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Red chopsticks digging into a Crispy Californian Roll Bowl. A small gold bowl of white and black sesame seeds, yellow flowers, and greenery, pop on a bright blue background.
Sacha Hirschfeld

Crispy California Roll Bowls

Everything we love about the California Roll, but in a bowl – with crispy rice! The mix of flavors and textures is incredibly satisfying, bite after bite!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rice Cooking and Cooling Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Japanese, Japanese-American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups uncooked sushi rice or any Japanese short-medium grain rice; see notes
  • 5 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar I use Marukan; see notes
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce low sodium; divided
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise I use Kewpie Japanese mayo
  • 1 tbsp sriracha I add more but I kept it mild for the recipe
  • 8 oz lump crab meat ½ lb
  • 3 Persian cucumbers or 1 cup diced English cucumber
  • 1 avocado sliced or diced
  • 2 scallions trimmed and sliced
  • 2 Nori sheets sliced or crumbled; optional
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds I like a mix of white and black
  • wasabi paste
  • pickled ginger

Equipment

  • 1 rice maker
  • 1 rice spatula
  • 1 medium or large bowl glass over stainless steel
  • 1 medium frying pan must be oven-safe
  • 1 chefs knife
  • 1 cutting board
  • measuring spoons 1 tbsp
  • measuring cups ¼ cup, ⅓ cup
  • 1 small bowl
  • 1 spoon

Method
 

  1. Place cooked sushi rice in a large bowl. Gently fold in seasoned rice vinegar to the cooked rice using a rice spatula or wooden spoon.
    See notes if you want to know how I cook the sushi rice.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400℉ and set a rack to the middle position.
    Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the pan. Once melted, turn off the heat. Add the cooled sushi rice to the pan, pressing it down to create an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes.
    Remove from the oven and drizzle 2 tbsp of soy sauce over the rice. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
  3. Mix mayo and sriracha together in a small bowl; set aside.
  4. To assemble the bowl, divide the crispy rice between 4 bowls, and top with crab, cucumber, avocado, nori sheets, and green onion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with spicy mayo.
  5. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi paste, and pickled ginger.

Notes

How To Cook Sushi Rice:
I like to keep things simple when it works, which is why I cook my sushi rice in the rice maker using the 'white rice' setting. It's a foolproof method, as long as you add the right amount of water. Personally, I think cooking it on the stove can be trickier and more prone to mistakes.
If you're using a rice maker, once the rice is done, quickly transfer it to a large bowl. Don’t leave it on the warming setting. Use a rice spatula (usually included with the rice maker) to move the rice, then gently fold in the seasoned rice vinegar. Let it cool uncovered.
Seasoned Rice Vinegar VS Unseasoned Rice Vinegar:
The key difference between seasoned rice vinegar and unseasoned rice vinegar is that the seasoned version contains added sugar and salt, giving it a sweeter and saltier flavor, while unseasoned rice vinegar is milder and more acidic.
If you don’t have seasoned rice vinegar, you can easily make your own by heating the ingredients below until the sugar and salt dissolve. You can do this by warming them in a small saucepan on the stove or microwaving in a small bowl for about 30 seconds.
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
Make Ahead Tip:
Prepare the seasoned sushi rice the night before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. This saves you a good hour!
Since I knew I’d be using it for lunch the next day, I cooked the sushi rice in the rice maker while preparing dinner. This helps reduce the prep and cook time for the Crispy California Bowls by two-thirds!