Vegan sushi is one of my favorite treats. Usually I make it for breakfast, when I have leftovers of rice. I don’t use any equipment for this, so I am actually not pretending to make perfect sushi like in a restaurant. It is simple, takes me about 30 min to do and makes me feel really happy. I love sushi)
I don’t know if I am right or wrong, but it seems like there are people who never tried to make sushi at home, because they think it is difficult. For instance, I thought so. Sushi was a treat that I could only enjoy in a restaurant. Or on my birthday, when my soulmate cookes it for me. When he realized that I love sushi, he learned how to make them and cooked a ton of them for my birthday! Best surprise ever! Since then I always expect him to do this every year.
Well for the special occasion you would probably prefer to use special wooden carpet and cling film, and cook special type of rice (for sushi), adding vinegar while cooking…. There are a lot of details. However, I don’t think that a small portion of sushi for breakfast is worth all this effort, while you can simplify the process without losing too much in taste!
Tricks to make vegan sushi easy and tasty
In this recipe I use eggplants instead of fish. Eggplants, when you cut them lengthwise (along the fiber), have suitable texture as a fish substitute. They soak in a lot of oil, which can be flavored with any spices you like. For example, you can add smoked paprika for a smoky kick. But in combination with nori it really reminds me of fishy taste and texture. That is why I recommend trying eggplants for sushi.
However, you can use avocado instead – it would be a nice replacement for philadelphia cheese. Other suitable ingredients – cashew mayo, cucumber, carrots, spring onions, bell peppers… I even tried sushi with tomato! It was nice!
So generally, a good combination for sushi filling consists of something soft (like eggplant, avocado or some creamy sauce), something sweet (like carrot or bell-pepper) and something fresh, juicy and crispy (like cucumbers or spring onions). The only thing to avoid is using too much filling – the more filling you use the harder it will be to roll up your sushi (because of the risk to break nori sheets).
Regarding rice type – I think it is not necessary to use rice “for sushi”. Few times I tried to use leftovers of quinoa and it wasn’t too bad. It falls out a bit, while you deep it in the soy sauce, but there is no problem to roll up the thing. Next time I will try to use raw cauliflower rice and I will make an update, letting you know if it works as well. I think it will)))
Vegan Eggplant Sushi
Ingredients
- 0.5 cup Rice round grain
- 2 tbsp Rice vinigar optional
- 1 tsp Oil
- 1 small Eggplant or avocado
- 1 dash Chili Powder optional
- 0.3 tsp Sesame oil optional, to taste
- 0.5 medium Cucumber
- 0.5 medium Carrot or Bell Pepper
- 1 string Spring onion
- 4 sheets Nori
- 2 tsp Wasabi
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sesame seeds optional, to taste
- Pickled ginger optional, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice, pour it 0.75 cups of water (1: 1.5). Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave for another 10 minutes covered with a lid.
- Cut the eggplant along the fiber into long sticks. Heat a little of oil in a frying pan and add the eggplants. It is advisable to place them “on the backs” (with the skin to the bottom), so that the eggplants do not instantly absorb the oil, Fry them this way, then turn over and cook until the eggplants change color and become tender. Finally, add a little soy sauce (1 tsp) and a drop of sesame oil for a scent (optional).
- Cut lengthwise cucumber and carrot (or bell peppers), as well as onions. Prepare a bowl of water to wet your fingers.
- When the rice is ready, mix in rice viniger. Place the nori sheet on a cutting board, spread a quarter of the rice on top over ⅔ of the sheet, leaving a 4-5 cm wide strip of untouched nori at the top. Tamp the rice with a spoon if possible. If rice sticks to a spoon or hands, moisten them with water. On top, at a distance of 3 cm from the bottom edge of the nori, lay the stripes of fried eggplant, cucumber, bell pepper and onion along the entire length.
- Now, grabbing the bottom edge of the nori sheet, carefully wrap the filling in the rice an roll up, gently pressing the rice through the nori sheet with your hands. Before completing the roll up, moisten the free top edge of the nori sheet with water, and before it wrinkles, twist the roll to the end.
- Set aside the resulting “sausage” and repeat steps 4-5 using the remaining ingredients. After the "sausages" rest for a couple of minutes, it will be easier to cut them. I cut them into 8 pieces without cutting off the edges. Serve wasabi and soy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Video
Nutrition facts
Notes
* Ideally, of course, it is good to use special sushi rice, and cook it with vinegar. But I make sushi for breakfast, and I don't expect it to be like in a restaurant. So I often use leftover rice from yesterday's lunch, sometimes brown rice and even basmati! The main thing in this case - rice has to be overcooked a little bit. Also, rice has to be sticky, so you have to use it while it's still hot. Once I even made sushi with leftovers of quinoa (very crumbly cereal, but still: D)BTW, I recently finished my Vegan Nutritionist Diploma Course, I am certified nutritionist, yey! Still a lot of work to do, before offering help with meal planning. Now I am working on a database of tasty and easy recipes, which I could use by composing meal plans for vegan beginners. What do you think, is this recipe deserves to be included?
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