These "truffles" are really cute and fun to make. The components take off from California sushi rolls. The truffles are a little time-consuming but worth the effort because they can be made the day before. The bite of avocado in the center is a great textural surprise – especially against the pop of the tobiko. Try to get an assortment of the flying fish roe – you can use regular golden tobiko, wasabi green, or spicy red!
Ingredients
- 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Asian chili paste or wasabi paste, depending on how spicy you like it
- 1/2 cup finely diced, seeded, unpeeled English cucumber
- 1 pound fresh King, Dungeness, or lump crabmeat, drained well and picked through for shell fragments (if using King crab, chop coarsely)
- 1 ripe but firm avocado
- 6 ounces tobiko (flying fish roe)
- For garnishing:
- Long pieces of fresh chives
Steps
-
In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, soy sauce, and chili paste to taste and mix until well combined. Add the cucumber and crab, and stir in to combine well, but do not overmix. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours to chill thoroughly.
-
When the mixture is chilled, peel the avocado and cut into fifty 1/3-inch pieces (about the size of a large pea). Set aside. Place the tobiko in a small bowl and set aside.
-
Measure out 1 heaping teaspoonful of the crab mixture into the palm of your hand. Press an indentation into it with your thumb and insert a piece of the avocado. Roll into a ball, enclosing the avocado, and then roll in the tobiko, coating well and making a firm, well-formed ball. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Place the truffles in a single layer in a container, preferably glass or plastic, such as a large glass baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight, until ready to serve.
-
To serve, place the truffles in straight lines on a serving platter or plate. I like to strew long pieces of chives on long white platters before setting down the truffles. If you use more than one kind of tobiko, alternate the colors in each row.
From Sips and Apps. Published by Chronicle Books. Copyright © 2009 by Kathy Casey. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Chronicle Books.
