California Temaki (Handroll)

California Handroll (Temaki) Recipe

Check Out: Kani Maki (Crab Stick Sushi Roll) Recipe

Temaki (手巻, “hand rolls”) is a cone-shaped piece of nori (seaweed) on the outside with the rice and fillings spilling out the wide end.  One of my favourite temaki is the California temaki (カリフォルニア手巻き) made up of avocado, crab sticks, cucumber and flying fish (tobiko) or prawn roe (ebiko). It is said that California rolls are an American invention in the 70s for those who may be uneasy about eating raw fish. It has since become a mainstay on the sushi menu and one of my favourite flavours of sushi.

Printable Recipe
Sushi Rice Recipe Cook sushi rice.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Prepare nori sheets for temaki. Typically, nori sheets come in 19×20 cm sizes. By folding and cutting it in half, it becomes the ideal size for temaki (19×10 cm).
How to make California handroll (temaki) Lay one sheet of cut nori, rough side up, on the work surface. Place sushi rice in the position as shown (diagonal at the corner). Flatten the rice slightly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Squeeze some Japanese mayonnaise on the rice. You may skip this but in my opinion, the mayo, though sinful, makes the temaki much more delicious :)
How to make California handroll (temaki) Add some roe near the bottom half of the rice.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Arrange avocado, crab sticks and cucumber such that they sit diagonally on the rice.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Fold in the bottom left corner of the nori as shown.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Continue rolling until the nori forms a cone shape that holds all the ingredients. Once the cone is formed, top with more roe.
How to make California handroll (temaki) Secure the edge of the nori with sushi rice.

If you have a home party, you can arrange the ingredients on a platter and have your guests roll these temaki by themselves.  Once you learnt the basics of rolling temaki, you can experiment with all kinds of fillings.

Ingredients for California handroll (temaki)

California Temaki (Handroll) Recipe

Ensure the nori sheets are fresh and crisp by only opening the packet when it is needed. Do not leave the nori sheets exposed for hours. Store leftover nori tightly sealed in the freezer.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bowl cooked sushi rice (refer to the recipe here)
  • 8 roasted nori (seaweed) sheets measuring 19x10cm each
  • 1 ripe avocado peeled and sliced to thin wedges*
  • 1 Japanese cucumber sliced to long thin strips (may substitute with lettuce or pea shoots)
  • 8 kanimi (Japanese imitation crab sticks) may substitute with local ones
  • Japanese mayonnaise optional
  • 8 tbsp ebiko (prawn roe) or tobiko (flying fish roe)

*Note: Cut avocado just before using to prevent discolouration due to exposure to air.

Directions:

  1. Lay one sheet of cut nori, smooth (shiny) side down, on the work surface. Place sushi rice (about 2 tbsp) in the position diagonally at the left side of the nori. Flatten the rice slightly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
  2. Squeeze a strip of mayonnaise over the rice and add 1 tsp of roe near the bottom half of the rice.
  3. Arrange avocado, kanimi and cucumber diagonally on the rice.
  4. Fold in the bottom left corner of the nori and roll until the nori forms a cone shape that holds all the fillings. Once the cone is formed, top with 2 tsp of roe. Secure the edge of the nori with sushi rice.