How to Make a Dragon Roll

The festive dragon roll is a tasty uramaki sushi roll featuring avocado, unagi, and shrimp tempura. Made to look like a dragon, this inside-out sushi roll is traditionally filled with eel and cucumber with slices of avocado designed to look like the scales of the dragon. Dragon rolls, also referred to as caterpillar rolls due to their green colour, are available in many variations.

A dragon roll also contains Japanese short-grain rice, cooked to hold its shape, and seasoned with sushi vinegar. One of the most challenging parts of making a dragon role is finding a perfectly ripe avocado. A ripe avocado should have slightly darker skin and should not yield to gentle pressure. If it feels very soft or mushy to the touch, it’s overly ripe.

Dragon rolls are brought to life with the proper placement of a few key ingredients. It is often topped with unagi sauce and toasted black sesame seeds.

How to Make a Dragon Roll

Learn how to make a delicious dragon roll at home with just a few simple ingredients. It takes practice to get the sushi roll right but this recipe can be fun to make.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 lemon (optional)
• 1 sheet nori, cut in half OR 2 pre-cut half sheets nori
• 180g sushi rice (cooked and seasoned)
• 4 pieces of shrimp tempura
• 10g tobiko
• Unagi (eel) (optional)

For Toppings

• Unagi Sauce
• Toasted black sesame seeds

Vinegar Water for Dipping Hands

• 10ml rice vinegar
• 60ml water

Instructions:

1. Cut the cucumber lengthways and then again to form quarters. Remove any seeds from the centre. Cut each quarter in half lengthways again.

2. Cut the avocado in half lengthways and remove the pit. Remove the skin from the avocado and slice widthways. 

3. Use the side of the knife to gently press the avocado slices until they are about the length of the nori. Squeeze lemon over the avocado to prevent discoloration.

4. Wrap a bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Place half of the nori sheet, shiny side down, onto the mat. Dip your hands in the vinegar water to prevent sticking and spread approximately 90g of rice across the nori. 

5. Flip the nori so that the rice is against the bamboo mat. Add the cucumber strips, shrimp tempura, and tobiko to the bottom edge of the nori sheet. If you are adding unagi, add it to the sheet now.

6. Starting from the bottom edge, begin rolling the nori sheet over the filling to create a tight roll. Gently squeeze the roll with the bamboo mat.

7. Using the side of the knife, carefully place the avocado on top of the sushi roll. Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and cover with the bamboo mat. Gently squeeze the roll to help the avocado slices adhere to the sushi. 

8. Remove the plastic wrap and cut the sushi roll into eight pieces with a sharp knife. Top each section with tobiko and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. Serve unagi sauce on the side for dipping if desired.