VEGETARIAN SUSHI
Adapted from Forks over Knives
Ingredients:
2 cups sweet brown rice
4 cups water
4-6 Trumpet mushrooms
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp granulated onion
½-1 cup water for sautéing
1 large carrot, cut into 1/8” julienne strips
1 cucumber, seeded and cut into 1/8” julienne strips
2 avocados, slice into 1/4” julienne strips
20 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
4-6 sheets of sushi Nori (made from seaweed)
Wasabi paste & soy sauce for dipping sauce (Bragg’s Amino)
Ginger slices,, pickled
Bamboo sushi mat
Directions:
1) Combine the rice and water in a large pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover.
Cook 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand with lid on for 10 minutes. Remove lid, set
aside and let cool. Can use a rice cooker (follow your rice cooker’s instructions for
measurements). While the rice is cooking, prepare the mushrooms and filing ingredients.
After rice is cooked, remove from pot and carefully transfer into a wooden or glass bowl.
DO Not use a metallic plate or bowl. Fold rice a little to break it up, do not smash the rice, use
a spiral pattern starting from outside in or cut it slightly to break it up. Do Not stir the rice. Be
sure to cover your rice with a clean damp towel while making your rolls to keep rice moist.
2) To prepare the mushrooms, cut them into lengths and sauté them with the onion and garlic
powder, adding water as you go so they do not stick. Sauté for 5-10 minutes until softened.
Remove and set aside.
3) Julienne the carrots and cucumber buy using a mandolin slicer or use a chef’s knife to cut into
very thin strips. Slice the avocado after removing the skin and pit. Chop the basil. Put
everything on a big plate (in piles) so you’ll be ready to roll (so to speak) with your Nori sheets.
4) Place a Nori sheet on top of a sushi mat that is on a dry surface with bamboo slats running
horizontally, and your Nori sheet with the shiniest side down and longest edge coming right to
the bottom edge of the sushi mat. Dip your hands in water to prevent the rice from sticking to
your fingers and spread about ½ - 1 cup of rice evenly in a layer over 2/3 of the Nori sheet,
leaving 1/3” at the top and 1/4” at the bottom uncovered. Arrange the mushrooms and
vegetables in a line parallel to the bottom edge (closest to you). You can put in as much or little
as you like.
5) To roll up, follow the directions on the Nori package, or simply roll away from you, keeping the
ingredients tight together so they don’t spill out on the sides or front (you should be rolling with
the sushi mat too; this keeps things even and helps the Nori not to tear).
After the first complete roll, squeeze it in toward you to really smash everything together (this
will keep things from falling out after you cut the roll). Continue to roll again so that the
remaining bit of Nori is rolled up and it looks like one long tube. Give it another really firm
squeeze.
Moisten end with a little water to seal your sushi roll together. Remove it from the sushi mat.
Let the sushi roll rest for a bit before slicing it. When ready to serve, wet the blade of a wellsharpened
knife and slice each roll in half, then slice each half again, either in half or thirds,
depending on the desired size. (You may want to trim off ends).
To prevent sushi roll(s) from drying out, store in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap.
6) Mix Wasabi and Bragg’s Amino or tamari to make dipping sauce. Wasabi is between a hot
mustard and horseradish like paste.
7) Serve with ginger slices for breath freshener.
Yield: 4 large whole rolls (16-24 pieces, depending on how large or small you cut them)
Chef’s Notes:
Mushrooms: Can substitute Trumpet mushrooms with shitake, portabella, or cremini mushrooms.
Rice: Using sweet brown rice is preferred because it’s the stickiest of the brown rices (like sushi rice). You can also use “short grain” brown rice.
Rice Seasoning: In traditional sushi roll recipes, the rice is seasoned with rice vinegar, salt, sugar
and/or mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine. We have skipped this step because we feel it tastes just fine
without these additions, and it also cuts out a step. If you wish to go the traditional route, just Google “sushi rice” recipes.
Optional Fillings: Sprouts, bell peppers, Daikon radish, scallions, tofu, cilantro, pea shoots, peanutsor walnuts, cooked soba noodles (cold).