Vegan Sushi

Recipe Difficulty: Medium

Recipe Tags:

• Pom Pom Sushi
• Maki Sushi
• Vegan Sushi
• Sushi Rice
• How to Roll Sushi

You CAN make delicious Vegan Sushi at home. Trust!
While the easiest option for enjoying vegan sushi might just be to find a sushi restaurant near you, it isn't THAT difficult to do yourself. Perhaps if you have never rolled sushi before the idea could seem a bit daunting, but once you do it a couple times you might not be an expert, but you'll be able to easily enjoy sushi in your own home. I'm sharing two versions along with videos to watch how I do it. Sure there is something to be said for going to a sushi restaurant where people who have far more expertise than I prepare it, but I want to encourage you to give one or both of these variations I'm sharing a try. Take the time to read through my post and watch the videos before getting started. 

​Homemade Vegan Sushi - Getting Started
Good home made sushi starts with making proper sushi rice! You don't need to be an expert (I'm not) or have special tools to make something delicious. (A sushi mat for the Maki is necessary, but you can find them really affordably).

Below you will find my recipe for seasoned sushi rice. Then, I'm sharing a bit about each of the two different methods for rolling the sushi, (pictured above), and some tips for success. For a quick demo on rice making and forming sushi, check out my You Tube videos at the bottom of this post. 
​
My Vegan Sushi Recipe Notes
I made two types of sushi with one batch of rice.  12 pom pom sushi, and 3 classic rolls. (See my You Tube videos for demonstration on how to roll the different types.) I dipped the sushi in a spicy soy sauce dressing (a recipe I made from the Korean Vegan Cookbook but go ahead and just use soy sauce), and served with pickled ginger and a bit of wasabi. 

​General Tips for making Sushi                                                                                            

1. For best texture, don't make the rice too far ahead of time. Make it according to the recipe, let it cool to room temperature, and use straight away. 
2. Rinse and wash your rice really well before cooking it. When there is no more cloudiness in the water, the rice is ready to cook. To rise rice, simply swish it around in a bowl of water and strain. Repeat as many times as needed. 
3. Periodically dip your fingers in water when you're working with the cooked rice, it will prevent it from sticking to your hands so you can actually work with it!

1. Pom Pom Sushi
The first method  "Pom Pom" Sushi. 
Pom pom sushi is a type of sushi that is shaped to resemble a pom pom or tassel. It is made by wrapping a small ball of sushi rice in thinly sliced fish or other ingredients and then shaping it into a round, fluffy shape using a mold or by hand. The finished pom pom sushi is often garnished with a variety of colorful ingredients such as roe, seaweed, and edible flowers to give it a playful and decorative appearance. It is typically served as a small appetizer or as part of a larger sushi platter.

I really love Pom Pom Sushi after making them, I must say. Adorable perfectly round balls of rice with a dab of wasabi underneath small slices of avocado. The ingredients are simplistic, but these are beautiful to look at and incredibly delicious.  I used the recipe from a wonderful Japanese cookbook I have called Kansha by Elizabeth Andoh. Naming these "Pom Pom" Sushi was something  she fondly came up with, her mother in law called them  "temari - zushi". Whatever you call them, they are delicious. I made 12 pom pom sushi balls using 1 - 2 tbsp of rice per ball & 1/2 an avocado, sliced. (see my video for instructions) The avocado rice balls get wrapped in plastic wrap to form the perfect round shape, twisting it at the top to form a bundle, and are then refrigerated until set. Then you simply unwrap them and serve (I couldn't resist a little sprinkle of sesame seeds.)​

2. Maki Rolls
The second method "Maki Rolls"

Maki Rolls are undoubtedly the most common. Most grocery stores seem to carry them these days even.                                                 

Filling ideas for Maki Rolls 
​You can fill your sushi rolls with whatever you'd like. I opened my fridge and grabbed a carrot, spinach, and red cabbage. I think whatever combination you use, something with a bit of richness in combination with the mix of fresh veggies is the most delicious. Avocado, roasted sweet potato, or tempura anything (sweet potato, mushroom). If you are a fan of cream cheese in your sushi by all means go for it. My combination of avocado, julienned carrot, shaved cabbage and a few leaves of baby spinach was really tasty, so start there if you aren't sure.                                                             

Recipe: Sushi Rice

,Ingredients:
     Rice

• 1 1/2 cups sushi rice, rinsed and washed
• 1 3/4 cups water

     Seasoned Rice Vinegar

• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Make your seasoned rice vinegar. Add rice wine vinegar, sugar and salt to a small pot. Heat until sugar and salt have dissolved and cool completely. 
2. Add your rinsed and washed rice to a pot. (see my "tips" above)
3. Pour in the water and bring to a boil, stir, cover and turn heat down to low.
4. Cook 6 -10 minutes on low. You can check it and take a taste at 6 minutes. If the water is gone (rice will still be wet) and the rice still seems to have too much crunch to it, add another splash of water and cover. 
5. When rice has absorbed all the water and is cooked through, remove the lid, turn your heat up  high, and stir for 30 seconds to dry out the rice a bit. Remove from heat.
6. Dump rice into a large, wide shallow bowl. Avoid metal and wood that has absorbed any strong flavours. I used a shallow ceramic salad bowl.
7. Now begin folding the rice and spreading/fanning it out in the bowl, at the same time  drizzle with a bit of the seasoned vinegar. Do this in a few stages, allowing the rice to absorb the liquid a bit at a time until you've used the whole batch of seasoned vinegar. (spreading / fanning the rice out helps it to cool quickly) **Do this gently, no need to squish your rice. 

Assembly:
See my YouTube videos if you don't know how to roll sushi! If you do, great, this batch of rice will make approximately 4 rolls. OR as I did, 12 pom pom sushi, and 3 rolls. 1 avocado was enough for all of them, and then use whatever else you want. Feel free to make a double batch of rice! Once the sushi are rolled and sliced, keep them for a day in the fridge, but it's definitely the best when eaten straight away if you want to get serious about it. 

A couple of affordable sushi mat options below.