Vegan Sushi, Three Ways
Before I went vegan I ate a lot of sushi, as in pretty much every lunchtime and it was one of the things I really missed. Having made the vegan version I now realise that it wasn't the raw fish I was missing but more the style of eating (I love picking) and the condiments. Obviously the combination of fillings are important but you are definitely not missing out by veganising it!
For this post i've done two different fillings and three different styles of sushi. Uramaki (rice on the outside), Maki (seaweed on the outside) and Nigiri (rice with a topping). If you play around with the fillings your options are limitless. This is a great thing to try if you feel like getting creative.
I chose to make my own pickled ginger (recipe here), but this is readily available in most supermarkets. I also decided on an avocado wasabi mayonnaise (recipe here), as I wanted to tone down the wasabi (the traditional accompaniment to sushi) so that Frankie could tuck in with us.
This is not something you can throw together quickly, I started making it at 2pm and we didn't sit down to eat until 6pm, even allowing for the fact i hadn't made it in a while, it's pretty time consuming but, in my humble opinion, totally worth the effort!
RECIPE: Serves two as a main course or three as a starter
INGREDIENTS
SUSHI RICE
250g sushi rice
330ml water
3 tablespoons sushi rice seasoning
BUTTERNUT & BEETROOT ROLLS
¼ small butternut, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 small beetroot, peeled and finely grated
AVOCADO & CUCUMBER ROLLS
½ avocado, sliced
½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded & sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
RED PEPPER NIGIRI
1 red pepper
OTHER
⅓ cup toasted sesame seeds
3 nori sheets
METHOD
Preheat oven to 180°
SUSHI RICE
These are guidelines only, if your rice has different cooking instructions then follow them
Put 250g of rice in a bowl, wash thoroughly with cold water and drain. Repeat this process at least four times until the water has run clear
Add the washed rice to a medium saucepan with 330ml cold water
Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes
Turn off the heat and leave for 15-20 minutes without removing the lid
In a separate bowl, add 3 tablespoons of sushi rice seasoning (I use Clearspring) then fold the rice into the seasoning and leave to cool
BUTTERNUT & BEETROOT FILLING
While rice is cooking, peel butternut, slice into approx. ¼ inch slices and place in a baking dish.
Drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, giving it a jiggle half way through
Peel beetroot and finely grate in a food processor or by hand
AVOCADO & CUCUMBER FILLING
Halve avocado, remove stone, peel and slice into approx. ¼ inch slices
Squeeze lemon over the avocado to prevent browning
Peel cucumber, remove seeds by scraping them out with a teaspoon and slice into approx. ¼ inch slices
MAKING URAMAKI ROLLS (RICE ON THE OUTSIDE)
Toast sesame seeds in a frying pan on a medium heat for 7-10 minutes, tossing regularly
Have a bowl of water ready to stop your fingers sticking to the rice
Cover your bamboo rolling mat with a square of cling film
Cut your nori sheets in half
Lie one sheet of nori (if it has a matt and shiny side) shiny side down on the cellophane at the base of the bamboo mat
Spoon about 3 heaped tablespoons of rice over the nori
Wet your fingers with water and spread the rice with your fingers or the back of a wet spoon into a thin layer covering the nori
Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds
Cover with another square of cling film and flip the rice and nori over so the nori is facing upwards
Along the bottom edge of your nori place your fillings, be careful not to overfill the rolls as they won’t hold together
Taking the bottom edge of the bamboo mat with your thumbs, lift it up and over the top of the filling using your finger to squeeze the filling down and towards you and roll
When the rice hits the nori, you’ll have to pull the bamboo matt and cling film out so as not to roll them into the rice
Once you have a complete cylinder, keep the mat rolled round the cylinder and give it a good squeeze, this will help it all stick together when you’re cutting it into pieces
To cut the rolls its best to use a long, heavy, very sharp knife. Putting too much pressure on the rolls with ruin their shape
Keep the knife wet at all times in a jug of water and place it back in there after every cut
Start the cut from the back of the blade, pulling it towards you, using the weight of the knife and the motion to do the cutting
Cut into 6-8 pieces of sushi
MAKING MAKI ROLLS (SEAWEED ON THE OUTSIDE)
Have a bowl of water ready to stop your fingers sticking to the rice
Cover your bamboo rolling mat with a square of cling film
Cut your nori sheets in half
Lie one sheet of nori (if it has a matt and shiny side) shiny side down on the cellophane at the base of the bamboo mat
Spoon about 3 heaped tablespoons of rice over the nori
Wet your fingers with water and spread the rice with your fingers or the back of a wet spoon into a thin layer covering the nori
Along the bottom edge of your rice place your fillings, be careful not to overfill the rolls as they won’t hold together
Taking the bottom edge of the bamboo mat with your thumbs, lift it up and over the top of the filling using your finger to squeeze the filling down and towards you and roll
When the nori hits the rice, you’ll have to pull the bamboo matt and cling film out so as not to roll them into the rice
Once you have a complete cylinder, keep the mat rolled round the cylinder and give it a good squeeze, this will help it all stick together when you’re cutting it into pieces
To cut the rolls its best to use a long, heavy, very sharp knife. Putting too much pressure on the rolls with ruin their shape
Keep the knife wet at all times in a jug of water and place it back in there after every cut
Start the cut from the back of the blade, pulling it towards you, using the weight of the knife and the motion to do the cutting
Cut into 6-8 pieces of sushi
MAKING NIGIRI (RICE WITH TOPPING)
Cut the red pepper into around 6 rectangles 3cm x 6cm approx
Grill them for around 7 minutes, or until the start to blacken
Wet your hands and mould about 1 heaped tablespoon of sushi rice into a similar sized rectangle
Place the red pepper on top
Cut 6 thin strips from a nori sheet, around ½ cm thick
Bind the pepper to the rice with the nori strips, dampening the ends to seal them together
TIPS
You can easily throw together your own sushi rice seasoning by mixing 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (I use Clearspring brown rice vinegar), 1 tablespoon mirin, 2 teaspoons caster sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
Serve with avocado wasabi mayonnaise (recipe here), pickled ginger (recipe here) & soy sauce