Vegetarian Sushi

Do I like sushi?  Yes.   Do I like wasabi?   Not if I can see it.   The key to making these tasty is to use an almost invisible smear of wasabi paste.   If you use too much they burn your mouth and nose from the inside out.  Or at least that’s what it felt like to me the first time I made them.

Sushi actually means vinegared rice although many people in the UK think that it refers to raw fish.   Raw fish is actually sashimi, something I would be much more wary of preparing by myself at home, but that I’m happy to eat in good Japanese restaurants.  If you have some, these would be delicious served with a slice of sashimi on top of each roll.  If not, they are pretty good by themselves, just be careful with the wasabi.

I made these for My Kitchen My World which is focusing on Japanese food this month.

Ingredients – Serves 3

150g sushi rice

1/2 tsp wasabi paste

1 small carrot, julienned

1/4 green pepper, julienned

2 inches cucumber, julienned

1 spring onion, sliced into strips

3 sheets of nori

2 tbsp vinegar

1tbsp soy sauce

How to make Vegetarian Sushi

1. Cook the rice according to the pack instructions.  When ready, mix in the vinegar and soy sauce and leave to cool.

2. Use a sushi mat to roll the sushi.  Put a sheet of nori on the mat. Smear a tiny amount of wasabi from one end to the other in a narrow line.   Put some rice on the nori, covering about two inches so there is still some empty nori at the furthest away side.  Lay strips of the vegetables in the middle of the rice going from one side to the other.

3.  The sushi is now ready to roll.   As it rolls the vegetables end up in the middle of the rice.  Cut the roll into four pieces.

4. Serve with soy sauce for dipping.

We ate two rolls for lunch and I took the third roll to work as a packed lunch.