Dragon Roll Sushi

Ingredients

For the Sushi Rice

• 1 ½ cups sushi rice (uncooked short-grain sushi rice)
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 tablespoons sushi vinegar (or mixing 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon sugar)

For the Dragon Roll

• 8 shrimp tempura (I used the pre-made frozen shrimp tempura, and you can also sub cooked unagi/eel)
• 1/2 cucumber (cut into 1/2-inch strips)
• 2 avocados (ripe but still firm)
• 2 sheets nori (seaweed sheet)
• Lemon optional, you’ll need to squeeze some lemon juice over avocado if you don’t serve the roll immediately

Optional for Serving

• unagi sauce
• masago

Instructions 

Cook Sushi Rice

1. Rinse the sushi rice. Then add the rice and water to the rice cooker. Once cooked, transfer to a large bowl and let it cool down slightly. When it’s still very warm, stir in the sushi vinegar (or the mixture of rice vinegar and sugar).
2. While the rice is cooking, you can cut cucumbers into thin strips. Cook shrimp tempura if needed. I used the frozen ones, and baked them according to the instructions (You’ll need to let the cooked shrimp tempura to cool down before adding them to the sushi).

Make Dragon Rolls

1. Lay out the bamboo mat with a piece of plastic wrap on top (to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo).
2. Fold the nori sheet in half and split using a pair of scissors.
3. Place half of the nori sheet on top of the bamboo mat, the shiny side facing down.
4. Take 3/4 cup of cooked rice and spread it over the nori sheet evenly using your hands. (Dip your hands in Tezu vinegar water* to prevent sticking.)
5. Flip everything so that rice is facing down.
6. Place 2 pieces of shrimp tempura and 2 strips of cucumber on top of the nori.
7. Place the thumbs underneath the bamboo mat and lift the edge up and over the filling.
8. Roll the bamboo mat away from you and apply some pressure to tighten it up. Keep rolling until the ends meet. Remove the bamboo mat and the plastic wrap. Set the rolls aside.

Make the Avocado Topping

1. Slice the avocado in half. Then remove the pit and skin.
2. Cut each piece into thin half-moon slices. Make sure to cut it into very thin pieces so that the toppings can be easily shapped.
3. Spread the layer on the counter.
4. Use a large knife to lift avocado slices up and carefully place them on top of your sushi roll.
5. Arrange the avocado layer to cover your roll properly. Then place plastic wrap on top, and cover with the sushi mat. Squeeze gently to shape the avocado around the roll.
6. Remove the mat from the roll while keeping the plastic wrap. Then slice the roll into bite-size pieces. Remove the plastic wrap and enjoy!