.: evil jungle prince :.

Seeing as I live in California, I'm kind of obliged to post this entry. But it's less than painful to do because I can eat a million of these and still find room for more.

California rolls are Japanese maki rolls made with a key California ingredient: avocado. Mine are made with avocado, asparagus, and crab. I tend to lean away from fusion food in favor of the real thing, but in this case, I think fusion food stands its own ground. The combination of the crab and avocado somehow scream "California sun" while the dish remains anchored in the beautiful subtleties of Japanese cuisine.

1. Start by cooking short grain rice in a rice cooker.

2. Meanwhile, prepare your ingredients by cutting avocado, blanched and chilled asparagus, and imitation crab sticks into strips. If the crab sticks are too large, peel into two long pieces.

3. When the rice is down, place it into a bowl. Sprinkle the rice with rice vinegar while at the same time fanning it. Keep tasting the rice until it tastes like sushi rice -- slightly but not overly tart. Fan until cool.

4. Take out a sheet of nori and plate it atop a sushi mat. Use the rice paddle and spread rice all over the nori, with the exception of the the very end (farthest from you). Leave 1/2 inch so the maki can be sealed.

5. Place the ingredients at the end closest to you. Use the sushi mat to begin rolling up the maki. After the ingredients disappear into the roll, pull the roll closer and roll until the maki is sealed.

6. Cut into bit sized pieces with very sharp knife. Discard ends.