This deconstructed California roll is a great way to satisfy your sushi cravings at home. Perfectly cooked sushi rice is layers up with creamy crab salad, cucumbers, avocado, and seaweed. It’s just like your favorite roll, but way easier.
The essential California roll is made up of imitation crab salad, avocado, and cucumber wrapped in seaweed paper and sushi rice. Making this California roll in a bowl gives you loads of that traditional flavor, plus the option to dress it up with toppings like green onions and sesame seeds. These bowls come together quickly and are super easy to make.
I make these California roll bowls a lot during the summer because it is a cool, refreshing meal that takes minimal effort.
Why This Recipe Works
I give you all of my tips for perfect sushi rice that I learned from an actual sushi chef.
There are no specialty ingredients in this recipe, but a few tips to make sure you don’t miss any of the traditional flavor.
You can use regular mayonnaise for this recipe instead of buying specialty Kewpie Mayo by just adding a few splashes of rice vinegar to mimic the tangy taste.
Imitation crab is ready to use and super delicious.
You can make this recipe in large batches and serve it over multiple days for a super delicious meal prep.
Ingredients
Sushi Rice- Short grain rice that is a bit sticky and made a bit sweet with rice vinegar and sugar.
Imitation Crab- Easy to use and a very inexpensive product that tastes great. Easy to use and a very inexpensive product that tastes great. I prefer the flake style so that I can have a shredded crab salad, but a thicker style works great too.
Seaweed Snacks- Traditional sushi is made with nori paper which is seaweed paper. I find the nori paper to be a bit too thick for a bowl. I traded it out for the Korean style seaweed snacks which are thinner and more chip-like. They add the same salty flavor, but the texture is nicer.
How to Make Deconstructed California Rolls
Step 1: Cooking Sushi Rice
- Sushi rice is short grain rice and needs to be rinsed free of some of its starch. To reduce water use, I recommend soaking the rice in cold water for 15 minutes before rinsing in a colander.
- Next, place rinsed sushi rice in a pot and add water. The ratio of rice to water is 1 cup of rice to 1 ½ Cups water.
- Add rice vinegar and sugar to the water.
- Then bring the rice to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Cooling
- Fluff the cooked sushi rice and spread on a cookie sheet to cool quickly in the refrigerator. (If you do this farther ahead of time, you can transfer the rice to a bowl and leave it loosely covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it.)
Step 3
- Make the crab salad by shredding the imitation crab pieces into bite sized shreds. This can be done by pulling it apart with two forks.
Step 4
- Add mayonnaise, rice vinegar, and sriracha hot sauce and stir together until you have a nice creamy mixture.
Step 5
- Next, cut up the cucumber, seaweed snack sheets, avocado, and green onion.
- Organize all of your California roll bowl ingredients to create a little assembly line.
- Then, build the browls by placing a layer of rice on the bottom of the bowl and adding your crab salad and california roll ingredients to the top.
- Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top with a drizzle of soy sauce and serve.
Tips for Success
Rinse the rice thoroughly. The water should get pretty close to clear if you’ve soaked it long enough.
You can make the crab salad with as little or as much hot sauce as you like. Add a few extra squeezes and you can have a spicy California Roll in a Bowl.
Make Ahead and Storage
California Roll Bowls are a great make ahead meal. The rice and crab salad can be kept in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to three days. The cucumbers and green onions can be cut and stored as well.
For best results, add fresh avocado and seaweed pieces each day.
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- Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
- Shrimp Avocado Mango Corn Salad
- Teriyaki Steak with Homemade Sauce
- Bacon Fried Rice
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"📖 Recipe"
Recipe: California Roll Bowls
Ingredients
Sushi Rice Ingredients
- 2 Cups Sushi Rice
- 3 Cups Water
- 4 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
Imitation Crab Salad Ingedients
- 16 ounces Imitation Crab flaked
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- Sriracha Hot Sauce to Taste
California Roll Bowl Toppings
- 1 Seedless Cucumber diced
- 1 Avocado diced
- Seaweed Sheets Korean snack style
- Sesame Seeds garnish optional
- Green Onions diced, garnish, optional
Instructions
Sushi Rice
- Sushi rice is short grain rice and needs to be rinsed free of some of its starch. To reduce water use, I recommend soaking the rice in cold water for 15 minutes before rinsing in a colander.
- Next, place rinsed sushi rice in a pot and add water. The ratio of rice to water is 1 cup of rice to 1 ½ Cups water. This recipe calls for 2 cups of rice and 3 cups of water.
- Add rice vinegar and sugar to the water.
- Then bring the rice to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Fluff the cooked sushi rice and spread on a cookie sheet to cool quickly in the refrigerator. (If you do this farther ahead of time, you can transfer the rice to a bowl and leave it loosely covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it.)
Imitation Crab Salad
- Make the crab salad by shredding the imitation crab pieces into bite sized shreds. This can be done by pulling it apart with two forks.
- Add mayonnaise, rice vinegar, and sriracha hot sauce and stir together until you have a nice creamy mixture.
Assembly
- Next, cut up the cucumber, seaweed snack sheets, avocado, and green onion.
- Organize all of your California roll bowl ingredients to create a little assembly line.
- Then, build the bowls by placing a layer of rice on the bottom of the bowl and adding your crab salad and California roll ingredients to the top.
- Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top with a drizzle of soy sauce and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sara Welch
This was such a hearty and delicious meal; worthy of a restaurant, indeed! Easily, a new favorite recipe!
Janessa
What a fabulous idea! We love making sushi at home but sometimes it is a little more involved than we have time for. This bowl is so delicious and definitely satisfies the craving.
Anjali
Love this twist on a traditional sushi roll!! Made this for lunch and it was delicious!
Rachna
This sushi roll is just perfect. I have saved the recipe to try over the weekend. I am sure it will satisfy the sushi lovers in my home. Thank you so much.
Seema
This is an epic recipe. The bowl is so filling. Loved it