strips to wrap some plain rice and a little bit of Japanese mayonnaise. It was terribly addicting.
I wanted to take it a bit further and figured I could make some sort of sushi rice and add some crab sticks to give the rolls some additional flavor. I made the rolls for merienda one day and it was a hit with my family. My mom liked it so much that she asked me to make another batch.
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| Flavored nori (seaweed), crab sticks, Japanese mayonnaise, sushi zu (sushi vinegar), and cooked plain rice |
Since this is a quick recipe it involves a lot of shortcuts, especially with the ingredients. The recipe is definitely not for traditional sushi. Some day when I grow up I'll try out making real sushi. Some day.
I didn't take strict measurements when I made the sushi rice so make sure you taste the rice after mixing in the sushi zu and adjust according to your desired taste. Also, I just used the cooked rice leftover from our lunch. I'm not sure what kind of rice we use, but as long as it's short grain I think it should work fine. You must definitely use Japanese mayonnaise because it just makes all the difference. We always buy the Kewpie brand of Japanese mayonnaise, which you can find in most supermarkets in the Philippines. The crab sticks (or crab-flavored sticks) I used are just the frozen kind, which I defrosted in the microwave.
My mom found and bought these flavored nori snacks from Rustan's in Shangri-la. They come in wasabi and kimchi flavors, which both taste great for this quick sushi roll recipe. You can also use regular unseasoned nori strips. What I like about this specific brand is that they're just the right size to make bite-sized rolls. What I don't like about it is that it has a lot of salt.
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| Rolling, rolling, rolling |
A key factor in this recipe are the nori strips. Since they're already pre-cut you won't need to do any slicing in the end. Also, rolling the sushi is easier and you won't need a bamboo mat.
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| Not pretty like sushi from restaurants but they taste good! |
Easy Sushi Rolls
Makes about 12 small rolls
| Nori (seaweed) strips | Around 12 strips |
| Plain, cooked short-grain rice (should not be hot anymore) | A bit over 1 cup |
| Kani / crab sticks | 3-4 sticks |
| Japanese mayonnaise | As needed |
| Water (for sealing the rolls) | 1 tablespoon |
| For sushi zu: | |
| Rice vinegar | 1 1/2 tablespoons |
| White sugar | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Salt (I used sea salt) | 1/4 teaspoon |
- Prepare the sushi zu. In a small microwavable dish mix the rice vinegar, white sugar, and salt. Microwave the mixture at medium setting for around 10-20 seconds, or until mixture is hot enough to let the sugar and salt dissolve (don't let it boil).
- Place cooked rice in a small shallow bowl. Pour and distribute sushi zu over the rice and mix with a spoon until all of the rice has been seasoned. The rice will seem a bit wet at first but after mixing for a bit the rice will dry and become sticky again.
- If using frozen crab sticks you can defrost them in the microwave in bursts of 5-10 seconds. Slice the crab sticks according to the width of your nori strips.
- Time to assemble the rolls!
- Put the nori strip on a plate.
- Place a small spoonful of rice at one end of the strip.
- Place a strip of crab stick on top of the rice.
- Squeeze out some mayonnaise on top of the crab stick and rice.
- Take the end of the nori strip with the filling and roll it over.
- Once a roll is formed, squeeze it a bit to make the filling tight (i.e. not loose).
- Dab some water on the other end of the nori strip to help seal the roll (this actually didn't really work so well with our nori strips. It's probably because it's not really for making sushi.)
- If rice starts spilling out the sides of the roll, dab your finger in some water and use it to push the rice back into the roll.
- Tada! One roll down! Repeat until needed.
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| Japanse nom nom noms |