Sushi & Beyond: Dish #2 - Creating Stunning Crab Sushi Art

Ladies, are you ready for our next sushi adventure? Get ready to wow your friends and family with a dish that's as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the taste buds!
Imagine this: a beautiful sushi roll that, when sliced, reveals the adorable shape of a tiny crab inside. It's not just sushi; it's edible art that'll make everyone at your table go "Wow!"
Just like our Salmon Maki with a Twist, this Crab Sushi Art looks far more complicated than it actually is to make. With a few simple techniques, you'll be creating Instagram-worthy sushi that looks like it came from a high-end Japanese restaurant.
This dish is perfect for when you want to add a touch of whimsy and creativity to your meals. It's a fun way to get kids excited about eating seafood, and it's sure to be the star of any dinner party.
Ready to dive in and learn how to make this cool-looking, delicious sushi art? Let's roll up our sleeves and get creative in the kitchen!

Instructions:

Step 1: Preparing the small cucumber

Cut off both ends of a small cucumber, then cut it lengthwise in half. Cut both of these halves lengthwise in half again. This will be used to make the crab claws. Put the knife against one of the sides with the skin and cut in until halfway through. Flip it around and cut through the side without the skin at a 45 degrees angle, until you meet the other cut you just made. Put aside for later.

Step 2: Preparing the carrot

Cut off both ends of a carrot. The cut the carrot into the size of half the width of a sheet of nori. Cut off a slice lengthwise, to get one side flat. Put the flat side down and cut another slice off, lengthwise. This leaves you with two flat sides touching each other. Cut off a slice of 0.5 cm thick. From this piece, cut off 2 sticks of 0.5 cm thick. Cut of all 4 corners of the stick. It’s best to do this while holding the knife at a 45 degrees angle. This leaves you with a roundish carrot stick. Make two of these and put aside for later.

Step 3: Preparing the big cucumber

Cut off both ends of the cucumber. Then cut off a piece with the same size as the carrot (the size of half the width of a sheet of nori). Cut it lengthwise in half. Using a mandoline slicer, make cucumber slices of 3 mm thick.

Cut a few of the slices into strips of 1.5 cm wide. The cut of a strip of nori and use it wrap a strip of cucumber inside it. This is because rice doesn’t stick to cucumber.

Step 4: Stacking the cucumber strips

Spread a very thin layer of cooked and seasoned sushi rice on the wrapped cucumber. Place another nori wrapped cucumber strip on top. Again, spread a very thin layer of rice on top. Repeat the process: place another nori wrapped cucumber strip on top and cover it with a very thin layer of sushi rice. So that’s 3 nori wrapped cucumber strips on top of each other, each covered with a very thin layer of sushi rice. Make 2 of these packages and put aside for later.

Step 5: Preparing the nori sheet

Put half a sheet or nori and a quarter sheet of nori on a rolling mat. Glue the two pieces together by spreading a little bit of sushi rice on one side of the half sheet. Overlap the two sheets and press them together. This results in a very long sheet of nori.

Step 6: Preparing the tuna

Cut off a rectangular piece of sashimi grade tuna, with a size of 2 x 1.5 cm and a length of half a sheet of nori. Put aside for later.

Step 7: Assembling the roll

Spread 100 grams of cooked and seasoned sushi rice on the nori sheet. Leave an area of 2.5 cm uncovered on both short sides of the sheet.

Take 20 grams of sushi rice and use it to create a wall in the middle of the sheet. Then take 15 grams of sushi rice and create another wall, next to the first one, with a space in between of approximately 2 cm. Do the same on the other side of the wall.

Take a piece of nori of 3 to 4 cm wide and the same length as one of the rice walls. Put one of the circular carrot sticks on the piece of nori and use this to cover the gap between 2 walls by pressing the nori with the carrot down. Do the same with the other gap. Then tuck in the nori with the carrot by gently pressing the walls against each other.

Place a cucumber piece from step 1 with the skin side down, on the outside of the rice wall. Do the same on the other side.

Place the piece of tuna in the middle. Place the cucumber packages from step 4 on either side of the tuna.

Step 8: Closing the roll

Lift up both sides of the rolling mat, creating half a circle. Don’t close the roll. Use towels or something similar to support the sides, keeping them up. Cover the tuna and any exposed nori with a thin layer of su

shi rice. Make sure it’s a really thin layer, otherwise it’ll be really hard to close the roll. Now you’re ready to close the roll.

Take one side of the mat, curl it over and press down. Then curl over the other side with a little bit of overlap and close it. Now roll the roll using the mat and compress it, to make sure the filling is tightly in place.

Gently press with your hands against both ends, to tuck in any ingredients that stick out. Again, use the rolling mat to compress the roll.

Step 9: Cutting the roll

Wet a sharp knife, to prevent ingredients sticking to the knife. Slice of pieces of 2 cm. Take a look at what you’ve just created: a piece of sushi with the image of a small crab inside. Looks impressive, tastes delicious. As it should be.

Published:
Time to prepare the recipe: 20 minutes
Time to cook: 0 minutes
Duration: 20 minutes
Nutrition:
Servings: serves 1
Ingredients: 120 g cooked and seasoned sushi rice, 100 g sashimi grade tuna, Wasabi, 1 cucumber, 1 small cucumber, 1 carrot, 1 sheet of nor.