This is probably one of the easiest and simplest vegan sushi dishes that I make often. No rolling or special techniques required to make. All you have to do is prepare delicious sumeshi (vinegared sushi rice) and the rest is just cutting and assembling!Yield: 2 large or 3 medium portions
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time35 minutesmins
Total Time55 minutesmins
Course: Entree, Main
Cuisine: Japanese, Vegan
Servings: 3
Author: Plant-Based Matters
Ingredients
Sushizu (Seasoned Rice Vinegar Mixture) *
3tbsprice vinegar
1 1/2tbspsugar
2 1/2tspsalt
Cooking Rice *
1 ½cupsuncooked white Japanese rice(starchy short grain rice)
1 ½cups water(12.7 oz)
0.3ozdried kombu sheet
Toppings & Condiments
1Hass avocadothinly sliced
4tbspnatto (Japanese fermented soybeans )*
1scallionfinely chopped
A handful radish sprouts(or other sprouts of your choice)
Make suzhizu (seasoned vinegar mixture) first. In a prep bowl, combine rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Whisk together until well blended. Set aside. You may see the sugar and salt not quite dissolved which should be fine once it is mixed with warm rice. Alternatively, you may cook the mixture on the stove on medium heat just until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool down until rice is done.
Prepare rice. Place rice in a large bowl. Pour water to cover the rice. Wash it with your hand moving in circular motion then quickly discard the water. Repeat the process for 5 to 6 times until water becomes clear. Drain well. Alternative way: Place rice in a fine mesh colander. Rinse under running water. Use a hand moving in circular motion to rinse thoroughly until water becomes clear. Drain well.
Transfer the rice to preferably a cast iron pot with a heavy lid or something similar. Pour water and make the rice leveled. Place kombu sheet on top of the rice (submerge in the water) and cover with the lid.
Cook over slightly higher than medium heat. In about 10-15 minutes, it starts almost boiling (you will see the bubbles.) At this point, open the lid and use a rice paddle to give a quick stir from the bottom. Make the rice leveled again then cover with the lid. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, turn off the heat. Keep the lid on and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Remove the kombu sheet and transfer the cooked rice to a large shallow bowl (preferably wooden sushi bucket for soaking up excess moisture.) Add the sushizu and mix with a rice paddle. To do so, move in gentle cutting motion. Once it is mixed well, use a fan to let the rice cool down until ever so slightly warm like your body temperature. Sushi rice tastes better when it is not completely cold.
Assemble. First, place the sumeshi in a serving bowl. Then top it with sliced avocado, natto, scallions, radish sprouts, toasted sesame seeds, and shredded nori. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi. You can mix the soy sauce and wasabi then pour over the dish. Alternatively, pour soy sauce over the dish then place a tiny dap of wasabi on every bite for more intensive wasabi effect!
Notes
Sushizu: You can adjust the amount of each ingredients in sushizu to suit your palate. For example, I like making a little bit sweeter sushi rice for chirashi (scattered-style sushi bowl) so I simply increase the amount of sugar by a teaspoon or so.
Rice: 1 1/2 cup uncooked Japanese rice is equivalent to 2 cups (2合) in the Japanese rice measuring cup that comes with most Japanese rice cookers. The cook time will be longer if you use a rice cooker. Although it’s still edible, leftover sushi rice will harden especially in the fridge. It is best to make only as much as you need.
Natto: Many natto products come with seasoning packets that are NOT vegan. Just use the natto soybeans by itself without the seasoning packets.
Shredded Nori: If you don’t have shredded nori seaweed, you can use regular sushi nori sheet and shredded into thin strip with kitchen scissors.