California Sushi Bites

CALIFORNIA SUSHI BITES 
From Southern Living 2007 Cookoff Winner Party Starter category 
 
Prep: 40 min 
Cook: 40 min 
Cool: 15 min 
Chill: 2 hr 
 
1/3 cup rice vinegar 
1/4 c sugar 
1 t salt 
2 1/4 cups white rice 
1/4 c rice wine or dry sherry 
8-oz unpeeled uncooked fresh or frozen medium shrimp 
1 (7-oz) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained 
Vegetable cooking spray 
4 large eggs, beaten 
3-4 T drained small capers, rinsed and drained 
3 T toasted sesame seeds 
4-oz thinly sliced smoked salmon 
2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves 
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 
2 ripe Haas avocados, thinly sliced 
lime juice 
Toppings: pickled ginger, soy sauce, wasabi 
 
1. Bring first 3 ingredients and 4 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium 
saucepan over high 
heat. Stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15-20 
minutes until rice 
is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in rice wine using a fork. 
2. If frozen, thaw shrimp. Peel and devein. 
3. Cook shrimp in boiling water to cover 2-3 minutes until shrimp turns pink
Drain, and 
let cool 15 minutes. Coarsely chop shrimp. 
4. Cut bell peppers into 1/4 to 1/2-inch wide strips. 
5. Coat a griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Pour a thin 
layer of beaten 
eggs onto griddle to make a thin omelet. Cook without stirring, 1 minute 
until egg is cooked 
and dry. Transfer omelet to a clean kitchen towel. Repeat procedure with 
remaining egg. 
Do not stack or overlap omelets on towel. 
6. Arrange omelets in a single layer in a plastic wrap-lined 13x9 inch pan, 
overlapping edges 
and piecing together as needed to cover bottom of pan. Sprinkle capers and 
toasted sesame 
seeds over egg layer. Arrange salmon over half of mixture in pan, arrange 
shrimp over other 
half. Using wet hands, top with 2 1/2 cups rice, pressing into an even 
layer and packing 
down firmly. 
7. Arrange spinach over rice, overlapping edges. Top with green onions. 
Using wet hands, 
top with 2 1/2 cups rice pressing into an even layer, and packing down 
firmly. 
8. Remove and reserve 1 bell pepper strip. Arrange remaining pepper strips 
over rice. Top 
with avocado. Sprinkle with lime juice (about 1 T). Using wet hands, top 
with remaining rice 
pressing into an even layer, packing down firmly to compact layers. Cover 
with plastic wrap 
and place a second 13x9 inch pan right side up, directly on filled pan, 
pressing down to 
compact layers. Chill at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours. 
9. Remove top pan, remove and discard plastic wrap. Invert sushi onto a 
cutting board. 
Using a thin sharp knife, cut sushi into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, cutting 
straight down through 
sushi. Do notuse a sawing motion when cutting. 
10. Cut reserved bell pepper strip into tiny diamond shapes or pieces, top 
each sushi bite 
with a bell pepper piece. Serve with desired toppings. Makes 50 to 60 bites.
== Contributed by: ==
* Catsrecipes Y-Group
Category:Cathy's Recipes