It’s vegan maki time!
First though, things you need to know about sushi.
The terms.
Just a few terms so you can sound like a pro.
- Sushi: Contains seasoned rice (rice vinegar and sweetener), vegetable, fish, and a seaweed wrap of some sort.
- Sashimi: Raw fish. That’s it.
- Nigiri: Rice + wasabi with a draped topping
- Maki: A cylindrical roll, usually contained in nori with one to several fillings
- Inari: A pocket of fried tofu that contains rice
On FYS I’ve made quite a few rolls and each time I’ve referred to them as sushi and while that’s technically true, I wanted to be a little more specific and share the characteristics of each roll. The ones I’ve made so far are maki rolls. Sounds fancy and delicious, am I right?
You could make a maki roll using any filling that you desire. Any. Filling. I recently made stuffing nori rolls.
Today’s rolls use 4 simple filling ingredients: steamed sweet potatoes, steamed brussels sprouts, and fresh avocado with green onion.
Other filling ideas:
- broccoli
- carrot
- asparagus
- kale
- daikon radish
- beet
- squash
Then serve each one with a small dollop of spicy sauce – it’s like you’re at your favorite sushi restaurant! Instant spicy ‘tuna’-ness.
3 Vegan Maki Rolls: Avocado Onion, Sweet Potato, and Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1/2 small sweet potato, cut into rectangle bars and steamed
- 1/2 avocado
- 1-2 green onions or chives
- 5 small brussels sprouts, steamed and halved
- 1 cup sushi rice
- 3 sheets of nori (roasted or raw)
- 2 tablespoons water for rolling
- 1 tablespoon vegan mayo
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
Instructions
- Prepare sushi rice according to package instructions and allow to cool.
- Mix vegan mayo and sriracha in a small bowl and set aside.
- Divide the rice over 3 sheets of nori placing each portion in the middle and spreading out from there. I leave about 1 inch of nori closest to me and a little bit more than an inch on the end. Press the rice down so it's even.
- Now add your fillings. I create a line of 'filling' in the middle of the rice. See first photo.
- Begin rolling the nori, keeping a firm grip, when you get to the end, dampen your fingers and blot the nori, finish rolling it up and allow the roll to sit, seam-side down for a few minutes to tightly seal.
- Cut each roll into 7 or 8 pieces and serve with tamari, wasabi, and spicy sauce.
Any rice you like could be used instead of sushi rice. I really love these rolls with brown rice.
I think avocado onion is my favorite.
And I’m digging a new way to eat brussels sprouts!
The sweet potato is so interesting mostly because it’s sweet. Reminds me of the nigiri topped with that sweet egg omelet—though I never liked that—I love the sweet potato.
What filling will you try?
Hello Michelle thanks for sharing these wonderful vegetarian recipes, we need more in the cooking community 🙂 I would also add soy sauce or some kind of dip on the side to add to the flavor that is already there, or try out the many different healthy rice alternatives like brown rice