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What is a Dragon Roll?

Dragon Roll FAQ and Tips

Is a dragon roll raw?

The dragon roll contains grilled eel, tempura shrimp, and imitation crab making the dragon roll a completely cooked sushi roll which is one reason it is so popular!

What fish is in a dragon roll?

A dragon roll’s main fish and ingredients are tempura shrimp, imitation crab, and unagi (grilled eel). The dragon roll contains no raw fish.

How many calories are in a dragon roll?

Although there are many different ways to make and variations of a dragon roll, it is safe to say there are more than 550 calories in each roll. The dragon roll is typically on the heavier side of sushi rolls, pair it with a california roll to fill you up and leave you feeling less guilty!

Is a dragon roll spicy?

Typically, yes. The dragon roll contains a spicy mayo sauce as one of its main toppings which is a combination of mayonnaise and sriracha sauce.

What other sushi rolls are like a dragon roll?

There are several sushi rolls that combine numerous meats and sauces to give the type of flavor that you can find in a dragon roll. Usually this combination of ingredients does come at a price premium as their is more ingredients and more labor that goes into making one of these rolls. Other sushi rolls with numerous meats and sauces include the rainbow roll which is completely raw and the shaggy dog roll which is completely cooked just like the dragon roll.

What is a dragon roll made of?

Sushi Rice: Using sushi rice is key to making sushi rolls. The difference between sushi rice and normal white rice is that sushi rice is short grain and has more starch and protiens than traditional long grain rices. The increased levels of starch and protein give sushi rice its stickiness factor which allows you to shape it into a roll. Check out our post about why you should use sushi rice instead of white rice!

Tempura Shrimp: There are two ways to make shrimp tempura. The easy way (but less fun) is to buy pre-battered tempura shrimp in the frozen section of your grocery store, then all you have to do is be smart enough to follow the directions on the box to cook it in the oven. The other option is to buy your own shrimp and follow our tempura batter instructions and cook them yourself.

Imitation Crab: Did you know that the vast majority of crab used in sushi is actually imitation crab? Imitation crab is made of starch and finely diced white fish and shaped to imitate the look of real crab meat from a crab leg. Real crab meat can be used as well, however it is not as easily found and is expensive and messy to remove from the crab. Imitation crab can be found at any grocery store. Check out these other sushi rolls that contain crab!

Unagi (Grilled eel): Unagi is a freshwater eel and a frequent staple in Japanese cooking and can be found in everything from sushi to barbeque. This ingredient is totally optional for several reasons. 1) it may be a little challenging to get. 2) some people may get grossed out by the thought of eating grilled eel!

Nori Sheets (Seaweed): Sheets of dried seaweed, otherwise called nori, are what are used to align the guts of the sushi roll. Nori is very healthy for you, and has relatively little flavor. Sheets of nori can be found at most grocery stores like Walmart, Kroger, or HEB or can even be ordered off of Amazon.

Spicy Mayo Sauce: This delicious topping can add a kick to liven up numerous dishes, not just sushi! Spicy mayo sauce is just a combination of sriracha and mayonnaise. You can make the sauce spicier by adding more sriracha and mellower by adding more mayo. Check out our recipe here.

Unagi eel sauce: Now if you aren’t going to add the actual grilled eel, the sauce is a must! It is a reduced version of a combination of soy sauce, mirin, and white sugar and can be described as sweet and tangy at the same time! This is definitely a staple in a dragon roll.

Avocado: Avocado is found in most sushi rolls, not just the dragon roll. This is aside from the fact that avocado is just down right delicious and could be a topping on just about anything! To pick an avocado, look for dark skin colors and place them in the palm of your hand. If it is to firm, it is not ripe yet. If it is to squishy, it is overripe. You should be looking for a dark skinned avocado that you can give a slight squeeze!

Cucumber: Cucumber is found in the majority of sushi rolls, not only in the dragon roll. The best cucumbers to use for sushi are what are called “japanese cucumbers” which are known to be straight, thin, and contain less water than a traditional cucumber. Cucumbers are known for numerous health properties.

Dragon Roll Ingredients

If this looks like an extensive list, you would be correct. Here is the good news, most of these ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores. The following ingredients list is for 4 rolls.

• 2 Cups Cooked Sushi Rice (Click link for easy sushi rice instructions)
• 1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
• 4 Half Sheets Nori (Click link for folding instructions hamburger style!)
• 4 Sticks Imitation Crab Sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips to make 8 total sticks
• 16 Pieces Tempura Shrimp Frozen (if you are really adventurous, follow this link to make your own tempura batter for shrimp!)
• 1 Small Cucumber Sliced into matchsticks
• 1 Avocado Sliced thin
• 12 oz Unagi (grilled eel) (optional)
• 1 tsp Sesame Seeds (optional)
• 2 tbs Mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Sriracha Hot Sauce
• 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil (Yes you read that right, just a few drops!)
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Mirin (Japanese sweet wine)

Cooking Equipment

Cooking Instructions

Preparation

1. Add the seasoned rice vinegar to the cooked sushi rice (the link is a quick sushi rice recipe) and mix together.
2. Place your bamboo rolling mat inside a plastic gallon bag (trust us, this makes clean up much easier, all you have to do is throw out the bag!)
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and cook frozen tempura shrimp until golden and crisp (about 6 minutes per side). Do this step only if you are making your own tempura shrimp. If using tempura shrimp from the store, follow the instructions provided.
4. While the shrimp are cooking, make the spicy mayo sauce and Unagi (eel) sauce. Click the links to go to the simple recipe on our website. Just combine the mayonnaise, sriracha, and sesame oil in a small mixing bowl and smooth it out with a fork to make the spicy mayo sauce. To make the Unagi eel sauce, combine the soy sauce, white sugar, and mirin into a small pot. Cook and stir until the liquid is reduced down to 3/4 to 1 cup. Unagi sauce is fairly cheap and can be found at most grocery stores if the ingredients are not available.
5. Once shrimp are cooked, remove the tails from 8 of the shrimp and leave the tails on the other 8.
6. Place one half sheet of nori on the rolling mat (remember we tore the full sheet in half hamburger style) with the rough side facing up.

Making the Roll

1. ONLY ONCE THE RICE HAS COOLED, grab a handful of rice and cover the rough side of the nori. Leave a 1 inch gap at the top without any rice. If using sesame seeds, sprinkle them over the rice. Grab the nori by the top and flip it over so the rice is against the bamboo rolling mat. The 1 inch gap should now be on the bottom.
2. Starting 1/3 of the way up from the bottom begin to align the “guts” of the sushi roll in a horizontal line beginning with the imitation crab. The horizontal row of imitation crab should be about half an inch to an inch thick all the way across the nori.
3. Above the imitation crab, add two tempura shrimp with the tails off in the middle, and add two more tempura shrimp with the tails on to the outside of the rolls. The tails should hang off of the side of the sheet.
4. Add cucumber above the imitation crab and tempura shrimp
5. Grab both the sushi mat and the nori and roll the mat over from the bottom until the empty space we left at the bottom is touching the other side, squeezing down on the roll to make it nice and tight and allowing to hold its shape.
6. If using the unagi meat, place the thin slices on top of the roll.
7. Add the thin avocado slices to the top of the roll.

Sauces & Presentation

1. Once the roll is formed and the avocado has been added, it is time to add the spicy mayo sauce and Unagi eel sauce! There are two ways to do this: 1) The easy way is to just spread it across the top of the roll with a fork 2) The “Instagram-worthy-way” is to put the spicy mayo sauce in a small bag, cut off the corner and then push the sauce out of the bag while doing zig-zags up and down the roll.
2. Place the roll on a cutting board and get a knife and damp paper towel. Cut the toll into 8 equal sizes (easiest if you start by cutting the roll in half). Before you make each cut DAMPEN THE KNIFE WITH THE PAPER TOWEL or else the roll will fall apart when you slice through it.
3. Serve with soy sauce, take some pictures for your friends, and enjoy!

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