Dragon Roll Recipe

Rinse rice

Place the 1.5 cups short-grain sushi rice in a fine mesh sieve or bowl and rinse under cold water, swirling with your hand, until the rinse water runs nearly clear (3–5 minutes). Drain well.

Cook rice

Combine the rinsed rice and 180 ml water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Let sit 20–30 minutes to hydrate. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce to low, cover, and simmer 12–15 minutes until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, 10 minutes.

Season rice

While rice cooks, warm 3 tbs rice vinegar, 1.5 tbs granulated sugar and 0.5 tsp fine sea salt in a small saucepan over low heat or microwave briefly until sugar dissolves; do not boil. Transfer cooked rice into a shallow nonreactive bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over rice and fold gently with a rice paddle or spatula to combine while fanning to cool to body temperature (about 5–8 minutes). Cover with a damp towel to keep moist.

Prepare fillings

Slice the avocado in half, remove pit, peel and cut into long thin slices. Peel and julienne the cucumber into long thin strips, discarding seeds. Slice the sushi-grade tuna into long thin strips about 1 cm wide. If using imitation crab, shred into long pieces.

Spread rice on nori

Place a bamboo sushi mat on a work surface and cover it with plastic wrap. Place one full nori sheet shiny-side down on the plastic. With wet hands (to prevent sticking), take about 3/4 of a cup of seasoned sushi rice and evenly spread it over the nori leaving a 1–1.5 cm strip at the top edge free of rice. Press rice firmly but gently to create an even layer.

Flip nori

Carefully flip the nori so the rice side is down on the plastic wrap and the bare nori side faces up. This creates a ‘inside-out’ roll (uramaki) so toppings will adhere to the outside.

Assemble filling

Along the center lengthwise on the nori (the side now up), spread about 1 tbs wasabi mayonnaise, then arrange a line of tuna (or crab), a row of avocado slices and a few cucumber sticks. Do not overfill — leave room to roll.

Roll

Use the bamboo mat to lift the nori edge nearest you and tuck it over the fillings, pressing gently to form a cylinder. Continue rolling while applying light even pressure with the mat until sealed. Remove mat and plastic wrap from under the roll.

Top with fish

Place the roll seam-side down. Lay thin slices of smoked salmon or thin tuna slices along the top of the roll, slightly overlapping to cover the length. Gently press so the slices adhere to the rice.

Slice roll

Using a very sharp knife moistened with water and wiped dry between cuts, slice the roll into 8 even pieces. Clean and wet the knife between cuts to keep slices neat.

Finish & garnish

Drizzle 2 tbs unagi sauce (eel sauce) over the rolls, sprinkle 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds and, if using, 2 tbs toasted nori crumbs or tempura flakes for crunch. Serve with pickled ginger and soy sauce on the side.