Cucumber Roll Recipe
Cucumber rolls are delightful, yet simple. Add this recipe to your quick dinner repertoire, and roll your way into at-home sushi-making.
Cucumber Roll
Equipment
- Sushi Rolling Mat (Optional)
- Rice Paddle (Optional)
Ingredients
- 3 roasted seaweed (sushi nori) sheets Packages are usually resealable
- 1 cup sushi rice Or another short-grained white rice
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 scallions
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/2 avocado
- 5 baby carrots
Additional
- soy sauce Shoyu
- wasabi
- pickled ginger
Instructions
Prepare rice (directions for stovetop)
- Add 1.5 cups of water, sushi rice, rice viegar, and sugar to a stovetop pan
- Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer
- Monitor rice, stirring occassionally, and adding water if needed until rice is cooked and slightly sticky
Prepare Vegetables
- Cut scallions, carrots, avocado, and cucumber into long, thin strips
Prepare Rolls
- Lay out bamboo sushi mat or aluminum foil so that mat can be rolled up and away from you
- Spread a thin layer of rice onto one sheet of nori
- Add fillings in the bottom quarter of the nori, running lengthwise along the intended folding direction
- Roll the sushi with the aid of the mat, starting with a tuck around the ingredients. Release the mat or utilize as needed to maintain pressure and make a tight roll
- Cut sushi (each nori makes about 6-9 rolls)
- Plate with wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce
Sushi
A surprising number of cultures have a unique dish involving raw fish. Sushi is one of the best-known, originating from Japan. Today, sushi generally involves a short-grained rice prepared with vinegar and raw ingredients, which can include raw fish, vegetables, or sometimes fruit. Wikipedia has an intro to sushi history for the curious.
There is an art to sushi that goes beyond the food safety aspects of handling raw fish. Some chefs spend a lifetime studying how to craft the perfect dish. There’s technique in all aspects of preparation, from the types of ingredients used to how the rice is cooked, the fish is cut, and the dish is plated.
Sushi varieties:
- Makizushi – rolled sushi
- Hosomaki – rolled sushi, usually with 1 inner ingredient
- Futomaki – “fat” rolled sushi, normally containing 3+ complimentary inner ingredients with the nori outside of the rice in the roll
- Nigiri – artfully cut raw seafood ingredients, served individually over rice
- Sashimi – artfully cut raw fish, no rice
Discover more on Japan Talk’s list of “100 Kinds of Sushi“, or this LiveJapan article on sushi.
Vegetarian Rolls
Vegetarian rolls are great to make at home because they eliminate the most difficult food-safety issue of sushi, contending with raw seafood. They are popular with non-fish-eaters and vegetarians for obvious reasons.
Vegetarian rolls are not merely for those with trepidation towards raw fish consumption. For instance, kappamaki (makizushi with just cucumber) are sometimes used between raw fish dishes like a palate cleanser.
Fruit sushi appears to be a thing that may have happened as western culture began adopted and modifying traditional sushi. It is definitely a “thing” on the internet and is enticing from a visual perspective.
Sushi Rolling
Rolls are a good introduction to sushi, because they (visually) de-emphasize the raw ingredients by placing most of them in the center of the roll. Sushi, in this house, is exploratory. We have yet to master making even this vegetarian roll in a proper way. It is, however, a healthy and entertaining meal to make. Try watching a few videos on rolling sushi first, like this one by Seizi Imura, or this one by a Nobu Sushi Chef. And then practice. A lot. It may never be pretty or perfect, but at least the practice sessions taste good. If you’re looking for a challenge, see where this takes you.
Beyond Cucumber Rolls
These make an excellent side dish to have alongside other Japanese and Japanese-inspired dishes, or as a standalone meal. Don’t limit your cucumber roll to the ingredients here, or limit them further. It’s all about building a roll to suit your tastes. Depending on your proximity to fresh seafood (specifically sushi-grade seafood, mind you) and Asian markets, you may be able to add fish, shellfish, or imitation crab. That would involve a bit of research and confidence in your supplier. Food safety is a real and serious thing.