Sushi (without Nori)

For those of you who LOVE sushi but don't like the taste of Nori, this sushi is perfect for you.

If you read my "How to cook rice in the slow cooker" post, you know that tonight on my menu was sushi. I love making sushi at home. Not only because it saves you about $25 per person (if you order a gazillion rolls like me and my hubby), but because it's super simple and fresh. 

What you'll need:

2 cups cooked rice, cooled

2 packages of imitation crab meat

1 cucumber

1 package of cream cheese (block)

1 avocado

A bowl of warm water

A bamboo sushi mat. (I picked mine up at a local Asian Market for . 50).

Directions:

Peel and remove pit from your avocado. Slice thin.  Cut each piece of crab in half, lengthwise. You'll also need your cream cheese to be sliced and then the slice cut in half lengthwise. You'll be left with nice thin pieces. For your cucumber, peel and cut in half lengthwise also. Then cut in half width wise. This makes it easier to cut in thin, match-like slices. Take a spoon and run it down the center to get all of the seeds out. They'll end up looking like little cucumber boats. Slice as thin as possible.

 After you've sliced and julienned all of your fillings this is what it should look like.

Next, you're going to take a sushi mat and cover it with plastic wrap. Dip your hands in the bowl of warm water and sprinkle a little on the mat. Take a handful of rice and roll it into a ball. Now here's the tricky part. You're gonna have to visualize how big a piece of nori would be, and flatten out your rice to about that size. It should be about a 1/4 inch thick.  Try to make the rice as square as possible with your hands. If you find that the rice is too sticky or breaking apart, just add some water to your hands. 

Arrange the fillings horizontally across the rice. You can mix and match any fillings that your little heart desires. Use your mat and roll into a tight roll.

Dip a sharp knife into some warm water and wipe off excess water with a towel. Carefully cut your sushi. The sushi restaurant I usually go to always cuts their rolls into eight pieces. I find because there is no nori holding the rice together, it's easier and less messy to cut your roll into 6 pieces. After you've cut your roll, lay the mat back over top and press to seal tightly. Carefully move your sushi pieces to a plate, drizzle with some yum yum sauce (we use Terry-Ho's yum yum sauce.  It's SO delicious and can be found in almost any supermarket) and enjoy!