Sushi is a fantastic way to enjoy vegetables and brown rice in an unconventional way, combining immense Asian flavor with the added texture of the nori wrap. I have listed some suggested ingredients, but I also love adding sun-dried tomatoes, and, of course, if you are not following a vegan menu opt for thinly sliced ahi tuna and cream cheese with poached asparagus for a fantastic alternative.
食べて、お楽しみください。
"Eat and enjoy!"
Ingredients
Sushi:
1/3 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups short-grained sushi rice (I use brown rice)1 1/2 cups water
4 sheets nori (dried seaweed)
Fillings:
1 English cucumber or 1/2 regular cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 small yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
6 thin asparagus spears, lightly poached
1(4-inch) piece daikon, peeled, and cut into matchsticks
1/2 firm-ripe Hass avocado, peeled, thinly sliced lengthwise, sprinkled with lemon juice (to maintain color)
Soy sauce for dipping
Wasabi for garnish
Pickled ginger for garnish
Special equipment: Bamboo sushi mat
Preparation
For the rice:
Mix together vinegar, sugar, and salt.
Rinse the rice in colander and drain. Put the rice and water in medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered. (For a good seal wrap the pan's lid tightly with a small kitchen towel and cover the saucepan. Make sure the towel's edges are folded up well away from the heat.) Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover) and set aside for 10 minutes.
Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the vinegar mixture and toss with the rice, using a wooden spoon. Spread it out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to cool.
To assemble rolls:
Place the sushi mat with the slats running crosswise directly in front of you on a clean work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down and lined up with the closest edge of the mat. Lightly moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori, with 1 1/2-inches uncovered at the far edge. Line up the fillings about 1-inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice.
Leave 1-inch of rice uncovered at the far edge.
Beginning with the near edge of the mat, tightly roll up the nori, rice, and fillings into a cylinder. Firmly tug on the rounded mat over the roll as you pull on the far edge of the mat to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal.
Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings.
Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife.
Serve with bowl of soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.
Serves: 4
