Crab and Avocado Temaki is my favorite Whole30-friendly recipe when I’m craving sushi! We’ve been sushi fans since forever, so temaki—seaweed-wrapped hand rolls—with spicy crab salad make regular appearances in our kitchen. I usually have all the ingredients for these rolls in our fridge and pantry, and luckily for us, it’s still Dungeness crab season around here, so even the fresh stuff’s readily available. It’s a breeze to throw together this no-cook recipe. In fact, everyone in the family can assemble their own, which means even less meal prep for me.
And trust me: with this recipe, you won’t miss the rice. Besides, isn’t the crab and avocado the best part, anyway?
(Update: Watch this video of me making these sushi hand rolls on Facebook Live!)
Here’s how to satisfy your sushi cravings during your Whole30 with restaurant-quality California hand rolls:
Makes 16 hand rolls
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Paleo Mayonnaise (I also buy Primal Kitchen Mayo)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 pound cooked lump crab meat
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- Juice from ½ medium lime
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 toasted standard-size nori sheets, cut in half width-wise
- 1 large Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
- 2 small Japanese or Persian cucumbers, cut into matchsticks
- Handful of radish sprouts or micro greens
Steps:
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, scallions, crab meat, red pepper flakes (if using), and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
To assemble each roll, hold a piece of nori shiny-side down, and scoop 2 tablespoons of the crab mixture onto the left side of the rectangle. The filling should be at a diagonal, running from the top left corner to the bottom center of the nori.
Top the crab with a slice of avocado, some cucumber, and sprouts. Fold the bottom left corner of the nori over the filling before wrapping the long part of the nori around the crab and vegetables to form a cone.
Serve immediately—don’t let the nori get soft!
Incidentally, I whipped up a platter full of Crab + Avocado Temaki onstage a few years back at the very first Paleo f(x) in Austin, Texas—and I’m making plans to return in April for this year’s event.
My friend Chef Gregory Gourdet (of Portland’s Departure Restaurant and Top Chef fame) and I will be co-presenting a talk on “Umami: Applying the Art and Science of the Fifth Taste,” and I’ll be doing a cooking demo, too.
With just a few episodes left, Gregory’s still going strong on this season’s Top Chef—GO #TEAMGG!—and if you join us in Austin, you, too, can grill him about his experiences kicking butt on the show. Hope to see you in Austin!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Crab + Avocado Temaki
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Paleo Mayonnaise
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 pound cooked lump crab meat
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- Juice from ½ medium lime
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 toasted standard-size nori sheets cut in half width-wise
- 1 large Hass avocado pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced
- 2 small Japanese or Persian cucumbers cut into matchsticks
- Handful of radish sprouts or micro greens
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, scallions, crab meat, red pepper flakes (if using), and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
- To assemble each roll, hold a piece of nori shiny-side down, and scoop 2 tablespoons of the crab mixture onto the left side of the rectangle. The filling should be at a diagonal, running from the top left corner to the bottom center of the nori.
- Top the crab with a slice of avocado, some cucumber, and sprouts. Fold the bottom left corner of the nori over the filling before wrapping the long part of the nori around the crab and vegetables to form a cone.
- Serve immediately—don’t let the nori get soft!
