• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • RECIPES
    • All Recipes
  • ABOUT
    • Privacy Policy
  • RESOURCES
    • How to Start a Food Blog

Chefjar logo

Home / SEAFOOD RECIPES

California Roll Sushi Bowls

Jump to Recipe

This California roll sushi bowl is inspired by the classic California roll, with sweet and tangy sushi rice, crab meat, and fresh veggies. If you think about it, the California bowl is pretty much just a deconstructed sushi roll, but it’s every bit as good.

What is Sushi Bowl?

You’ve heard of a burrito bowl, right? The burrito ingredients assembled in a bowl, rather than in a wrap? Well, if you consider a sushi roll in the same family of handheld food as the burrito - that is, cylindrical food on the go - this is a similar concept. You can sit down and enjoy this tasty, nutritious meal at home!

With this recipe, you’ll be making your own sushi rice, assembling this bowl with the greatest of ease. This is an easy meal to put together for guests, for a weeknight lunch, or even as a healthy snack for work.

You’ll Need

  • We’re using Calrose sushi rice, water, and seasoned rice vinegar or mirin to make the sushi rice.
  • The spicy mayo consists of Japanese mayonnaise and sriracha sauce.
  • Your other ingredients are chopped imitation crab, diced English cucumber, crumbled Nori sheet, slice avocado, black and toasted sesame seeds, low-sodium soy sauce, and nori furikake (optional).

How To Make California Roll Sushi Bowls

Here’s how we’re going to make the delicious California bowl.

  • First you need to cook the rice. To do this, rinse your rice in a mesh sieve or sifter, then put it in a rice cooker with two cups of water. Turn it on, and once the rice is done, transfer it to bowl.
  • The next step is to season the rice. Simply pour your seasoned rice vinegar over the rice, folding it in with a spatula. Be very careful not to mash or crush the rice here! Gently fold it with the paddle or a broad silicon spatula. Now allow your rice to cool completely.
  • Now we’re making some spicy mayo! The spicy mayo is a major flavor component of this recipe, and you can adjust it to your personal preference. All you need to do is add the mayonnaise and sriracha to a bowl, stirring until they are combined. If you like it extra spicy, use more sriracha. If you prefer a milder taste, use more mayo than sriracha.
  • Next we chop up the crab and the veggies. Using a sharp knife, chop the crab meat and vegetables according to your preference. Crumble your nori sheet, and then peel and slice the avocado. Remember that since we aren’t making hand rolls, you don’t need to slice anything too small.
  • Shape the cooled sushi rice into bite-sized balls, coat in sesame seeds and add to a bowl, along with the imitation crab, cucumber and avocado.
  • Drizzle over the bowl with your spicy mayo, and finally top with crumbled nori, and furikake. Now you’re ready to eat!

Sushi Rice Tips

For perfectly fluffy, sticky sushi rice, we’ve assembled a few handy tips. Check it out!

  • You need to thoroughly wash your rice. Unwashed rice can have a gluggy, gluey texture rather than the fluffy, clean texture of great sushi rice. Washing the rice removes any starch clinging to the grains, allowing it to become sticky once it has been cooked.
  • When folding in your rice vinegar, do so gently. Hot rice is softer and more malleable than cooled rice, so you want to be careful not to smash or mash your hot rice. Use a spatula and be very gentle with the folding. Mashed rice will just become a blobby, gluggy mess of rice, which is the opposite of what we want for this recipe.
  • Allow your rice to cool completely before creating the bowl! It can be tempting to rush through the cooling process. For the rice to hold its shape - and prevent it from melting the toppings, like the spicy mayo - you need it cooled all the way down to room temperature. It does not need to be cold, but you want your rice to reach room temperature before building your California sushi bowl.

Can I Make it Ahead of Time?

You can prepare some of this dish’s components ahead of time very easily! This can save you time when you’re hungry and ready to eat.

You can make your sushi rice up to two days ahead of time. You’ll need to store it in the fridge, in an airtight container. Sushi rice will also freeze for up to two months in a freezer bag! If you’ve frozen your sushi rice, be sure to defrost it in the fridge before using. You don’t want a sushi ice block.

You can also prepare your spicy mayo up to two days ahead. Like the rice, keep it in the fridge if you do so, and be sure to cover it in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. Allow your spicy mayo to come to room temperature before you serve it, however, as it will taste better this way!

Storing California Sushi Bowl

In the event that you’ve made more of this dish than you can eat, you can store the leftovers, but not for long. With so many fresh ingredients, this meal won’t last much longer than a day.

You’ll need to keep it in the fridge, in an airtight container. Like a lot of Asian food, this recipe relies heavily on the freshness of its key ingredients, so you want to make sure you’re eating it as fresh as possible. This way you get to enjoy the crisp, green crunch of your freshly chopped cucumber and the distinctively creamy taste of your avocado!

More Sushi Recipes

Sushi Bake

The Best Sushi Rice Brands

Philadelphia Roll Recipe

Crunchy Roll Sushi

Nigiri Sushi

Spicy Crab Roll

pinterest-chefjar

If you make this recipe be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! I will be happy to hear from you!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
California Sushi Bowl with black sesame seeds, spicy mayo and chopsticks nearby

California Roll Sushi Bowls


  • Author: chefjar
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This California roll sushi bowl is inspired by the classic California roll, with sweet and tangy sushi rice, crab meat, and fresh veggies.


Ingredients

Scale

Sushi Rice

  • 1 ½ cups Calrose sushi rice, uncooked
  • 2 cups water
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

California Sushi Bowls

  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons sriracha
  • 7 oz (200 grams) imitation crab , cut into small pieces
  • 1 medium cucumber, diced
  • 2 Nori sheets, crumbled or chopped into small pieces
  • Black toasted  sesame seeds as needed
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce for serving
  • Nori Furikake for serving, optional

Instructions

Sushi Rice

  • Rinse the sushi rice with cold water in a mesh sifter for 1-2 minutes or until the water runs clear. Drain well.
  • Cook the rice (with 2 cups of water) on the stove, in a rice cooker , or in your Instant Pot. Once the rice is cooked, transfer to a bowl and allow to cool slightly.
  • Make the sushi vinegar. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Season the rice with the sushi vinegar and mix gently until the vinegar is evenly mixed into the rice, using a spatula.

Spicy Mayo

  • In a small bowl combine mayonnaise and sriracha sauce. Keep aside.

Sushi Bowls

  • Shape the cooled sushi rice into bite-sized balls, coat in sesame seeds and add to a bowl, along with the imitation crab, cucumber and avocado.
  • Drizzle with the spicy mayonnaise and top with crumbled Nori sheets and furikake if desired.
  • Enjoy!

 

  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 20 min
  • Category: Sushi recipes
  • Cuisine: Japanese

Nutrition

  • Calories: 399kcal
  • Sugar: 3g
  • Sodium: 10002mg
  • Fat: 17g
  • Saturated Fat: 2g
  • Carbohydrates: 72g
  • Fiber: 6g
  • Protein: 10g
  • Cholesterol: 11mg

Keywords: California sushi bowl, sushi recipes, sushi

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

All rights reserved. CHEF JAR. All images and content are copyright protected. PLEASE do not use my images without my permission. If you want to share this recipe, PLEASE provide a link back to this post.

More SEAFOOD RECIPES

  • How to Reheat Salmon in Air Fryer, Oven and Microwave
  • How Long To Marinate Salmon (The Ultimate Guide)
  • Air Fryer Salmon Bites with Garlic Cream Sauce
  • Easy Salmon Marinades

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR RECIPES? SEARCH HERE!

About Me

Hi, I am Tati and welcome to my online kitchen. A foodie, wife and mom of 2 adorable boys. Read More…

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Phone
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube



Search Recipes

Footer

SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE RECIPES STRAIGHT INTO YOUR INBOX!

CONNECT WITH ME – CHEFJAR

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Privacy Policy
  • ABOUT ME
  • Recipe index

Copyright © 2023 · CHEFJAR