California Crab Rice Bowls

If you’ve known me for more than five minutes, you know I absolutely lose it for Dungeness crab. I will prepare and eat it in all its permutations, and one of my favorites is this rice bowl, which is basically an elevated California roll in bowl format. It’s healthy and delicious, so eat to your heart’s content.

• 2 cups cold water, divided
• 1 (5 by 3-inch) piece kombu
• 1/4 cup loosely packed katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)
• 1/4 cup chopped peeled ginger plus 1 teaspoon grated peeled ginger, divided
• 2 cups uncooked sushi rice, rinsed
• 1/2 cup sake
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 2 cups Dungeness crab meat
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 Persian or 1/2 English cucumber, seeded and diced
• Smelt roe or tobiko, thinly sliced nori, and toasted sesame seeds, for serving

1. Place 1 1/2 cups cold water and kombu in a small saucepan; heat over high until steaming. Remove from heat; sprinkle katsuobushi over broth, and steep 3 minutes. Strain dashi into a bowl; discard solids. (Alternatively, make 1 cup dashi using instant dashi granules.)
2. Process remaining 1/2 cup water and chopped ginger in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour ginger water through a fine wire-mesh strainer; discard solids.
3. Prepare a rice cooker: combine rinsed rice, 1 cup dashi, ginger water, sake, and salt, and cover. Cook rice according to rice cooker instructions and set aside, keeping rice warm.
4. Meanwhile, bring brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, and grated ginger to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-low. Boil until sauce thickens to a syrup consistency, about 5 minutes. Let cool, and reserve.
5. Divide rice among four serving bowls, and top with crab and avocado. Top evenly with cucumber, roe, nori, and sesame seeds, and serve immediately with sweet soy glaze.