Vegetable Maki Rolls - rice

Method

• To prepare the rice: Place the rice and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Place the sugar and rice vinegar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.
• Sprinkle the vinegar mixture over the rice and toss well to coat the rice thoroughly.
• To prepare the maki rolls: Peel the carrot and cucumber.
• Scrape the seeds from the cucumber and cut the carrot and cucumber into long strips about 1/4 to 3/8 inch wide.
• Cut the avocado in half and sink the knife blade a bit into the pit and wriggle the knife slightly to pop the pit out.
• Beginning at the larger end of the avocado, slide a spoon between the skin and flesh and gently remove the flesh from each half.
• Cut each half lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Place the wasabi powder and water in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
• Lay a sheet of nori on the bamboo sushi mat or plastic wrap and orient it so that you will be able to roll it away from you.
• Place half of the rice on the nori.
• Wet your hands to keep the rice from sticking to them and spread the rice over the nori, leaving a 2-inch border at the top spreading all the way to the bottom and extending about 1/4 inch beyond the nori on both sides.
• Sprinkle half of the wasabi mixture over the rice.
• Lay 1 row of carrot, 1 row of cucumber, and 2 rows of avocado across the center of the rice.
• Using the sushi mat or plastic wrap, carefully roll up the maki roll, starting from the bottom.
• Run your hands over the roll as you go to create a smooth, firm roll.
• Wet the top border of the nori with water and firmly press the edge to seal the roll.
• Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.
• (If you are preparing these ahead of time, wrap them in plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)
• Trim the ragged ends from the maki roll with a serrated knife and cut each maki roll into 7 or 8 pieces.
• Wasabi, the spicy green paste used in sushi, is made from the root of an Asian plant and is often called Japanese horseradish.
• It can be purchased in paste or powdered form.
• When used in powder form, as we did here, it can be made into a paste by adding water or soy sauce.
• Nori is the paper-thin sheets of dried seaweed used to wrap sushi.
• Nori is available in many grocery stores and all Asian markets.