Vegetarian Sushi!

Many people have asked me how to make vegetarian sushi, and while my brother Shyam is the master sushi chef that comes up with most of the different types of sushi, I have learned from him and am able to make it myself now!  I hope this helps inspire some of you to try and make this yourself!  It does take a lot of time and effort, but the results are amazing and SOOOO tasty!  You can't get vegetarian sushi like this in any restaurant :)

So the first step to making sushi is to make sure you have the right ingredients.  I have added links to the types/brands that I typically use.  I usually buy my seaweed from the regular grocery store, but it is usually way cheaper at an Asian grocery store.  Then you need sushi rice, which is basically medium-grain rice.  If you cook it to package instructions (usually one cup rice for 1.5 cups water), then you get a perfectly sticky rice that is best for making sushi.  Always add plenty of rice vinegar seasoning to the rice while it is warm so that the flavor pops!  I usually add about 1/2-3/4 cup of seasoned rice vinegar if I cooked 2 cups of rice.

To make a basic sushi roll, just follow these steps:

1. Spread rice onto the rough side of the seaweed.  You can put as much or as little rice as you want depending on the type of flavor you want.  Make sure to put rice all along the edges of the seaweed so that they will stick together after rolling.

2. Put your filling about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the seaweed in a horizontal line.

3. Roll from the bottom.  Tuck the bottom part of the seaweed over the filling, and then keep rolling up from there.  Make sure the top end of the seaweed sticks to the outside with rice.  Make the roll tight, otherwise it will fall apart when you are cutting it!

4. Cut the sushi cross-sectionally into 1/2 inch pieces with a serrated knife.

Now the fun part is coming up with all the different fillings!  The tastes become so unique depending on what filling you put in, and it makes the whole experience of eating sushi so delightful!  Here are a few examples:

1. Avocado and honey-roasted peanuts

2. Green peppers, garlic and avocado

3. Avocado and tempura flakes

4. Cucumber, tempura asparagus, tempura broccoli, topped with avocado slices

5. Carrots, radish, cucumber and avocado

6. Cream cheese, sweet potato, topped with a spicy tofu explosion (grilled tofu mixed with mayo and sriracha)

7. Bell pepper and cream cheese
8. Tofu-holic: tofu and onions sauteed in soy sauce and sriracha on the inside, topped with more of the tofu/onion mixture

There are so many possibilities!  You can also always do the traditional cucumber roll or avocado roll.  In terms of the sauces, we usually have soy sauce to which we add a little bit of wasabi, and we also have pickled ginger on the side to put on top if you like.  Recently, we have been making spicy mayo (mayonnaise mixed with sriracha) as another sauce that you can use on top of the sushi.

Now go out there and try it!!  It will be worth all the work :)