easy vegan sushi! (oil free, 8 ingredients)

This is a simple vegan sushi recipe that has a few changes for better umami flavor and deliciousness. My vegan family friend taught it to me and it has converted both tofu and sushi haters hehe.

Prep time: 30 minutes (cooking the rice, cutting the ingredients, cooking tofu)

Assembly: 20 minutes (can be faster if you have help!)

Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups rice (short grain preferred aka sushi rice but medium grain will do)

2. 5 Nori sheets (this will make about 5 rolls so 5 sheets)

3. 2-3 large carrots (washed + peeled)

4. ½ english cucumber (washed)

5. 1 avocado (cut into thin slices)

6. 1 package savory baked tofu (can also sub with normal tofu, just fry it up with some seasoning and get it to be crisp!)

7. Soy sauce

8. Creole seasoning (or a mix of garlic powder, onion, black pepper, and Cayenne pepper, tbh you can alter this if you want but I like Creole seasoning 1. because its faster and 2. because it's salty and kinda spicy, very umami)

Prep:

1. Rinse the rice 2 or 3 times in the bowl and put in rice cooker with water until ready or on the stove top. If you are using the stove, bring the rice with the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook it for 20 minutes.

2. Cut the carrot, cucumber, tofu into matchsticks, thin strips basically. When cutting the cucumber, deseed it first by using a spoon and taking out the seeds when you cut it lengthwise.

3. Put the carrots into a nonstick pan. (I cook it to have a max umami flavor. The salty sweetness of the carrots pairs well with the creamy avocado, salty tofu, and crunchy cucumber.)

4. Pour 3 tablespoons of soy sauce over the carrots. Add water, just enough to about 2cm high in the pan, ½ cup). This is to make sure the carrot is tender after being cooked and has absorbed the soy sauce mixture. Leave it on high until the water is at a boil and turn it down to medium heat.

5. After about 5-6 minutes, when the carrot is starting to wilt a little and turn a little brown, add the tofu strips. Season with creole seasoning (about 5 shakes across the mix). Mix carrot and tofu to get spices coated across the mixture.

6. Pour 2 more tablespoons of soy sauce and add a bit more water (¼ cup).

7. Remove carrot tofu mixture from heat when all the water is evaporated, which takes about 7-8 minutes more.

8. At this point, the rice should be ready as well. Put everything onto their own plates/bowls and let them cool! This is very important or else your sushi will be too hot and too moist. You want the rice, carrots, and tofu to be warm or about room temperature.

Assembly

1. Place a nori sheet lengthwise on a bamboo rolling mat with the shiny side down. Use a paddle or spoon to take some rice and place it in the center of the nori sheet. Spread evenly all across the nori, with a thin layer across the sheet some transparency should be seen, not a completely white solid color. Too much rice and it won’t have enough flavor.

2. Place some thin strips of cucumber, carrot, tofu and avocado in a line on the near edge of the nori sheet. This should be about 6 sticks of cucumber, 6 carrot, 6 tofu, and 3 slices avocado. Make sure not to overfill the nori.

3. Tuck your thumbs underneath the bamboo mat and hold the ingredients with your fingers. Then roll the bamboo mat and the nori sheet towards your fingers with slight pressure. Make sure that the ingredients are fully covered with the rice and the nori sheet. Apply pressure and clamp it. Then, roll back the bamboo mat and roll the sushi again in the same direction. Do this until all of it is rolled tightly. Clamp each time to make sure it’s secure and tight.

4. When done, place the sushi roll on a cutting board and carefully cut it in half with a sharp knife. Put the knife under cold water before and after cutting. Put the sushi halves beside each other and carefully cut them into small slices.

5. Sprinkle the vegan sushi rolls with sesame seeds and serve with soy sauce.

Tips + Tricks (very crucial!)

• Make sure to rinse your rice, as this removes the starches in it.

• Deseed your cucumber! This prevents excess moisture in your sushi. Moisture is the enemy here, people! It will ruin your sushi!!

• My trick to cutting sushi is to fill a tall glass with water and dip the knife into it each time when cutting. I tap the knife on the board (on an unused area) to get rid of excess water before I cut. This way you don’t need to be next to the sink or use a wet paper towel!