sushi continued… Spider Rolls!

I mentioned earlier in the week that I loooooooove sushi. All types. I would have to say that tied at #1 are Unagi Nigiri {eel}, Sake Nigiri {fresh salmon} and spider rolls {tempura soft shell crab}. Surprisingly there really aren’t many or maybe even any recipes for spider rolls. They are really amazing and even people who don’t like sushi {the peeps who think it’s all raw} love these rolls. They are a big hit on the east coast where I hail from.

>>> INGREDIENTS <<<

2 cups dry sushi rice

5 sheets nori

1/4 cup rice vinegar

5 soft-shell crabs

1 large cucumber

3 ounces masago

5 tablespoons Japanese mayo

Box tempura batter batter

>>> DIRECTIONS <<<

First you are going to prep your rice. Rinse the sushi rice until the water runs clear. This is to get off all the extra starch that makes the rice too sticky. Mix the rice with 3 cups of water in a rice cooker and set to cook. After it’s finished mix in the rice vinegar and cover with a wet paper towel and a clean kitchen cloth to keep it warm.

Preheat a deep fryer to 350 degrees or a few inches of oil in a skillet on medium heat. Prep your soft-shell crabs. If you have frozen, they are most likely already prepped. Lift the right and left side of the top shell to remove or make sure the lungs are removed. Make sure the eyes are gone, if not just cut behind them to remove them. Then cut them in half lengthwise just behind the claws.

Prep your tempura batter to the recipe on the bag/box.

Dip each half crab piece in the tempura batter and fry approximately 3 minutes or until golden brown, crispy and floating. Remove from oil and place on a plate with a few paper towels to soak up the oil.

Prep the cucumber by peeling the outside and cutting in thin strips. Then cut out all the seeded middle.

Lay out the 5 pieces of nori and add rice to each one. I like to roll different. I actually put all of my rice on the bottom 1/3 of the nori and make a little trench in the middle to pile all my goodies. So I pack rice evenly on the entire last 1/3, make my trench and then I fill it… fill with cucumber, 1 whole softshell crab, about 1-2 tablespoons of masago and a light squirt strip of mayo all the way down the roll.

Then I roll it on up!

That’s it. Just cut and serve!