Tijuana Style Sushi Roll Recipes

SUSHI ROLLS FOR ALL AGES

Steps:

• For the rice: Mix together vinegar, sugar, and salt.
• Rinse the rice in colander and drain. Put the rice and water in medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered. (For a good seal wrap the pan's lid tightly with a small kitchen towel and cover the saucepan. Make sure the towel's edges are folded up well away from the heat.) Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover) and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the vinegar mixture and toss with the rice, using a wooden spoon. Spread it out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Fan the rice continuously with a fan or magazine until cooled. Cover the rice with a damp towel.
• Meanwhile, beat the eggs with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, add the vegetable oil. Pour in the eggs, tilting the skillet as you add the eggs to make an even coating. Cook eggs until set. Invert eggs onto a cutting board and cut into strips.
• To assemble rolls: Place the sushi mat with the slats running crosswise directly in front of you on a clean work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down and lined up with the closest edge of the mat. Lightly moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori, with 1 1/2-inches uncovered at the far edge. Line up the fillings about 1-inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice. Leave 1-inch of rice uncovered at the far edge.
• Beginning with the near edge of the mat, tightly roll up the nori, rice, and fillings into a cylinder. Firmly tug on the rounded mat over the roll as you pull on the far edge of the mat to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal. Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings.
• Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife.
• Serve with bowl of soy sauce for dipping.

TIJUANA-STYLE SUSHI ROLL

Steps:

• Combine the milk, eggs, and egg yolk in a blender and blend to combine. Add the spinach, cilantro, flour, butter, serrano chile, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and blend until very smooth. Transfer the crêpe batter to a medium bowl. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.
• In a clean blender, blend the mangoes with the mayonnaise, sugar, soy sauce, dry mustard, and wasabi paste until smooth. Season the mango sauce to taste with salt and black pepper.
• Heat a crêpe pan, or a nonstick skillet measuring 6 to 7 inches across the bottom, over moderate heat until it is hot. Spray the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray, and heat it until it is hot but not smoking. Add a scant 1/4 cup of the crêpe batter to the pan. Immediately tilt and rotate the pan quickly to cover the bottom with a layer of batter. Cook the crêpe for 1 minute, or until the top appears almost dry. Loosen the edge of the crêpe with a spatula, turn the crêpe over, and cook the other side lightly. Transfer the crêpe to a plate. Make more crêpes with the remaining batter in the same manner, spraying the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray as necessary and stacking them one on top of the other on the plate. (The crêpes can be made 3 days in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled.)
• Mix the crabmeat, hot chile sauce, and masago in a small bowl.
• Place 1 crêpe on a work surface and spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the crab mixture down the center of the crêpe. Top with 2 shrimp halves and 2 or 3 avocado slices. Roll up the crêpe into a cylinder. Cut it into 4 equal pieces, as you would a sushi roll. Spread 1 tablespoon of the mango sauce on a plate. Place the sliced roll on top of the sauce. Repeat with the remaining crêpes, filling, and sauce.

SUSHI ROLLS

Steps:

• Wash the rice well and drain. Cover with the measured water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 12 minutes then leave to sit for 5 minutes with the lid on.
• Meanwhile, heat the vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved then leave to cool. Turn the cooked rice out onto a flat tray to cool. When cool, place in a bowl, stir in the vinegar solution, and mix with a wooden spoon.
• Lay half a sheet of nori seaweed onto a rolling mat. Dip your hand in cold water and quickly place a handful of rice in a line along the seaweed. Flatten out with your fingertips using the water to stop any sticking. The key is to do this quickly. The rice should cover half the width of the sheet so now you can place your combo of filling in the middle of the rice. Use the mat to roll up the sushi roll, pinch and squeeze the mat to shape it into a round cigar shape. Practice makes perfect!
• Slice into inch-thick rolls with a sharp knife, turn onto their sides so the rice is facing upwards, and serve with the pickled ginger and wasabi mixed with soy sauce.

DECONSTRUCTED CALIFORNIA ROLL SUSHI

Steps:

• Rinse rice 3 times. Place in a saucepan and add water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and water has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Divide ingredients evenly and layer onto 4 plates as follows: rice, crab, cucumber slices, and avocado slices. Drizzle teriyaki over each plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

SNEAKY SUSHI ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine rice and water in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover and cook in the microwave for 8 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing bowl from the microwave. Uncover rice and stir in vinegar using a wooden spoon; rice will become sticky.
• Slice avocado into long sticks. Cut cream cheese into long sticks. Open crab legs and separate them. Cut 5 crab legs in half and pair each with a full leg to have 10 sets.
• Lay 1 nori sheet on a dry cutting board. Use wet hands to scoop a handful of cooled rice onto 1/2 the sheet closest to you. Place cream cheese, avocado, and crab on the center of the rice, extending all the way across the nori. roll nori up, starting at the rice end and ending on the plain end; use wet hands to seal, if necessary. Place roll seam-side down on a separate cutting board. Repeat with remaining nori, rice, and fillings.
• Use a large knife to cut 1 roll in half; line up halves, and cut each into 3 pieces. Repeat with remaining rolls for a total of 60 pieces. Wipe the knife on a towel in between slices. Serve with wasabi and ginger.