No fancy sushi mat required. This recipe if fresh and has a great fishy taste from the nori sheets. I make this as a staple lunch or dinner in the week- this recipe is packed with vegetables and protein from the tofu. This is also my go-to when I want to prepare one of my most convincing dishes to share with a non-vegan. No matter what your dietary preference, this is the ultimate crowd pleaser for an on demand meal, or made a day before as a meal prep.
While this is a very quick and simple recipe to throw together, you do need to plan ahead with the rice. You need to allow time for the rice to cook and fully cool before preparing the sushi. For me, if I know I want to have sushi for lunch at 12, at around 10am I will throw the rice in to cook. Rice does not require much monitoring as long as you have a good idea of how long to cook it for since you don’t need to stir during cooking. This makes it a perfect option for when you are busy. Prepare the rice to package instructions, pouring 1 cup of rice into a small pot with 2 cups of water. Turn the heat up to medium high heat without a lid until it begins to boil. Once it begins to boil, turn the heat down to low, but a lid on and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the rice absorbs all the water and is light and fluffy. You can let the rice cool in the pot or transfer to a bowl to cool faster. Allow the rice to completely cool which will take at least 30 minutes.
While the rice is cooking or while the rice is cooling, prepare your veggies and tofu. Shred your carrots (or buy pre-shredded!) and cut your cucumber into thin, long slices. For the cucumber, cut the 4 outside edges, avoiding the seeds (they are a bit bitter). scoop out your avocado and feel free to get creative with any other add-ons you like lettuce or cooked sweet potato.
For the tofu, I buy the baked Sriracha tofu. If you can get your hands on this it is the best option. Grate the Sriracha tofu and then add a spoonful or two of vegan mayo. Mix. If you cannot find the baked tofu, you can use normal extra firm tofu instead. In this case, you would press the tofu to get rid of as much water as you can and grate/crumble the tofu finely. Then you would add Sriracha sauce and vegan mayo to mix. If you do not like space you can omit or just add a little for flavor. The Sriracha and vegan mayo mixture is just the best representation of the imitation crab that I have found.
Now that you have all of your ingredients prepped, it is time to assemble. Take your nori sheet, placing the shiny side down on a flat surface. I used my cutting board. Cover about 3/4 of the nori sheet with rice. I normally do a semi-thin layer of rice and use a flat wooden spoon or to spread and smooth the rice out. Now in the middle of the rice layer you can spread a scoop or two of your “imitation crab”, avocado and your other veggies.
Now it is time to roll the sushi together. Do not be afraid of this part it is far easier than you may think! Have a small bowl of water on hand. You will use this to dip your fingers in to seal up the roll. When you wet the roll it sticks easily together. Starting with the side of the nori sheet that has your rice and veggies, roll the the nori sheet over the filling and tighten as you roll. You can actually roll pretty tight without the nori ripping. You just want it to be as tight as you can but not to the point of ripping. Next, using your fingers, wet the 1/4 of your nori sheet at the end that did not have any rice or veggies with a little bit of water. Continue to roll the sheet over the wet section of nori to seal.
Keep the sushi placed with the wet nori on the bottom so it continues to seal as it dries. Set this roll aside, and repeat the process until you run out of rice or veggies.
To cut, take a sharp knife and cut the sushi into 12 or 3/4 inch thick rolls. The sharper the knife, the better here. You can also wet you knife as you go to help cut through the sticky rice.
Sprinkle sesame seeds over your cut sushi and dip in soy sauce, wasabi, or as is! This is truly one of my all time favorite recipes. I hope you enjoy it!
Easy Vegan California Sushi Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cuo Sushi Rice Short Grain White Rice
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 Cup Shredded Carrots I bought pre-shredded, but you can also shred whole carrots if preferred
- 1 Avocado
- 1 Pack Baked Sriracha Tofu, shredded. I found mine at sprouts. you can also press and season extra firm tofu if thats all you have, but it may be harder to grate/mimic the imitation crab consistency. Note: this does have a slight tang of heat because of the sriracha but it is still extremely mild, I don't personally think it is spicy at all. Just be mindful if you are sensitive to spice.
- 2 tbsp Vegan Mayo
- 4 Nori Sheets I used plain seaweed nori sheets, no added salt
- 1-2 tbsp Sesame Seeds Garnish, to taste
Instructions
Prepare Rice
- Prepare rice to package instructions. Pour 1 cup of rice into a small pot with 2 cups of water. turn the water on medium high and heat up (no lid) until water starts to boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and let simmer (lid on) til the rice absorbs the water and its fully cooked. About 10-15 min
- Allow rice to fully cool after cooking, this will likely take at least 30 minutes
While rice is cooking/cooling- prepare veggies
- Shred carrots (if you did not buy pre-shredded)
- Cut 4 outside edges of a cucumber (thin enough to just avoid getting the seeds/middle part, those are bitter so better avoid in my opinion). Cut the 4 cucumber pieces into long thin(ish) slices
- Scoop out and cut avocado into slices
Prepare Tofu
- Grate your block of baked tofu so its thin and shredded
- Put grated tofu in a bowl and add 1 or 2 scoops of vegan mayo into bowl and mix together. Add extra Sriracha if you prefer more heat. This is your “imitation crab”
Assemble Contents on Nori Sheet
- Take your nori sheet and place shiny side down on flat surface (I used cutting board)
- Cover about 3/4 of the sheet with a layer of rice
- Place a scoop or two of your “imitation crab” in a skinny row in the middle of the rice layer
- Put a few scoops of avocado evenly over “imitation crab”.
- Sprinkle some shredded carrot over “imitation crab”/avocado
- Place 2-3 pieces of cucumber on top
How to Roll the Sushi
- Get a small bowl of water. You’ll dip your fingers in this in a bit to seal up the roll
- Roll the nori sheet over the filling and tighten as you roll (note: you can actually roll pretty tight without the nori ripping. You just want it to be as tight as you can).
- Using your fingers, wet the end of your nori sheet (the 1/4 part of the nori sheet you didnt put rice on) with a bit of water and roll the nori the rest of the way to seal it
- Let the sushi sit for a bit so the water dries and its nice and sealed
- Set aside and repeat with remaining sheets, inside ingredients
- Once you are finished rolling, cut the sushi about 1/2-3/4 inch thick (Note: the sharper the knife, the easier. You can also wet a knife with water as you go. This helps you cut through the sticky rice)
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with wasabi and soy sauce (or liquid aminos!)
