A simple and easy Dynamite Roll made at the comfort of your own home. A roll stuffed with shrimp tempura, cucumber (or avocado) and served with homemade sriracha mayonnaise. It is so easy, it taste so good, and best of all, it is cheaper making it at home. What could be better than that? A delicious, simple and budget friendly dish you can make at home and share with your family and friends.

What is Dynamite Roll?

A Dynamite Roll or Shrimp Tempura Roll is a type of Western-style sushi. It usually contains a piece of prawn tempura and masago (capelin roe or fish eggs), with vegetables like radish sprouts, avocado and/or cucumber served with Japanese mayonnaise.

I’ve never tried making my own Japanese Roll at home until just recently, and I was seriously surprise how easy it was to make it. I often ordered it in restaurants when I  am just looking for small bites to eat and share. I have to say it was not cheap at all considering the small portion per order. I can easily finish it alone, which is quite unusual for me. When eating out, I often ended up having something to go because I cannot finish it. The last time I met with my friends I ordered Dynamite Roll, and it was delicious! I finished it faster than I normally finish my meal. I was surprise and so was my friend. After finishing it, I feel like having more (but I did not). Since I am not going out as often as I used to, I decided to make my own Dynamite Roll at home, I am happy to say it was a success! Making Dynamite Roll is very easy, so let’s go over how to make it and what you need to make it. 

Perfectly Cooked Sushi Rice

First, you will need a sushi rice to make a sushi roll. Sushi rice is a rice seasoned with white vinegar, salt and sugar. You can cook the rice on stove-top or by using a rice cooker. How to tell if you’ve cooked the rice perfectly? After the rice is steamed, the texture should be fluffy with a firm bite. And each rice grain should be sticky yet retain its shape (not mushy). Mushy rice means it has too much water or it’s overcooked.

The Shrimp Tempura

The Shrimp Tempura is the key ingredient of Dynamite Roll, it is what makes it unique from other types or Japanese Roll. Shrimp Tempura is a battered shrimp that been fried until crispy. You can order this on its own in Japanese restaurants, now a days you can buy it frozen ready for cooking. You can make your own and you can use store-bought. I used store-bought frozen tempura for this recipe which makes the process faster and easier. I I needed to do was to bake it, and it is ready to use. If you cannot find shrimp tempura, you can also use any battered shrimp.

Sriracha Mayonnaise

I always make it a point to add some sort of sauce or dressing to any Japanese Roll that I make. It makes a huge difference in taste and in the experience. Without any sauce or dressing, it could be dry and not as satisfying to eat. You can buy Sriracha mayonnaise or you can make your own, like what I did here. To make it, you will need the following:

• Mayonnaise – any kind of mayonnaise will work. Regular, light or even vegan mayonnaise. 
• Sriracha – Sriracha is a spicy chili sauce. I only used a small amount, but it you like it extra spicy you can add more
• Lemon Juice – this will help make the consistency light and will add a nice tangy taste to the dressing
• Salt  – small amount goes a long way. I find it slightly bland without the salt, definitely don’t skip it
• Sugar – The small amount will enhance the taste of the dressing, don’t worry it is not going to make the dressing sweet at all, but definitely don’t skip it

The Vegetables

You can play around with what vegetables you want to add. Avocado is normally what it use for Dynamite Roll, but cucumber is also a favorite option. I like switching with these two and sometimes I use both of them. You can also add carrots for added crunch and vibrant color.

Adding Vinegar to Make Sushi Rice

Apparently, Japanese used to wrapped fish in fermented rice a long time ago to preserve the fish. Once they are ready to eat the fish, the fermented rice is then throw away. As time goes by, people stopped using fermented rice to preserve the fish, instead they just added vinegar to rice keep the shelf life of the fish longer. The addition of vinegar enhances the taste of the rice, and hence they enjoyed eating both the rice and fish together. Fast forward to current time, what we have now is the Sushi

Tips in Making Sushi Rice

1. Use the Right Type of Rice: Traditionally, sushi rice is made using Japanese rice. The consistency, texture and flavor of Japanese rice is very different from long-grain rice, jasmine rice, or other types of rice. It has higher content of moisture and is stickier when cooked. If you cannot find Japanese rice, use at least a short grained rice.
2. Rinse and Soak: Rinse, rinse, rinse until no more starch comes out from the water. If you have time, let the rice soak for at least 30 minutes for better texture. Soaking enlarge the grain of the rice, producing a fluffy cooked grains.
3. Season the Rice: What makes sushi rice different from regular rice is that sushi rice is a seasoned rice. The basic seasonings needed for sushi rice include white vinegar, salt, and sugar to achieve the balance of sweet, salty and sourish taste.

Sushi Mat

A sushi mat is made of many thin sticks of bamboo tied together into a mat. Sushi mats are used for making sushi rolls. The mat acts as a guide for easy rolling.  

Why do you wrap the sushi mat with plastic sheet?

To avoid the rice from sticking to the mat you need to put a layer or wrapping of plastic on it. I see people using the mat without the plastic which is possible but it will be quite messy. So do yourself a favor and do not go to that messy situation. A simple plastic wrap will make your sushi making a pleasant experience.

Can I make sushi without sushi mat?

Yes you can. Instead of using sushi mat, use a towel. Lay the towel on a flat surface then put a plastic wrap on top of it. Then lay the nori on top and follow the same instruction as when you assemble the roll (step #7).

Serving Ideas:

Garnishing are optional but highly recommended. The sushi sauce and the picked ginger adds a packed of flavor to the sushi. Wasabi is optional if you do not like spicy sauce, but get yourself bottle of sushi sauce and picked ginger. It is worth the buy when you are making your own sushi at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked Sushi Rice or any short grain rice (measurement using rice cooker measuring cup, about 1/2 cup using baking measuring cup)
• 1 cup Water
• 2 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Sesame Seed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon toasted White Sesame Seed
• 1 piece Nori
• 4 pieces Shrimp Tempura 
• Cucumber Sticks or Avocado

Sriracha Mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha Sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

Instructions:

1. Make Sushi Rice (Using Rice Cooker): Transfer the rice in a pan. Rinse with water, 3 -4 times until the rice until the water is almost clear. Add water and cook the rice.
   • Alternatively, you can also cook the rice on stove-top just like how you cook regular rice.
2. Make the Sushi Vinegar: In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, salt and sugar. Set aside while you wait for the rice to cook. if making a large batch, mix everything in a pan and bring to simmer until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. You can also use microwave.
3. Make the Sushi Rice: Transfer the cooked rice in a bowl. Pour the sushi vinegar, then sprinkle black and white sesame seed. Mix until combined. Spread the rice on a plate so the it cools faster. Keep on mixing until the rice cools down. Cover with damp towel until ready to use.
4. Make the Sriracha Mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sriracha sauce, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Mix to combine. Feel free to increase or decrease the sriracha sauce according to your heat tolerance. If you do not have sriracha sauce, any hot sauce will do.
5. Prepare the Vegetables: Cut the vegetables into sticks or thin wedges if using Avocado.
6. Toast the White Sesame Seed: Spread the sesame seed in a tray and toast for 5 minutes. At 3 minutes, mix then return in the toaster. Pay close attention at the last 2 minutes as this is when the browning will start to happen. You can also toast the sesame seed in a pan on stove top.
7. The Shrimp Tempura: I used a store-bought tempura which is basically almost ready to use. I baked it at 350F for 20 minutes until the shrimp is crunchy. You can also make your own shrimp tempura. If using store-bought, follow the package instruction for cooking direction.
8. Make Dynamite Roll: To make the roll, lay the Nori on the Sushi mat or plastic wrap. Spread the sushi rice on top, enough to cover the entire surface or the Nori. Wet your fingers and press the rice as you spread it so it sticks nicely. You can also use a wet back of the spoon if you do not want to use your hands. Sprinkle toasted white sesame seed on top or a combination of white and black sesame seed. Flip the Nori so that the rice side is facing down, and the nori is facing up. We are making a reverse style sushi. To the end closer to you and about 1-inch away from the end, arrange 4 pieces of shrimp. The amount of shrimp will depend on the size of shrimp tempura you are using. Mine was a regular shrimp size, so I need 4 to cover the length of the Nori. Add the vegetable sticks or wedges (cucumber or avocado or both), then drizzle about 2-3 tablespoon of sriracha mayonnaise on top of the shrimp. Starting from the end close to you, start rolling tightly until the end. Un-roll and remove the sushi mat.
9. Cut: Transfer in a cutting board. Sprinkle with black sesame seed (optional). Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 8 pieces. Slowly move the knife forward and backward until it cuts through the roll. For easy and cleaner cut, Wipe the knife with wet paper towel.
10. Serve: Transfer the sliced roll into a serving plate. Drizzle top with sriracha mayonnaise, and sprinkle more black or white sesame seed on top (optional). Serve with pickled ginger, sushi sauce and wasabi on the side. All are optional, but I highly recommend it. The garnishing makes a huge difference.

Serves 1

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

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