Sushi @ home - the Wallace Roll

As I have said before, we love making takeout at home. And as much as we like going out for sushi, it is also one of our favorite weekly dinners at home.  On one of our first sushi @ home nights, we created what is now one of our favorite rolls and we named it the Wallace Roll. Cute, right? 

On sushi night, we usually make Wallace Rolls, California rolls and edamame.  We even plate it up pretty with little dipping bowls for soy sauce, chopsticks, etc.  I haven't found a commercially available pickled ginger brand that we like, so we usually just skip that.

Give it a go! The preparation isn't difficult, but is admittedly a bit fussy.  But if you're in the kitchen with someone you love making tasty food - who cares if it is fussy??  Missing Wheel of Fortune won't kill you, I promise!  ;o)


Wallace Roll

1 cup of white rice (makes enough for 4 rolls)
sushi vinegar (if you can't find this in your Asian foods section, you can mix rice vinegar with sugar and salt)
frozen breaded shrimp
avocado
cream cheese
hoisin sauce
sweet & spicy crab
sweet wasabi sauce
nori sheets

Cook rice according to package directions and put shrimp on to bake.  While rice and shrimp are cooking, make the sweet & spicy crab and the sweet wasabi sauce.

Sweet & Spicy Crab:
1/2 cup very finely diced crab
2 tbl. sweet chile sauce (in the Asian foods section)
1 tbl. mayo
siracha to taste (we use about 1/2-3/4 tsp.)
Mix all ingredients together and set aside

Sweet Wasabi Sauce
2 tsp. wasabi paste
2 tbl. mayo
2 tsp. sugar
Mix all ingredients together, adjust according to your taste - it should be very hot and very sweet.  Thin to drizzling consistency with water.  Set aside.

When shrimp is done, set aside to cool.  When rice is done,  pour into a large bowl and toss lightly with several generous splashes of sushi vinegar.  Stir occassionally until rice is almost cool.

While rice is cooling, prep the other ingredients.  Seed, peel and slice the avocado.  Slice cream cheese and roll into strips the thickness of a pencil.

When rice is cool, sit out a bowl of water for dipping your hands and start rolling!

For each roll, lay out a nori sheet.  Wet your hands, get a good handful of rice and spread it thinly and evenly over the nori, covering all but an inch-wide strip of the end furthest from you.  Rewet your hands as needed to keep the rice from sticking. 

One third of the way from the edge closest to you, lay out your fillings in a line from left to right.  Lay down a line of avocado slices beside a line of cream cheese, then top it with crunchy shrimp.  Squeeze several strips of hoisin sauce over the shrimp and top with 1/4 cup of sweet & spicy crab.  Roll tightly, slice into 8 pieces, and arrange on plate.  Drizzle with the sweet hoisin sauce.