Two vegan sushi

Less then 17 years ago, I had never eaten sushi, let alone think about it. If I heard the word, I just imagined raw fish. I never really looked into it or had a desire to know anything about it.

At the time my daughter was a teen, and mentioned that her and her friend went to a great sushi restaurant. She told me they eat sushi quite a bit and they love it. She told me I should try it. I told her I don't want to eat raw fish. She assured me it was delicious.

At some point I discovered that sushi doesn't have to include raw fish. Sushi is about the rice that's seasoned with a sweetened vinegar, although it's commonly eaten with seafood. Often it's topped with caviar. When I ate seafood I couldn't stomach caviar. It's supposed to be a rich person's food. Well they can have it all.

These days sushi is almost like crazy art where anything goes. I've heard of the wackiest fillings. Vegan sushi is becoming more and more popular, even with non vegans.

Today I present my not too crazy rolls.

The Rice

2 cups sushi rice
2 cups water
3 tablespoons sake (optional)
1 piece of kombu (optional)
3 tablespoons seasoned vinegar

I rinse the rice by adding to a pot, then adding water, pouring out water making sure you don't spill the rice in the sink. I rinse it until it's clear.

I added sake rice wine, which is not a common thing to do, but I was given a huge bottle of it, and I can't stand the taste of it. I don't really understand how people drink it. Nevertheless, I'm more than happy to cook with it. You really can't taste it after it cooks with the rice. I may add more next time.

The kombu seaweed, is also not a common thing to add, and I'll be honest, I don't know if I can tell the difference. I keep adding it anyway. I have heard that sometimes it's done so I thought, why not. More is more in this case.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn on low and cook until the water is absorbed. I don't have a rice cooker so I do it in a pot.

When the rice is cool add the sushi seasoning. I used a store bought sushi vinegar, but you could take 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of salt, boil it and add this to the rice instead of buying the seasoned rice vinegar.

I then put it in a shallow pan to cool faster.

Fried eggplant for filling #1

1 medium eggplant
1 cup rice flour (or wheat flour)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Oil for frying

Peel and slice eggplant into strips.

Make the flour spice mixture. I just randomly chose rice four to keep it gluten free but it was just a spur of the moment thought. I may have chosen regular flour another time, or even tempura batter if I had some.

In a large bowl toss the eggplant strips with the flour. I didn't use a slurry which I do sometimes for breading items to be fried. I didn't bother this time.

I didn't deep fry but there was a significant amount of oil in the pan. I wanted to get some crispiness.

I didn't have a plan for the additional filling items so I grabbed what was in the kitchen. I did purchase the pickled daikon to add a little sweet and sour to the roll.

The eggplant roll filling

3 cups fried eggplant strips
1 cup red onion thinly sliced
1 cup roasted red peppers thinly sliced (I used from a jar)
1/2 cup pickled daikon radish
1 cup cashew cream (2 cups soaked cashews, juice of a lemon, salt to taste, water for blending.)

The spicy tofu for the second filling

1 block tofu (I used medium firm)
1 litre vegetable broth
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried or fresh parsley
1 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of a lemon
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chili sauce or spicy sauce (I used sriracha)
Salt to taste

Cover the tofu in a pot and boil. Simmer for 30 minutes then remove from the liquid and cool. The liquid can still be used another time for soup broth.

I also added some dried parsley flakes at the end which is not pictured here.

The tofu was kind of like a crab filling substitute, or tuna. I sometimes just put the veggies in without it, but I was splurging on some extra fun this time.

The tofu filling additions

2 cups crumbled cooked and seasoned tofu
2 cup red pepper
1 cup green onion
1 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1 small avocado
2 cups thinly sliced carrots

Using nori seaweed is the most common sushi roll, but there are other wrappers that can be used, such as soy or rice wrappers.

Spread the rice with your clean hands. Bring it as close to the outside as possible so the ends are not empty when you roll them.

I started with the eggplant roll. I put a line of eggplant across the middle first.

After randomly adding the other items in a line across, I dabbled on some cashew cream. I could have used vegan mayo or nothing but I had some leftover cashew cream. I decided to use it. Often sushi from a restaurant or take out, has some kind of cream or mayonnaise in it.

I started using a plastic sheet on the rolling mat, but at the end I removed it. It was getting on my nerves. It's done to keep the mat clean but they wash easily.

Roll the mat up and tuck as tightly as possible. Peel back the mat then move the roll down towards the middle. Continue rolling upwards. I just do this because it works for me, but I'm not a pro.

Place the tofu items the same way across the middle and roll.

Originally I was going to put avocado inside the roll but I changed my mind.

I placed the avocado on the outside and rolled with plastic. If you use the mat you'll get the lines of the mat on the avocado. It looks nicer if it's smooth.

Cut the rolls in half then half again and then half again. If you want bigger pieces you can cut it to your liking.

On a whim I took the remainder of roasted red peppers around 2 cups, that I had leftover in the jar, added them to a blender with a cup of vegan mayo, a tablespoon of sriracha, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon agave nectar.

This was just a little bonus sauce for the spicy tofu.

I also had the basic pickled ginger and soy dipping sauce to serve.

I had some black sesame seeds to sprinkle on top. I often use toasted white sesame seeds but I couldn't find them. Visually it's nicer with the black ones.

For the eggplant rolls, I whipped up a quick wasabi and vegan mayo. Wasabi is something personal. I like the pain to a certain extent but sometimes it's too much. This way it can be adjusted to your liking.

I am not the best user of chopsticks and never really use them if I can use a fork or spoon. In the case of sushi, I find that it is almost necessary. I would just use my hands if I didn't have chopsticks but this way you don't dip your fingers in the soy sauce.

If you like to buy sushi and have never made it, I suggest you try. It is much easier then you think. Once you've cooked the rice, you can grab whatever you have in your fridge and put it inside. After rolling a couple of times, you'll get the feel of it and make them tighter. If you want the rice on the outside, just put a plastic on top and flip it over. Put the filling on the nori sheet then roll.

Thanks for dropping by.

Photos taken with a Nikon D7500

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