Boston Rolls are a type of sushi roll loaded with amazing flavors of shrimp, creamy mayonnaise, avocado, and cucumber. Give it a try today!
The next time you’re craving sushi, there’s no need to spend a ton of money at a restaurant. Instead, make your favorite menu items like California Rolls, Dragon Rolls, and delicious Boston Rolls for a fun at-home sushi Dinner Recipe.
Sabrina’s Boston Roll Recipe
If you’re a sushi lover, then learning to make your own sushi rolls can be a fun, delicious activity and Boston Rolls are a great place to start. They’re quite similar to California rolls but with a shrimp filling instead of imitation crab meat. My easy directions walk you through how to make homemade sushi rice plus how to roll it with nori sheets, cooked shrimp, creamy avocado slices, and fresh cucumber.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Sushi Rice:
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups white rice , uncooked
- 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Boston Roll:
- 8 ounces shrimp , cooked and chopped
- 2 tablespoons Japanese mayonnaise
- 4 sheets nori (dry seaweed sheets)
- 1 avocado , pitted and thinly sliced
- 1 English cucumber , peeled, de-seeded and cut into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds (optional, for garnish)
To Serve:
- 1 tablespoon pickled ginger , for garnish
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
Instructions
Sushi Rice:
- Add water and rice to a large pot on high heat and bring water to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium low and cover, simmering for 20-22 minutes until rice is soft and liquid is absorbed.
- Carefully remove rice from pot into a large bowl.
- Mix together rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Using a rice paddle or large spoon add in the rice vinegar evenly, cutting it in (do not excessively stir).
- Let cool for 20-30 minutes before using sushi rice.
Boston Roll:
- Wrap your sushi mat in plastic wrap (this helps prevent rice from sticking).
- Add a thin layer of rice evenly on the nori sheet on a clean surface.
- Put the nori sheet rice-side down on the rolling mat.
- Through the middle of the roll add a thin layer of mayonnaise followed by some thinly sliced avocado, the cucumber and ¼ of the shrimp.
- Using the roller, roll it into a tight log.
- Garnish with toasted white sesame seeds if desired.
- Cut into 6 pieces and serve with ginger, soy sauce, and wasabi.
- Repeat the remaining rice, filling, and nori sheets to make 4 rolls total.
Notes
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
About this Recipe
My recipe makes four sushi rolls so there’s plenty to share. You can always double up the sushi rice and make a couple of different kinds of rolls. Cut each roll into 6 bite-sized sushi pieces and enjoy them with sauces and add-ons like pickled ginger, soy sauce, wasabi, and Spicy Mayo. When you’re done, this dish will look and taste like it came from a real sushi restaurant.
Chef’s Note
Sometimes instead of preparing the sushi rice on my stovetop, I like to use my rice cooker because it’s easier. You can follow your rice cooker’s directions for making white rice. Then combine the cooked rice with the mixture of rice vinegar, sugar, and salt before using it for Boston Rolls.
Ingredients
- Sushi Rice: To make traditional sushi rice, use Japanese short-grain rice. Cook it like you would normal white rice. Then add rice vinegar, white sugar, and salt for the traditional sushi rice flavor. The vinegar mixture is what makes this recipe different from regular rice.
- Nori: Nori is a type of dried seaweed that comes in sheets, it’s included in most sushi rolls. For a Boston Roll, the nori sheets are on the inside, with the rice facing out.
- Shrimp: For the seafood filling, use cooked shrimp. You can use any size of shrimp because you’ll chop the cooked shrimp into smaller pieces before adding it to the center of the sushi roll. Pick up pre-cooked shrimp or poach the shrimp yourself before adding it to this sushi roll.
- Japanese Mayo: Japanese Mayonnaise adds moisture and flavor to the Boston Roll fillings. Japanese mayo has a richer taste than American mayonnaise because it’s made with just egg yolks rather than the whole egg.
- Cucumber: Add a fresh taste and crunchy texture with crisp cucumber. You’ll use 1 English cucumber for this recipe, cut into small, thin strips. I like English or Persian cucumbers because they don’t have big seeds or wet membranes in them.
- Avocado: The avocado makes the sushi filling more creamy with a slightly buttery feel. Be sure to pick a ripe avocado. You can tell it’s good when it has dark green skin and gives a little bit when you apply pressure to it. Slice the avocado in half and remove the pit. Then cut the soft avocado into slices to add to the sushi recipe.
Can This Be Made Ahead?
Homemade sushi is much better enjoyed fresh than prepped in advance because the flavor and texture won’t hold up well. However, you can prepare the sushi rice ahead of time to freeze it for up to 1 month. After letting the rice defrost, and fluffing it, assemble it with fresh sushi roll ingredients.
How to Store
- Store: After making Boston Rolls, don’t leave them sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours. To keep leftovers, you can wrap the sushi roll in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container. If kept sealed, the recipe can stay good for 1-2 days.
- Freeze: Unfortunately, Boston Rolls don’t freeze well.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either fresh or frozen shrimp for this recipe. Make sure to let the frozen shrimp thaw and drain it before using it in this recipe. If you didn’t buy the shrimp already deveined, then be sure to do that yourself before making the recipe. The shrimp also needs to be cooked. You can buy pre-cooked shrimp or poach shrimp yourself before starting the recipe.
No. This is a great sushi recipe if you don’t like to eat raw fish. Boston Rolls use cooked shrimp instead of raw shrimp.
Both these recipes are considered inside-out sushi rolls where the rice is on the outside of the nori. The difference between the Boston roll and the California roll is in the fillings. California sushi rolls are made with imitation crab meat, while a Boston roll is made with shrimp.
Having a bamboo mat makes it much easier to roll up the sushi rolls into tight logs. However, if you don’t have a sushi mat, you can still make this recipe. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the counter. Then put the rice and nori sheet on the parchment paper. When you need to roll the recipe, you can use parchment paper to help you hold and roll the nori, rice, and filling together.
This sushi recipe didn’t come from Japan. It actually originated in the Parker House Hotel in Boston. It’s due to that origin, the rolls got the name Boston Rolls.
Variations
- Seafood: Boston Rolls are made with poached shrimp at the center. However, you can also add other seafood fillings that are popular in other seafood recipes. Sushi-grade tuna, salmon, yellowtail, or eel would all taste great. You could also make a creamy crab filling by whisking chopped imitation crab with Japanese mayonnaise. You could also swap out the poached shrimp for other kinds of shellfish, like cooked lobster or crab. Try filling some rolls with shrimp and some with lobster so that you have cold lobster rolls and classic Boston Rolls.
- Spicy Boston Rolls: If you want to make this sushi recipe with a slightly spicy flavor, you can whisk hot sauce like sriracha into the Japanese mayo to make a spicy mayo filling.
- Add-ins: There are lots of vegetable add-ins that you could try layering into the center of your sushi rolls. Red onion, julienned carrots, shredded cabbage, diced shiitake mushrooms, peppers, and baby spinach would all taste wonderful.
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A lighter take on taco night that doesn’t skimp on flavor. The seasoning is perfect! It’s now a weekly staple in our house.
Fresh, delicious, and so fun to make! This is a great recipe for anyone starting out with homemade sushi. Highly recommend!