I’m Back

After a long hiatus from blogging, I am getting back into the swing of things. The last blog I posted was in April… and it’s July. A lot has happened in that time, but I won’t get into that here.

Today I’m talking about sushi! Sushi is one of my long-time favorite foods. When I was vegan, this is probably one of the only foods I truly missed. I really never miss meat, to be honest, but I do get occasional cravings for a delicious sushi roll or poke bowl.

Homemade Sushi

My grandmother recently sent me her sushi making kit, which was the perfect excuse to attempt making sushi at home. I’ve only made sushi one other time, which was at an auction event my mom bought years ago. I remember it being such a fun experience! However, I never really could see myself doing it at home, but on Saturday, Marc and I decided to take a stab at it.

We took a trip to Uwajimaya, our local Asian grocery store. First let me say, it’s always so fun to go here and explore all the different foods that we don’t see on the typical supermarket shelves. I could get lost for hours going aisle to aisle looking at all the fun noodles, rice, condiments, and more. We ended up with a full basket including the following items (and more):

sushi rice
roasted nori sheets
lychee fruit
zucchini blossoms
sesame balls filled with red bean paste
seaweed salad
sashimi grade fish (for Marc)
mochi (for dessert)

Some items we already had on hand:

sprouted tofu
avocado
cucumber
cabbage mix
fresh mango
low sodium tamari, soy sauce, and coconut aminos
pickled ginger
chopsticks

Making the sushi

The actual rolling of the sushi was really not hard at all! Most of the time and prep went into cooking the rice and chopping and slicing the items for inside the rolls.

Tips & Tricks

I am no sushi expert, but I did discover some tricks to make things a little easier throughout the process.

Cover the bamboo mat with saran wrap to keep it clean and prevent sticking
Keep a small bowl of cold water to dip your fingers in before and while handling the rice (it’s sticky!)
Have everything chopped and ready to go so it is easy to assemble when you’re ready
When cutting the rolls, run the knife under warm or hot water to allow it to better slice through the nori

What You’ll Need

Tools

Cutting board
Sharp knife
Bamboo mat
Plastic wrap (optional)
Chopsticks (optional)

Ingredients

*Makes roughly 4-5 rolls, with some leftovers

Sushi rice
Roasted nori sheets (1 per roll)
10 oz sprouted organic tofu, cut length-wise
1/2 a large cucumber, cut length-wise
1/2 a mango, cut length-wise
1/2 a large avocado, thinly sliced width-wise
1/4 cup cabbage mix, thinly sliced if necessary
low sodium tamari, soy sauce, and coconut aminos, for dipping
pickled ginger, on the side

Instructions

Prepare sushi rice according to package instructions.
In the meantime, take out tofu and drain the liquid. Then place the tofu on a layer of folded paper towels or a clean cloth. Place something weighted on top of the tofu (ex. a plate or two or similar). Set aside and allow extra liquid to drain.
Prepare the cucumber, mango, avocado, cabbage mix, and lastly, the tofu. (See pictures for reference).
Make a spread of all ingredients on a table, counter, or similar flat surface. Cover the bamboo mat in plastic wrap, if using. Lay the bamboo mat flat and place one nori sheet in the center. Cover the nori sheet in a layer of sushi rice - the rice should cover from edge to edge with some nori peaking through. Tip: dip fingers in a bowl of cold water to help prevent rice from sticking to hands.
Lay tofu, cucumber, mango, and cabbage mix in a line about an inch or so in from the edge of the nori sheet. Use enough of each to make a satisfying roll but not so much that the roll will be over-filled or too hard to wrap.
Take the edge of the bamboo mat along with the edge of the nori/rice and fold it all over the line of veggies/fillings. Gently press down and pinch back at the same time to compress the rice and fillings. You can open the mat at this point to make sure it is working. Then, complete the roll by using the mat to wrap over the entire nori sheet. Use the press/pinch technique to make it a smooth roll.
Remove the roll from the mat and use your sharpest knife to cut about 1/2 - 1 inch rolls. Run the knife under hot water to help it cut through the nori if you’re having difficulties.
Top each roll with a slice of avocado. Serve rolls with tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos and pickled ginger.
For leftovers, create a sushi bowl with a base of rice and top with any leftover tofu, cucumber, cabbage mix, mango, avocado, and pickled ginger. Add desired sauce the next day when eating. Enjoy!