Shrimp <i>Tempura</i> Roll

The crunchy tempura shrimp on the inside and sweet eel sauce on top make this one of everybody's favorite rolls! Can't find an ingredient or don't like it? Feel free to improvise and make this your own!

Ingredients (makes 1 roll):

1 full sheet nori (seaweed)
1-1/4 cup cooked sushi rice (see here)
3 Tbsp. tenkasu or agedama (crunchy tempura bits)
2 tempura shrimps (see here)
2 cucumber sticks, 1/4” W x 8” L size
2 imitation crab sticks, about 4” L
1 yamagobo (pickled mountain burdock), about 8” L and 1/4” thick or thinner

Water for hands:

1 cup water
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

Topping:

Eel sauce or teriyaki sauce

For Dipping and Condiments:

Soy sauce
Wasabi
Gari (pickled ginger)

You will need a bamboo mat (makisu).

Prepare the bamboo mat. Wrap the bamboo mat completely on both sides with plastic wrap. In a small bowl, mix water and rice vinegar for wetting hands.

Prepare the nori and rice. Place the nori sheet horizontally on a cutting board, with a shiny side facing down. Wet hands with vinegar water from step 1. Spread the sushi rice evenly on top of the nori sheet. Make sure to cover the entire sheet.

Sprinkle tenkasu over the sushi rice and cover with the prepared bamboo mat from step 1. Press lightly on the mat to press tenkasu onto the sushi rice.

Remove the bamboo mat and lay flat. Flip over the nori with sushi rice and tenkasu side facing down, and place on the bamboo mat positioning towards the bottom edge of the mat.

Add fillings. Place the tempura shrimps lengthwise “head-to-head” at the center of the nori, so the tails protrude from the left and right sides. Place cucumber, imitation crab, yamagobo, along with the shrimps.

Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing forward to shape sushi into a cylinder. Press down once at the halfway mark to make sure all ingredients are positioned in place and roll forward.

Press the bamboo mat firmly and remove it from the roll. Cover with plastic wrap and cut into bite-sized pieces (usually 8-10 pieces).

Shrimp Tempura Roll