Check out the recipes of appetizers, salads, main courses, chutneys & pickles and desserts on my blog!
Waking up feeling slightly excited, “I’m gonna make Sushi tomorrow!” I exclaimed. I was going to prepare something for the first time in my life, that too of a very different cuisine. “No way! I don’t like sushi” said my younger daughter immediately, before I could say anything else. “What? Sushi?! No way, Mom! We don’t like Nori” my elder one stressed again, killing my enthusiastic vibe. I was sorta upset that they weren’t giving me a chance to describe the kind of sushi I wanted to prepare. “Well, alright, I shall prepare it only for dad and myself”, I declared. My husband didn’t express his willingness to eat sushi or not. My son, as usual, remained quiet and honestly I wasn’t bothered to ask his opinion because he doesn’t actually eat any other cuisine other than the Indian food. It’s always my daughters who encourage me to prepare varieties of dishes from different cuisines; who enjoy and appreciate my cooking. But now, they weren’t so sure about the sushi. But I was intent on preparing sushi despite the slight disapproval from my family. I wanted them to love this dish that I wanted to be really creative with.
The actual thought of making sushi came from one of the food groups that I follow on Facebook, where they arranged for a Sushi making tutorial with a famous Japanese chef at one of the star hotels in India. Now doesn’t that sound exciting? As I obviously couldn’t attend the workshop that was in India, I thought I’d try to make it here at home. And when I expressed my willingness to prepare vegetarian sushis, some of my friends from the food group gave me a long list of vegetarian options that could be incorporated into the traditional sushi. I took note of all the ingredients, added some more veggies/ingredients of my choice and learnt the technique of rolling sushi; so mentally I was all set to give it a try. And after all this preparation, detecting a hint of uncertainty from my daughters was enough to kill my spirit of trying something new. But surprisingly, I was completely dedicated to making sushi this weekend and hence I asked my husband to take me to the grocery store for the ingredients that I needed to purchase for preparing the sushis.
Click here to check the latest posts on my blog!
Now I know very well that Japanese food is not entirely ideal for vegetarians as it mostly consists of sea food or meat, but the desire of eating different cuisines drove me to preparing this dish. And I’m glad that I did give it a try and made my kids all say “Wow, this is amazingly delicious!” I was happy to bring out the inner artist in me to create this dish and I enjoyed very much; preparing these sushis in different colors, using different ingredients to bring out different flavors, etc.
When I was looking for ingredients to buy in the grocery store, one thing I was focused on was to bring out a burst of flavor in each sushi that I made. I wanted to customize it according to our liking, hence making it a memorable dish from my kitchen. I knew that my family would love eating anything that has got a good mix of flavors and textures, so selected my ingredients and veggies wisely. I remembered my daughters saying that they don’t like nori. Honestly, even I’m not a huge fan of nori, nor do I dislike it. I enjoy the stuffing that is the sticky sushi-rice that is well seasoned and comprised of different veggies. I found a pack of soy wrappers in the store to make the outer sushi layer, and immediately grabbed it. These soy wrapper covered sushis are the best option for the people (like my kids) who don’t like Nori. And it tastes as good as the traditional sushi. I also purchased a bottle of roasted sesame oil, a bottle of balsamic rice vinegar and sauces like sriracha mayo & sriracha chili sauce. To be honest, the ingredients needed for sushi are quite pricey, but it’s worth the effort. And some of the ingredients like sauces, rice and nori last more than a couple of days. So I guess it’s worth pitching in a lil’ more just once for the ingredients of this totally delicious sushi.
I first washed and cooked the sushi-rice on stove over medium heat, until they were properly cooked and were sticky. Add some salt while cooking the rice. Spread the rice in a tray or wide bowl to help cool down and fan it. Taking a small bowl, add some roasted sesame oil, balsamic rice vinegar, and powdered vegetable stock and whisk it. Combine this seasoning to the cooked rice and mix it well to spread the flavors evenly into the rice. I loved the strong aroma of the sesame oil and the tartness that was brought by the rice vinegar and flavors of vegetable stock in the sushi rice.
I washed and chopped up all the vegetables I wanted to use as fillings for the sushi. I sautéed some of the vegetables like zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms individually and kept them aside. I kept all the vegetables ready on the table before I started rolling up my sushi. I covered the bamboo sushi-mat with a plastic wrapper to avoid the sticking of rice onto the mat. I prepared some Szechwan noodles to use instead of rice in some sushi. I didn’t prepare wasabi as we don’t really like its taste much, so I prepared other sauces like spicy peanut, bell pepper & green chili sauce to dip the sushi in. I had soy sauce to eat along with the sushi. I kept a bowl of water by the side to wet my hands in to seal the edges of the sushi roll.
Sushi 1: Tangy Sesame Roll
The first variety was made in a sesame soy wrapper, stuffed with sushi rice, pickled cucumbers, red bell peppers and red cabbage. I used Sriracha Mayo (Egg-free, gluten-free) for some flavoring.
I took the sesame wrap and placed it on the bamboo sushi-mat. I then spread a thin layer of seasoned sushi rice using my hands, covering 3/4th of the mat, making sure not to let the rice cover the edges of the wrap that helps to seal the roll.
I placed some pickled cucumbers in the centre, and on top kept some sliced red bell peppers and finally some shredded red cabbage on top. I added some Sriracha mayo on top for flavoring. Lifting the end of the mat with both my hands, I rolled it gently over the veggies inside and pressed it firmly to help the rice and the sesame wrap take the shape of a roll. I rolled it forward to make a complete a roll, sealing the edges using some water. Leave it for 2 minutes to set and then cut them into round slices of sushi using a sharp, wet knife.
Sushi 2: Hot Dog Roll
This sushi is made in the traditional nori wrap, filled with sushi-rice and stuffed with boiled and sautéed soy hot-dog, sautéed mushrooms and red bell peppers. I drizzled some sriracha mustard sauce on top and rolled it. Cut them into rounds of sushi and served. My elder one has a special craving for hot-dogs and to satisfy her craving, I bought this soy hot-dog and rolled in sushi, which she totally enjoyed to eat with some spicy peanut sauce. Happy tummy happy mummy 😀
Sushi 3: Summer Veggie Roll
For this recipe, I used a plain soy wrapper stuffed with sushi rice, cucumbers, slices of avocado and carrots. I sprinkled some salt & white pepper on top and rolled it using the sushi-mat. The procedure to roll the sushi is the same as mentioned above. I cut the roll into 6 pieces and served it with red bell pepper sauce/chutney.
Sushi 4: Szechuan Noodle Roll
The fourth variety of sushi I prepared in a green, spinach flavored soy wrapper spread with Szechuan noodles and wrapped with sautéed mushrooms, yellow bell peppers and green onions. I tossed some sriracha chili sauce on top to give a burst of spice to the sushi. I gently rolled it and proceeded to cut it. My kids enjoyed this sushi stuffed with noodles and mushrooms with a touch of spicy sauce that added extra flavor to the sushi. I mean who doesn’t love noodles, right?
Sushi 5: Barcelona Roll
This sushi is prepared in an orange, paprika soy wrapper sheet, spread with sushi-rice and filled with sautéed asparagus, yellow bell peppers and spanish shishito peppers. I also added some red cabbage on top and rolled it into a wrap and then cut them. I served it with bell pepper sauce/chutney by the side.
Sushi 6: Brazilian Roll
I call this one ‘Brazilian Sushi’ as it is stuffed with the most popular ingredients of Brazil, where I have some amazing and precious memories. All my three children were born in Brazil and yes they are Brazilians with South-Indian roots and exposed to different cultures around the world. These are inside-out nori sushi rolls, which means the rice is the outermost layer and the nori wrap is placed inside and stuffed with hearts of palm, rocket leaves (arugula) and sun-dried tomatoes. We ate these sushis with a sweet and spicy green chili sauce/chutney which paired very well with this Brazilian sushi. I’m a huge fan of hearts of the palm (palmito) and sun-dried tomatoes, so I totally hogged on this one up to my hearts content.
Sushi 7: Mexican Roll
For this Mexican sushi, I used a yellow soy wrapper, sliced avocados and guacamole stuffed jalapeños. I placed the wrapper on the sushi-mat and spread a thin layer of rice on it, leaving some space on the edge to seal it all in. I then placed sliced avocados in the centre and then kept the stuffed jalapeño on top. Rolled it in the same procedure like mentioned above and cut them up. And the Mexican sushi is ready to serve! The yellow color of the wrap on the outside and the green inner stuffing of jalapeño elevates the colors, making it look very bright and appealing to the eye. I enjoyed the flavors of spicy jalapeño with the guacamole stuffing.
Check out the other Mexican dishes Rice & Bean Burrito, Sweet & Sour Tacos and Guacamole on my blog!
Sushi 8: Classic Zucchini Roll
This sushi is made in the nori wrap covered with Szechuan noodles, and stuffed by sautéed zucchini, sautéed mushrooms and red bell peppers. I added some sriracha chili sauce on top and rolled it to cut them up. The classic noodle roll is ready and I served it with some bell pepper sauce/chutney by the side.
So, these are all the varieties of sushi that I prepared last Sunday which we all enjoyed to our heart’s content. My husband said that if he had to eat a vegetarian sushi in a fine Japanese restaurant, he probably would’ve had spent couple of hundreds of dollars and still be deprived of the satisfaction of eating with the flavors which appeal to us. Now that’s a nice compliment for me, isn’t it? You also try it once with the ingredients of your choice and sauces of your flavors and do send me your pictures and let me know how you like it. 😀 Meshiagare! (Have a nice meal in Japanese)
Check out the recipes of appetizers, salads, main courses, chutneys & pickles and desserts on my blog!
