California Rolls,Sushi Rolls-Com Cuon Rong Bien kieu Nhat

Make 6 rolls, cut into 48 pieces

Sushi Rice

   2 cup uncooked sushi  rice, short choppy grains (available at Asian stores and not too expensive)
   2&1/2 cups of water and extra for rinsing rice
   2 Tbs rice vinegar
   1 Tbs sugar
   1 tsp salt
Rinse rice a few times. If you have a rice cooker, put rice and water into the pot and turn on the switch.  Rice will be ready in about 40 minutes.  If you use regular pot, add water and rice into the pot over medium high heat, cover and wait until boiling steam appears around the lid.  Turn the heat down to medium low for 20 minutes.  Stir and squeeze the grain to check, it has to be soft and no hard core at center.  Remove from heat.  Transfer to a big glass or wooden mixing bowl, covered and let it set for 10 minutes.  Combine sugar, rice vinegar, and salt in a small bowl and warm it up in microwave for 30 seconds and stir.  May need cooking  until the sugar dissolved.  Drizzle the vinegar mixture atop the rice, and folding well to coat rice with the mixture, be careful do not smash the rice.  Cover with wet kitchen towel and set aside.  It will make 4 cups cooked sushi rice.

California Rolls

  
 4 cup cooked sushi rice.
   3 nori sheets, cut into half crosswise
  1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, julienned 
  1 small or 1/2 large avocado, peeled pitted, thinly sliced 1/4-in thick
  1 package 8 oz imitated crab sticks, or real crab
  1/2  yellow pickled daikon (store bought or home made), julienned
  A pinch of pickled ginger (store bought or home made)
  Mayonnaise wasabi and soy sauce 
  Black and/ or white sesame seeds, roasted.
  A sushi mat, covered with plastic wrap or seal it in a big zip lock bag
  A sharp knife to cut sushi
  A wet towel to wipe hands and knife
  A bowl of water to wet hands and knife

1. Lay the mat down with bamboo strips horizontally from you. put 1/2 sheet of nori on the mat with the longer side parallel with the bamboo strips.  Divide rice into 6 portions.  Cover the nori sheet with 1 portion of rice, use your finger tips, spreading rice in rolling motion.  If rice is getting too sticky, moist your hands will help.  Sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice.  Turn the rice side down
2. Arrange strips of avocado, cucumber, crab ( if use crab sticks, divide it into 2 thinner strips lengthwise) at the center of the nori sheet horizontally from you.
3. Put your finger on the stuffing and grab the bamboo edge close to you with your thumb and index fingers. Gently press and roll the mat with the rice away from you.  Squeeze the mat around the roll until firm and round or square of your choice. Mine is not even round or square but who cares my kids appreciated and enjoyed.
4. Wet the knife, cut the roll at the center.  Put two 1/2 next to each other and make three more cut. One roll is cut into 8 pieces equally with your eyes.

Serve with mayonnaise, soy sauce, pickled ginger, wasabi .