How to Make a Dragon Roll
Eating sushi in a Japanese restaurant is a great way to experience food from another culture; however, if you go while hungry, you will find that bill can be quite expensive. Making your own sushi rolls at home, such as a dragon roll, is a skill you can use to impress your friends at your next dinner party. Most items can be found in your local supermarket and made very quickly for a lesser cost. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 pieces deep-fried tempura shrimp
- Sushi rice
- Bamboo rolling mat, covered in plastic wrap
- Knife
- Nori sheet
- Avocado
- Grilled eel (found in most Asian supermarkets)
- Cucumber
- Eel sauce
- Pickled ginger
- Wasabi
Instructions
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1
Make the shrimp tempura ahead of time. Remove the shells and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. From about a 1/2-inch from the tail, cut through with a knife away from the tail until about a 1/2 inch from the end. Cut one side of the incision near the tail. This will leave you with a piece of shrimp that is about 6 inches long. Dip in tempura batter and deep fry the shrimp at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit until crispy -- about three minutes. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.
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2
Prepare the sushi rice as listed on the bag or container's instructions. The rice should be cooled at room temperature for about two hours before using. In a medium bowl, blend 1/2 cup of rice vinegar with 1/2 cup of water -- you will use this to handle the rice.
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3
Unwrap the grilled eel and cut it into 1/2-inch wide by 1-inch long slices cut diagonally. For one dragon roll, you will need six slices. Set aside. Slice the avocado in half, remove the pit and outer shell, cut into thin slices and set aside. Peel the cucumber and cut into matchstick-size pieces, about 1/4 by 1/4 by 2 inches long. Set aside.
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4
Lay the wrapped bamboo rolling mat on a flat surface. Place a single sheet of dried seaweed (nori) with the shiny side down.
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5
Dip the fingers of both hands into the vinegar and water mixture, then grab a handful of sushi rice. Shape the rice into a cylinder and place in the center of the nori sheet.
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6
Spread the rice in a thin layer until it covers the sheet completely. Flip the sheet over so the rice side is facing the bamboo mat.
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Place one piece of shrimp in the center of the sheet. If one piece is not long enough add the second piece, with the tail on the other end, until shrimp runs the length of the sheet with both tails extending past the end of the sheet.
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On one side of the shrimp, lay cucumber -- about four pieces -- two layers deep. On the other side, lay avocado slices from one end of the sheet to the other.
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9
With the bamboo mat, roll the sushi roll into a tight cylinder, crimping the roll with the other side of the mat. You should now have rice covering the entire roll.
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10
Alternating slices, place the eel slices and remaining avocado on the top of the sushi roll. Use the bamboo mat to crimp the roll tightly.
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Cut into six slices, with the tail pieces remaining on each end. Drizzle with eel sauce and serve with pickled ginger and prepared wasabi.
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Tips & Warnings
Alternating the eel and avocado slices and leaving the tails on the shrimp is what gives it the "dragon" look.
References
- Photo Credit Photos.com/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
