Sushi is my absolute favorite food – seriously, I would eat it every day if I could. Even though I absolutely love fish (and really don’t believe there’s a replacement), there’s still something very satisfying about a refreshing veggie sushi roll. Trust me, these veggie combinations add just the right amount of flavor and texture that I (almost) don’t miss the fish!
There is no such thing as special “sushi rice” that you can buy at the store. Rather, make sure you buy good quality Japanese short grain rice from the Asian grocery store that has a sticky consistency when cooked. What will make your rice ready for sushi is the preparation, once cooked, with rice vinegar and salt. As far as the types of veggies you can use, feel free to get creative here! My personal favorite is cucumber kimchi, but I’ve tried a variety of veggie combinations and one has yet to let me down.
Rolling sushi is absolutely an art form and can take quite a bit of practice. Thankfully, this recipe is marked as “easy” because my trick to rolling perfect sushi comes from a handy sushi roll mold! I found mine at my Asian grocery store, however it looks quite similar to this one on Amazon. If you want to try your hand at the traditional rolling method, you can use a bamboo mat like this or a plastic mat like this.
“Translated, ‘sushi’ means ‘it is sour’, which typically has to do with the vinegar rice.”
– lionfish
Vegan Sushi Rolls
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups Japanese Short Grain Rice (2.5 cups uncooked rice yields approx. 6-9 small rolls)
- 5 tbsp Seasoned Rice Vinegar
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 6-9 Nori Sheets
- Veggies of Choice (see below) (julienned)
- Shichimi Togarashi (optional)
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce (optional)
- Ponzu Sauce (optional)
- Eel Sauce (optional)
- Spicy Mayo (optional, recipe linked below)
- Pickled Ginger (optional)
Equipment
- 1 Sushi Mat OR
- 1 Sushi Roll Mold
Instructions
- Cook rice in rice cooker or on stove using a 1:1.3 rice to water ratio. Make sure to rinse your rice as MUCH as possible – until you can rinse no more.
- While rice is cooking, julienne veggies. Once rice is ready, spread out onto a baking sheet or pan and let cool slightly before adding seasoned rice vinegar (approx. 1-2 tbsp per cup of rice. I used 6 tbsp for 2 1/2 cups of rice). Sprinkle sea salt over rice, then slice and fold rice to combine (do not use a stirring motion as this will smush the rice grains).
- Use sushi roll mold to place a layer of rice, then veggies, then rice before pushing out of mold. Place seaweed shiny side down and pat top and bottom edges with water before rolling as tightly as possible.
- If using a sushi mat rather than a mold, place seaweed (shiny side down) on your mat. Then, layer rice over top of seaweed, leaving around 1/4" of space at the top. Add ingredients towards the middle third of the mat, and roll slowly and tightly from bottom to top. Seal off edges with water.
- Let rolls sit for a few minutes until seaweed is slightly soft before slicing into pieces. Use a wet, sharp knife for the cleanest slices.
Spicy Avocado Roll
- Avocado, Jalapeño, Shichimi Togarashi
- Sauce Pairings: Low Sodium Soy Sauce or Spicy Mayo
Cucumber Kimchi Roll
- Cucumber, Kimchi
- Sauce Pairings: Low Sodium Soy Sauce
Rainbow Roll
- Bell Pepper, Sprouts, Purple Cabbage, Shredded Carrots
- Sauce Pairings: Ponzu or Spicy Mayo
Spicy Cucumber Sprout Roll
- Cucumber, Sprouts, Shichimi Togarashi
- Sauce Pairings: Eel Sauce or Spicy Mayo
Cucumber Avocado Roll
- Cucumber, Avocado
- Sauce Pairings: Low Sodium Soy Sauce or Eel Sauce
Watch my video on how to make this recipe by clicking here.
