California Sushi Salad

I don't think I had sushi until I moved to Vancouver. I was in my late teens, and had moved here to go to university. Having moved from Halifax, I was a small town girl in a big city world. I thought I knew a lot. I didn't. But I was open to new experiences and sushi was a part of that. I hated it. Seriously. Raw fish did nothing for me. Thankfully, as I "matured" I came to appreciate the flavours and textures of this culinary delight.  In fact, I've even made sushi at home but trust me it's worth the money to go out for properly rolled sushi. This is especially true in Vancouver where there are as many sushi restaurants as there are Starbucks (and there are a lot of Starbucks). Of course, there is a big difference between mediocre and great sushi but that's another story.

But this salad brings the flavours of a California roll into your home without the hassle of trying to roll it yourself!

To make sushi rice you can, as I did, use sushi rice seasoning or make your own. I used canned crab, avocado, cucumbers, and yellow peppers as garnish. I topped it with pickled onions and some crumbled seaweed. My husband went back for thirds and my son had seconds. For an easy yet impressive dish I highly recommend trying it out!

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

2 cups sushi rice
2 cups water (or as directed by rice instructions)
5 tbsp sushi seasoning
1 can crab (120 gr or about 1/2 cup)
1 avocado, sliced
2 medium yellow peppers, julienned
1/2 cup pickled onions (click here to see recipe)
1 english cucumber, cut in half length wise and then sliced thinly cross wise
1/2 large sheet roasted seaweed (optional), crumbled

Instructions

1. Place rice in strainer and rinse it under cold water until water runs clear. Drain.
2. Add rice and water to a medium sized sauce pan.
3. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
4. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes.
5. Remove pot from heat and stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle sushi seasoning over rice, cutting through rice with a wooden spoon. This will break up any lumps of rice and distribute the vinegar evenly.
7. Cool rice quickly with a fan (or in my case a piece of cardboard), gently stirring the rice a few times. 
8. Once cooled divide amongst 6 bowls.
9. Arrange avocado, peppers, onions and cucumbers on top of rice 
10. Top with tbsp or so of crab.
11. Sprinkle with seaweed if desired.

Note: You could add a dash of soy sauce before you add the crab if you'd like.