California Roll - Sushi Recipe (2024)

Making your own sushi is not only delicious, it’s actually really easy to do! This California Roll recipe is my very favorite sushi dish EVER!

Summertime is fast approaching, which means it’s time to eat all the fresh things! Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps, Cobb Salad, and this delicious Sushi are some of my go-to summer dishes. Cool, tasty, and so easy to make!

Homemade Sushi

The past several months I’ve been on a mission to create some of my family’s favorite restaurant dishes at home. So far, the recipes have been amazing and only a couple of them took more time than I thought to be worth it.

I’ve never really been intimidated by food and recipes, but the thought of making sushi kind of scared me a little bit. In an effort to recreate the delicious California rolls from our favorite Sushi restaurant,I did a little research, found a great method for making sticky rice, and then I just went for it!

I have to tell you, making sushi was honestly super easy and FUN!

How to Make California Rolls

In addition to the basic food ingredients, to make California rolls, you will need-

• a bamboo sushi mat (I found a bamboo place mat at the Dollar Store and it worked great!)
• plastic wrap
• a bowl of water
• chop sticks

Ingredients for California Rolls

I happen to live in a small town where sushi-grade raw fish is not available. Luckily, the ingredients of a California Roll are very accessible, so anyone should be able to make these.

• 1 cup sushi rice (short grain), rinsed and drained
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2-4 sheets nori (seaweed)
• 2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• 1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into matchstick sized pieces
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced into matchstick sized pieces
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced. *drizzle with lemon juice to avoid browning
• 2 imitation crab sticks, thinly sliced
• wasabi, soy sauce, sriracha

Directions for Sticky Rice-

1. Add rice to a sauce pan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, cover pan and reduce heat too low. Continue cooking for 15 minutes.
3. Turn off stove and leave pan covered for 5 minutes.
4. Heat vinegar, sugar and salt in microwave for 30-60 seconds until dissolved. Add mixture to rice, stirring well until rice is evenly coated. Set rice aside to cool completely.

How to Assemble California Rolls –

Now that you have made your sticky rice and prepared the rest of your ingredients, you will need to assemble the sushi roll. Assembling your sushi roll will only take about 10 minutes. I have made a little picture tutorial, with some step by step directions. There are a lot of pictures and a lot of steps….but please don’t let this intimidate you. This is EASY!

1. Lay out your sushi mat and cover with plastic wrap. Put a nori sheet shiny side down on plastic wrap. Get a bowl of water and your other ingredients and have them close by.
2. Dip your fingers in water and evenly spread sticky rice ¼ inch thick. Spread almost to the edge and press firmly into the nori sheet.
3. Sprinkle about ½ tbsp. toasted sesame seeds evenly over rice.
4. Carefully flip nori sheet so the rice side is down.
5. Put a layer of filling about 1/3 way down the nori sheet, going all the way across.
6. Pull the nori to the edge of the mat closest to you, and fold the sushi mat over the nori about ½ inch.
7. Unroll and pull the nori to the edge of the mat again.
8. Roll the mat over again, unroll, and repeat steps until you have rolled over the filling.
9. Now, roll the mat over the entire roll, pressing firmly and making a tight roll.
10. Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
11. Remove from fridge, unwrap, and slice with a very sharp knife. Cut the ends off first and then slice about 1 inch thick.
12. Serve your California Rolls with soy sauce and wasabi, and maybe a little sriracha if you like it spicy.

This California Roll is probably the easiest roll to start with, but the possibilities of sushi rolls are endless! (I just made a batch with tempura fried shrimp that was AMAZING!)

Here is the recipe card for your printing convenience –

California Rolls Recipe

Let us know if you make this sushi recipe by leaving us a comment below or by tagging us on social media!

ENJOY!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR –Haley is the author of Haley’s Daily Blog – a delicious site with amazing recipes! Haley was a food contributor on Somewhat Simple in 2016.