Alaska Roll Sushi is a delicious sushi dish in the world. If you’re one of those who love sushi but don’t dare to make the item at home?
If you’re saying yes, this article would be a great piece for you. Alaska roll sushi is one of the most delicious and nutritious sushi items out there. If you haven’t tried it yet but you know how a Dragon roll or a Boston roll tastes, you’ll notice similarity in their taste.
So, let’s not have much chit-chat anymore. Here you’ll find how to make the best Alaska roll sushi at home, how to store them, what nutrition values they have, and a whole lot more. If you are familiar with other sushi dishes like tobiko sushi and tiger roll sushi, this international dish will give you more interest to eat.
Let’s get started!
What Exactly Is An Alaska Roll?
Even if you never tried an Alaska roll, what about a California roll? You may have tried it, right? An Alaska roll is not much different from a California roll, both are made “inside-out” which means you need to roll the rice outside the seaweed.
However, there are different versions of Alaska rolls and some of them are packed with a lot of ingredients whereas other versions come almost plain. The two major factors about Alaska rolls are:
- Most of the Alaska rolls contain salmon.
- You won’t get any set-in-stove version of Alaska rolls.
So, if you’re not a fan of salmon, you may get an annoying surprise by ordering the dish blindly.
Among several versions of Alaska rolls, ones that contain salmon, avocado, rice, and carb are the best for the taste.
The recipe is very easy to follow so you can make it at home any time you want or head to a sushi bar to enjoy a selection. But even if you make the dish at home, try to use sustainably-fished salmon because they are already famous for their texture and flavor.
In addition, frozen-at-sea fish is the best option out there if it comes to sushi rolls. Still, you can go for non-frozen salmon but try to make sure that it comes with a dense and firm texture without that fishy smell.
What Ingredients Are Used to Make Alaska Roll Sushi?
Before we dive deep, here’s what ingredients you’ll be needing for the recipe.
- Sushi Rice: The sushi rice should be fluffy although you roll it tightly. To get such an outcome, you’ll need short-grain, high-quality rice. And, the rice should be steamed and seasoned using sushi vinegar.
- Crabmeat: Another key ingredient of Alaska rolls is boiled crab. You can also deep-fry the crab if you want to. If you go for frozen crab meat, that’s even greater because they tend to be extra crunchy.
- Salmon: If you want to take the pure taste of an Alaska roll, the salmon should be fresh and cut into thin slices. However, if you find it problematic to eat raw salmon, steaming or air-frying it will not be a problem.
- Avocado: Avocado is another major ingredient in Alaska roll sushi. So, you must pick a good avocado for the dish. You’ll need a ripe avocado which should be dark colored but squishy. But if you notice that the avocado is too hard, then it may not be ripe enough.
- Cucumber: Japanese cucumbers are the best pick if we talk about the perfect Alaska roll sushi. It’s because they contain fewer seeds and thinner skin which make them more delicious than American cucumbers.
- Seaweed (Nori Sheets): These are ready-to-go seaweeds that are black or dark green in color, and shiny. An ideal nori sheet shouldn’t break easily.
Alaska Roll Sushi Recipe
We’ll use some sauces like eels sauce and spicy mayo in the recipe. To make things easier for you, here’s how you can make spicy mayo- mix 1 tablespoon sriracha with ⅓ cup mayo. Then, add a pinch or sugar and a squeeze of lemon if you want.
About eel sauce, don’t think that it’s made of eel! Eel sauce is made with rice vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, and sake. Just mix the ingredients to get your sauce.
Ingredients for Sushi Rice
- White rice (short or medium-grain): 1 cup
- Seasoned rice vinegar: 2 tablespoon
- Water: 1 cup
- Salt: 1 tablespoon
Ingredients for Alaska Roll Sushi
- Avocado: 2-3 slices
- Real Alaskan or imitation crab meat: ¼ cup
- Sushi-Grade Salmon: 6 ounce
- Mayonnaise: 1 tablespoon
- Pickled ginger
- Nori sheet: 1
- Sriracha: ½ tablespoon
- Cucumber: 2-3 slices
- Wasabi
Toppings
- Tobiko sauce
- Bang bang sauce
- Siraha mayo
- Sesame seeds (black or white)
- Eel sauce
Directions for Cooking The Sushi Rice
- Rinse the rice well and use a strainer to get rid of the excess starch from the rice. When the rice is clean enough, the water will run clean. Make sure you shake off excess water.
- Take the washed rice in a saucepan. Add salt (1 tbsp) to it. And, pour one cup of water on the rice.
- You can cook the pot in an instant pot. Cook it on a high-pressure setting and the duration should be around 6 minutes. If you prefer using a saucepan instead of an instant pot, cover the rice with a lid and wait for around 13 minutes.
- When your rice is well-cooked, take a separate bowl and move the rice into it.
- Wait until the rice is cool enough to touch. Add sushi vinegar to the rice while it’s quite warm. And, mix them well.
Making Directions for The Spicy Crab Mix
- Start with shredding the crab meat.
- Take a bowl and mix the crab with sriracha and mayonnaise.
Making Directions for Alaska Roll Sushi
- Take the bamboo mat and lay it using a plastic wrap on top.
- Now, you need to fold the seaweed paper in half using scissors. Then, grab half of the seaweed and place it under the bamboo mat.
- Spread ¾ cup of cooked rice on a thin layer on the seaweed. But before that, dip your hand in vinegar water. This is how you can prevent your rice from sticking to one another. While spreading the rice on the seaweed, make sure you put gentle pressure otherwise, you may get mushy rice.
- Flip over both the rice and nori sheet because the rice should be under the sheet.
- Add the cucumber and avocado to the crab mixture and place them in the middle of the nori sheet. Don’t overload the roll with too many fillings otherwise the roll will not close properly.
- To prepare the roll, give a little pressure underneath the bamboo mat and lift up the filling. Keep tightening the roll until both ends meet.
- When you take off the bamboo mat, you’ll end up having an inside-out sushi.
Toppings for Alaska Roll Sushi
- Use thin salmon slices to top your rolls.
- Cover the sushi with a plastic wrap on the top.
- Grab a wet towel to wipe the knife after each slice so the knife doesn’t get sticky.
That’s how you can make the delicious Alaska roll sushi at home. You can add soy sauce or Masago sauce to the dish if you want to get a traditional taste.
Alaska Roll Calories and Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 1399
- Fat: 55 g
- Protein: 55 g
- Carbohydrate: 173 g
- Fiber: 22 g
- Potassium: 2494 mg
- Sodium: 2532 mg
- Vitamin A: 627 IU
- Calcium: 125 mg
- Iron: 5 mg
- Sugar: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 98 mg
How Can You Store Alaska Sushi Roll?
By now, making Alaska roll sushi in the best way is easy for you.
But what if there are some leftovers? How should you deal with the remaining sushi rolls? If these questions bother you, listen, you can store the rolls for later but you might not get the taste of a freshly-made roll.
How to Store Alaska Roll Sushi in The Freezer?
This is the best way to deal with the Alaska rolls leftovers. To store them in the freezer:
- Get rid of excess water and use a plastic wrap to tightly wrap the rolls. Also, seal the wrap so the air doesn’t reach your food.
- Place these plastic-wrapped rolls in an airtight box.
- Store the box in the freezer, it may be okay for 2-3 days in there.
How to Store Alaska Roll Sushi in The Fridge?
- Wrap the rolls tightly in a plastic wrap or a clear film.
- Now, place the rolls in an airtight container.
- Store the container in the refrigerator. It will last 24 hours there.
Is Alaska Roll Sushi Healthy?
A big Yes! This is even one of the healthiest sushi rolls out there. I mean hey, look at the ingredients used in the rolls, all of them have health benefits. Avocado and cucumbers are packed with antioxidants, salmon contains a high level of omega-3’s, and there’s much more.
So, if you ask whether you can eat Alaska roll sushi to lose weight, the answer is affirmative. You can also try another healthy sushi dish called Las Vegas Roll Sushi made of raw salmon and taste is so delicious.
Raw or Cooked Salmon is Healthier?
Raw salmon is even healthier because it’s high in lots of nutrients. You’ll get the proper amount of vitamin B, proteins, Omega 3, and other nutrition values from raw salmon. Cooked salmon is also great but there might be an absence of some nutritional values.
Worth mentioning that make sure you don’t have allergies to raw fish.
Because there are people with this situation and eating raw salmon could be a threat for them. If you’re okay with raw fish, eating raw salmon would be a better choice.
Things to Avoid While Eating an Alaska Roll Sushi
Depending on your experience with the sushi world, you may or may not know the right way to eat a sushi roll but that’s okay. Here we’ll share some factors you must keep in mind while eating sushi.
- Don’t stick the chopsticks upright in a rice bowl.
- Avoid putting wasabi right into the soy sauce.
- Make sure you eat the sushi in one bite without messing it up.
- Don’t use brown rice to make the sushi even if this rice is more nutritious than white rice.
- Don’t drink sake with sushi if you want to get the proper taste of Alaska roll sushi.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Alaska rolls have Cream Cheese?
No, most versions of Alaska rolls do not come with cream cheese.
Is Alaska roll raw?
The inside of an Alaska roll is cooked but chefs use raw salmon as toppings of the Alaska rolls.
Can I lose weight eating sushi rolls?
Yes, sushi is a weight-loss-friendly meal unless you customize your sushi with high-fat sauces or fried tempura batter.
How many times a week should I eat sushi?
It’s safe to eat 2-3 sushi rolls meaning around 15 pieces of sushi per week.
Does sushi take long to digest?
Fish and meat may take a long time like 2 days to properly digest. Since fats and proteins contain complex molecules, it’s natural to take a bit long to digest the ingredients.
Conclusion
Voila! Making the best Alaska sushi roll at home is not a big deal for you anymore! Since you are at the end of the article, you have enough idea about how easy the recipe is. You won’t need more than 1 hour to make such a nutritious and delicious appetizer or say, dinner.