How To Make A Mexican Sushi Roll

Warm summer nights naturally leave us all longing for a little bit of spice and a Mexican Sushi Roll can satisfies our craving for sushi with a little bit of Mexican flair. There is no better way to experience this spicy southern culture than through this delicious shrimp tempura roll. The buttery crunch of the shrimp tempura accentuate the creaminess of the Hass avocado and offsets the saltiness of Masago to create a simple yet elegant Mexican Sushi roll.

Needed Equipment:

• Sushi Mat
• Sharp Serrated Knife
• 1 Gallon Freezer Bag
• Toaster Oven (or a regular oven will do as well)
• Cellophane Wrap (enough to cover roll)

Ingredients:

• Sushi Rice (prepared, one large handful)
• Nori Sheet (1/3rd)
• Masago
• Shrimp Tempura (2 pieces prepared and store bought; enough to cover the Nori sheet length wise)
• 1 Hass avocado (cut into thin slices)

Presentation Tip: Spice up your fusion style fiesta with colorful places in a multitude of shapes and colors. Square are always my favorite!

Pop the frozen, store bought shrimp tempura into the toaster oven for ten to fifteen minutes until they reach the ideal level of ultimate crispiness. Place your sushi mat inside of the one gallon freezer bag and seal it. This ensures that none of the sushi prepared rice, avocado, and cream cheese will stick to your sushi mat while you are making this shrimp tempura sushi roll. Lay the 1/3rd sheet of Nori down on the freezer bag covered sushi mat. Take a palmful of the zesty sushi prepared rice and place it evenly across the sheet of Nori and press down gently. For best results add the Masago in an even layer across the entire role while it is flat. I love masago, but if you are not a big fan, or just want a more dynamic flavor combination feel free to add some avocado, sesame seeds, spicy crab, or seafood dynamite to the top of the roll later.

Flip the Nori sheet over so that the seaweed side is up. Now it's time to add the deliciously crunchy shrimp tempura to this Mexican Sushi Roll. Make sure that the shrimp tempura has cooled enough before placing them into the roll. Lay two shrimp lengthwise alongside on the toasted Nori seaweed. Cut the perfectly ripe Hass avocado in half and slide a spoon in between the flesh and the skin to scoop out the avocado. When shopping for the perfect avocado make sure to test before purchasing by gently pushing on the exterior of the avocado. It should give a little bit, but not so much that it's ready for guacamole. Cut the avocado into sticks, keep in mind that uniformity is one of the keys to perfection when making any sushi so keep an eye on the size of your slices. Distribute one line of avocado slices evenly across the length of the shrimp tempura. This combination of the shrimp tempura, creamy avocado, and Masago is a real palette pleaser!

Now it is time to roll! Roll the sushi mat over the roll, away from you, creating a nice seal from the sushi rice and the nori. Gently press down and roll it again to ensure that it is fully sealed, this is definitely one of the larger rolls that I make so if you filled the roll too much you might need a little seaweed patch to hold it together. Using a wet serrated knife cut this Mexican Sushi Roll in half, wipe the knife with a wet cloth. (It is important to wipe your knife off between cuts anytime that you are preparing a shrimp tempura sushi roll that includes avocado.) Place the two halves next to each other and cut it in half, and then in half again until you have eight perfectly uniform sushi pieces. Place this delicious roll on a festive plate with a side of some soy sauce, srirachi hot sauce, spicy mayonnaise, and or wasabi. Enjoy!