Recipe in Progress - Raw Sushi

[paprika]

I picked up some Nori sheets the other day to wrap veggies up in, but decided to try and make a passable substitute for real sushi (california rolls). My first attempt turned out REALLY tasty, though a bit watery.
I'm still transitioning to raw, so I'm not sure how acceptable the sugar and rice vinegar are.

4 sheets nori seaweed

4 containers alphalpha sprouts, roughly chopped
1/3 c rice vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

1 avocado, cut into thin slices
1/2 cucumber; peeled, seeded, and sliced thin
1 carrot; peeled and julienned

Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Let sit until the sugar and salt have dissolved. In a bowl; combine alphalpha sprouts and vinegar mixture.

Take a sheet of nori, spread the alphalpha sprout mixture over the entire surface, except for a one-inch strip at the top.

Using 1/4 of the cucumber, avocado, and carrot; lay the vegetables in line accross the bottom of the nori. Using a mat or just your hands, roll the sushi up. Using a bit of water, wet the top of the nori and press it into the roll to 'seal' it.

Slice the 'log' of sushi into 4-5 pieces. Serve with sesame seeds, wasabi, pickled ginger, and/or soy sauce.

[Revvell]

Instead of sugar, you might use agave syrup. The rice vinegar is lighter than our usual apple cider vinegar so not sure about substitution there.

You might add some oyster mushrooms marinated in lemon juice and salt to make it a California Roll instead of an Avocado Roll...although I am partial to the avocado rolls. :)

Sounds good and simple. I like simple. Thanks for the inspiration.

R.

[ReneeSC]

I used to use rice wine vinegar all of the time. I don't now, but I will use some umeboshi plum vinegar ( Sushi Sonic version - cuz that's all I have at the moment.. but there are places to order or learn how to make your own raw/organic plum vinegars; which, of course, is optimum. )

If you have the mother-in raw apple cider vinegar, next time try that to see how well it melds with the nori flavor.

Agave works well with the nori - I made a sweet dipping sauce out of agave syrup and olive oil whipped together to make a gel-like sauce. It was awesome! wow!

I don't know about the date syrup or the stevia extract because I've not used them in any of the asian recipes I've made.

[Sharon in Colorado]

That sounds good - haven't had sushi in so long I think I'll make it for lunch...minus the sugar (never thought about adding a sweetener - I'll try some agave)

[dhammala]

RAW Food Real World suggest shredding up some jicma root real fine and squeezing the water out.. you can toss into the dehydrator too for a few.. And using that in place of the 'rice' . It is magical! Great crunch and texture..

[Revvell]

RAW Food Real World suggest shredding up some jicma root real fine and squeezing the water out.. you can toss into the dehydrator too for a few.. And using that in place of the 'rice' . It is magical! Great crunch and texture..


Oh yaaaayyyy! Was wondering about the rice. I've heard of cauliflower but I like jicama much better!!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!! *does happy lil 'nana dance*

[Sharon in Colorado]

I tried it with parsnip. Hubby said it was the best raw thing I've ever made. Just creamed up some parsnips, a little white miso, some cashews and olive oil and afew shakes of garlic powder. Don't remember the amounts, but it was the perfect binder.

[Punky]

Oh yaaaayyyy! Was wondering about the rice. I've heard of cauliflower but I like jicama much better!!!! Yayyyyyyy!!!! *does happy lil 'nana dance*

I've made Alissa's sushi with the cauliflower rice and it is good if you
like cauliflower and so easy.
Tonight I am making the jicama rice from RAW FOOD REAL WORLD; just got the cookbook, excited to try it since I love jicama.
Oh, I have had parsnip rice before and it is delicous! I did not make it myself,
so don't know what else was in it. Cynthia Beaver used it in some dolmas.
She's a Dallas raw food chef. Loved it.

[Ariannah]

On Alissa's video she used those white sprouts, the mung(?) bean sprouts, chopped in with other things and it looked really sushi-like.

[exurb]

I prefer a parsnip-pine nut combination for the "rice"... you can do all parsnips, or play around with the amounts of each, but mine is something like this...

into the food processor goes...
1 cup peeled parsnip, chopped into chunks
1/4 cup - 1/3 cup pine nuts
some freshly squeezed lemon... process until has the texture of sushi rice.

(this makes 2 rolls for me).

you can add Celtic salt if you like, even raw honey but to me the parsnips are sweet enough. If you don't care about seasonings that aren't raw, 1-2 T rice wine vinegar (the unseasoned kind without sugar) will give it a real sushi rice taste.

I play a game with myself, I can make this sushi in under 5 minutes, including peeling and preparing the veggies. For the sushi middle part I use avocado, finely grated carrot, red and orange peppers, sprouts if they're handy.

[Punky]

I prefer a parsnip-pine nut combination for the "rice"... you can do all parsnips, or play around with the amounts of each, but mine is something like this...

into the food processor goes...
1 cup peeled parsnip, chopped into chunks
1/4 cup - 1/3 cup pine nuts
some freshly squeezed lemon... process until has the texture of sushi rice.

(this makes 2 rolls for me).

you can add Celtic salt if you like, even raw honey but to me the parsnips are sweet enough. If you don't care about seasonings that aren't raw, 1-2 T rice wine vinegar (the unseasoned kind without sugar) will give it a real sushi rice taste.

I play a game with myself, I can make this sushi in under 5 minutes, including peeling and preparing the veggies. For the sushi middle part I use avocado, finely grated carrot, red and orange peppers, sprouts if they're handy.


Thanks for the tip/recipe Exurb!
Will definately try this one!!!

[Punky]

Here's the sushi I made from "RAW FOOD REAL WORLD"
with the jicama/pine nut rice, avocados, cucumbers, ginger and marinated shitake mushrooms. You do NOT need Nama Shoya to dip it in because
it is plenty salty enough from the marinated mushrooms (which are soaked in Nama Shoya and Olive oil). Plus the rice is seasoned too. It is very tasty.
In the bowl is a super sprout salad I picked up from Whole Foods with various sprouts and sprouted beans & raw dressing:

[tvillemom]

OMGoodness.....THAT looks SOOO awesome! Like a restaurant or something! Send me some! I'm literally drooling. When I learn to make dishes like THAT, maybe my whole family will be raw! YUMMY!
Wendi

[Sharon in Colorado]

Looks awesome. Would love those plates for our Sushi Fun Fest.

[tvillemom]

OK...here's a dumb question, that I've never asked anybody because I'm too embarassed. When you have a large sushi roll, how do you eat it. I've seen people cram a whole roll in their mouth, but what if it's large? What's proper etiquette? I want to do like a sushi "party" with a few friends, so I would like to know before I embarass myself further! :rolleyes:
Wendi

[SamuelWilson]

Honestly, it is best to try to keep the size down. So you can put the sushi in your mouth as one whole piece. Just my opinion though.

[tvillemom]

Thanks Samuel.....that of course makes total sense. But I'd been served larger pieces in a restaurant, and having a small mouth, knew I couldn't get it in there.....so I cut it in smaller pieces, not really enjoying the whole experience. I guess, at least raw, I won't be getting any from the restaurant anyway!! LOL (I'll make mine smaller!)
Wendi

[Punky]

Looks awesome. Would love those plates for our Sushi Fun Fest.


Thanks Sharon.
PLATES: My husband picked those out for me 3 or more years ago
for an xmas gift.
I love them. He got me everything in the set. 3 types of bowls plus dipping bowls and 2 plate sizes. He's a sweetie and knows my tastes.
He got them at World Market (use to be Cost Plus).
They still carried them last time I looked, but not in that particular color.
The other colors are pretty too. I think it was blue and a teal type green
available. The outside of the dishes are earthy brown and matte and the insides are the crackled glaze.
We had a sushi party earlier this year and everyone commented on them.
It's fun.
Let us know how your sushi fun fest turns out. Take pics! ;)

[Punky]

OK...here's a dumb question, that I've never asked anybody because I'm too embarassed. When you have a large sushi roll, how do you eat it. I've seen people cram a whole roll in their mouth, but what if it's large? What's proper etiquette? I want to do like a sushi "party" with a few friends, so I would like to know before I embarass myself further! :rolleyes:
Wendi


No question is dumb!
Yes smaller pieces are easier to manage.
I have had big pieces in restaurants too that wouldn't fit in my mouth
that I ended up taking two bites of. Sometimes they fall apart when you
bite them in half...so cutting them beforehand is a better idea.

The ones I made in the pic fit in my mouth in one bite (it was a big bite though);so feel free to make them smaller when you roll them up or slice
thinner.

thanks for the compliments Wendy!
I'd say this recipe satisfied me as much as the real sushi in restaurants;
which I use to eat regularly. It has lots of flavors. the marinated
shitake added an earthy meaty flavor to it. The rice was a little time
consuming to make though, but worth it.
Alissa's sushi recipe with cauliflower rice is good too and easier. Totally differant flavor, more of a "fresh" veggie taste than these. I have a pic of those too, but it's on my work computer and I am at home right now.

[misslinda]

I've been having sushi withdawals use to eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner at times.........so this is perfect! I always wondered if there was a rice substitution---YAy!

AWESOME pics Punky! This ony suggestion I would offer is somekind of warm liquid whether it be tea (not boiled of course) or miso soup b/c of the dryness to the nori--something my mother taught me in her culture. Can cause stagnacy in the stomach. :)

[Punky]

I've been having sushi withdawals use to eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner at times.........so this is perfect! I always wondered if there was a rice substitution---YAy!

AWESOME pics Punky! This ony suggestion I would offer is somekind of warm liquid whether it be tea (not boiled of course) or miso soup b/c of the dryness to the nori--something my mother taught me in her culture. Can cause stagnacy in the stomach. :)

Yes, I like to make a raw versian of miso soup too.
Will make it together next time for sure
Miss Linda ;) I actually "prefer" sake with it back in the day, but I was
a good girl, and drank Kombucha tea afterwards last night (raw & organic, it's a fermented tea drink).
I like the idea of drinking the warm liquid with it though. Maybe that's why I was so thirsty after I ate it. What culture is your mom from?

[Punky]

I always wondered if there was a rice substitution---YAy!

the rice I used for this is made of jicama and pine nuts chopped up in
a food processor till grainy like rice. than placed on kitchen towels to press out the extra liquid. I think one could stop at this step if one
didn't want to add the seasoning liquid to the rice; which the
recipe then calls for you to mix the faux rice with agave, sea salt (i used
Himilayan) and rice wine vinager.
I don't believe the vinager is a true living/raw item. The one I used
is from the company Eden Organics availble at HFS. It does say it
is fermented, but it doesn't indicate if it is pasteurized or not; so I assume
it is not living.
than put in your dehydrator for an hour or so to dry out a little more
moisture. If one is uncomfortable with the rice wine vinager, I would just
skip that step. I thought the rice was tasty even before that too.
Just more authentic tasting with the rice wine vinager; but 'almost' too salty
for me, next time I will reduce the amount of salt given in the actual recipe.
The rest of the recipe was all raw. even gives a recipe to make raw ginger
slices yourself although I choose to use a pickled one from the HFS
to save time.

Alissa's recipe uses cauliflower ground up in a food processor till it resembles
grains of rice. It is very quick & easy to make.

[SamuelWilson]

Punky, what book did your recipe come from for the faux rice?

[Punky]

"Raw Food Real World"
by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis
they are professional culinary chefs that turned raw.
They own Pure Food and Wine restaurant in NYCity too.
Love love love the book! they are not purists though and occassional will
use maple syrup or cocoa powder, etc..but give suggestions for
raw substitutes.

http://www.purefoodandwine.com/rawfoodrealworld/

[Angelina]

ahh..much needed answer to my question ~ how do you roll it to make it look soo perfect, is with the use of a bamboo sushi rolling mat? Looks soo professional :)

[Punky]

Yes, Angelina I use a bamboo sushi mat/roller. And I have had lots of practice.
Thank You :)

Here's a pic of sushi made from Alissa's recipe with the cauliflower rice
(the side dish is raw kim-chi):

[tvillemom]

Your suggestions were so great. I might have to get that book. Are their recipes easy? You have definitely made me crave sushi. I think I'll make some this week...DH would like something different.
Wendi

[tvillemom]

WE must be posting at the same time! Your pictures look so good, my mouth is watering! I've GOTTA MAKE SOME! I'm seriously drooling.
Wendi

[Punky]

Your suggestions were so great. I might have to get that book. Are their recipes easy? You have definitely made me crave sushi. I think I'll make some this week...DH would like something different.
Wendi

I'm glad I was helpful in some way to you Tvillemom :)
Good luck making your sushi! Remember to have fun while making it :)
I really like the book a lot. Recipes range from basic to gourmet.
they are professional chefs so some of the recipes are more complex,
but than they have some everyday ones too. I have only made
the vanilla brazil nut milk (so good!), Macadamian milk and the sushi from the cookbook so far. Will try out some more recipes later in the week.
There's a tamale and taco recipe calling my name.

[misslinda]

PUnky--luv all the wealth of info you gaveus MUCHOS GRACIAS!

My mother is Korean and father is Korean with some Hawaiian. LOL, I was going to mention the sake too but I kinda thought Nagh....dont' want to stir up the crowd !!! :p But oh yes, nothing like good SAKE,SUSHI AND SAX (MEANING JAZZ MUSIC) ;)

BTW, bout you? I was thinking you are a mixture of cultures

[Sharon in Colorado]

OH boy oh boy oh boy. The next time I go to Cost Plus I'm going to look for these dishes. Can't believe I haven't seen them before. I love that store.

[Bretta]

Okay, I bought the nori and even a bamboo mat. I've made raw sushi three times...the first time I made cauliflower rice and didn't like the flavor of the cauliflower in it, too strong for me. The next two times I made it with parsnip and I really LOVE the flavor of the sushi...it's just the texture of the nori that makes me feel like gagging sometimes. Am I doing something wrong? Or is it an acquired "thing" that I just don't have yet. I put the "rice" on the roll and the last two times all I put on it was lots of avocado and then rolled it up, sealing with a swipe of water at the edge. It just seems to turn out tough and yet soggy at the same time...not like the texture of sushi in my pre-raw days (only ate it a few times). Any tips??

Thanks!
Bretta

[Punky]

PUnky--luv all the wealth of info you gaveus MUCHOS GRACIAS!

My mother is Korean and father is Korean with some Hawaiian. LOL, I was going to mention the sake too but I kinda thought Nagh....dont' want to stir up the crowd !!! :p But oh yes, nothing like good SAKE,SUSHI AND SAX (MEANING JAZZ MUSIC) ;)

BTW, bout you? I was thinking you are a mixture of cultures

Your welcome Miss Linda :)
I *use* to love to cook before my 2nd child...than I was too tired :(
I use to collect cookbooks....I now collect UNcookbooks ;)
and starting to get back into preparing foods when the little ones let me, LOL.
Funny thing is, this uncookbook I mentioned, "Raw Food Real World"...the chef
Mathew Kenney...I have another cookbook by him "Mediterean Cooking"
from before he (and I) turned raw. It is very good, so when I ran across
his RAW book at the book store I was totally intrigued to get it.
Anyways I agree, nothing like good SAKE, Sushi and SAX! LOL :p
I've noticed some raw restaurants serve an unfiltered sake, but I haven't tried it yet......

I thought I remembered you being Korean.
I am a mix of Vietnamese (mother) and American, actually German to be exact.

[Punky]

OH boy oh boy oh boy. The next time I go to Cost Plus I'm going to look for these dishes. Can't believe I haven't seen them before. I love that store.

I hope they still have them! If not, I am sure they have some other kind of cool sushi /asian dishes. They usually have quite a variety.

[Punky]

Okay, I bought the nori and even a bamboo mat. I've made raw sushi three times...the first time I made cauliflower rice and didn't like the flavor of the cauliflower in it, too strong for me. The next two times I made it with parsnip and I really LOVE the flavor of the sushi...it's just the texture of the nori that makes me feel like gagging sometimes. Am I doing something wrong? Or is it an acquired "thing" that I just don't have yet. I put the "rice" on the roll and the last two times all I put on it was lots of avocado and then rolled it up, sealing with a swipe of water at the edge. It just seems to turn out tough and yet soggy at the same time...not like the texture of sushi in my pre-raw days (only ate it a few times). Any tips??

Thanks!
Bretta

Hi Bretta,
Yes, I forgot to mention that if one is not crazy about cauliflower, than
they probably wouldn't care for the cauliflower rice, the flavor is definately there. Those rolls are good, with a fresh definate veggie/cauliflower flavor.

I have had parsnip rice before (someone else made it) and loved it. I'd
say the jicama rice is similar, if I remember right. I'll have to make some.
It sounds like you are doing everything right; that has happened to me before with making raw vegan sushi, soggy or tough in spots.
With the jicama rice I did not have this problem...I believe because the rice
is seasoned more similar to real sushi rice...slightly moist, but not wet...so that when I roll them up tight, it softens the nori without getting soggy
either....soggy nori can make me gag too. I've had pate/veggie nori rolls
from a raw food chef that would get soggy because pate is a little wetter
than this rice. Now it was take-out, so I didn't eat right away till I got home.
I think if i ate immediately i wouldn't have this issue. But with the jicama rice,
sushi, I couldn't eat it all right away, and came back an hour later to finish it
and it still wasn't soggy at all. Anyways I hope that
made sense. How wet is the parsnip rice when putting into the nori?
you might try pressing it between two kitchen towels or putting it in the dehydrator for a bit 1st. You want it a little damp, but not dry.

[Angelina]

Punky: thanks for the response, figured it had to be the bamboo mat...gotta add that to my list..ahhh one more thing, the raw kim chi ~ did you make that yourself also? I usually purchase mine, but hear its easy to make, just haven't tried it yet because I absolutely love the spicy one I buy..but if you have a great recipe I'd love it. Thanks much

[Punky]

Punky: thanks for the response, figured it had to be the bamboo mat...gotta add that to my list..ahhh one more thing, the raw kim chi ~ did you make that yourself also? I usually purchase mine, but hear its easy to make, just haven't tried it yet because I absolutely love the spicy one I buy..but if you have a great recipe I'd love it. Thanks much

Angelina,
you should be able to pick up a sushi mat for under $3.
It is really helpful in rolling up sushi.

I cheated and bought that kim-chi from Whole Foods. It is Rejuvanate
Foods brand (or something close to that spelling). It's raw and
very expensive...like $10 for a small jar, so will be attempting to
make my own soon! I bought some miso to use to ferment it.
Miss Linda--do you make your own raw kim-chi??

[Sharon in Colorado]

I've done cauliflower mashed potatoes every and any which way. I've tried soaking the cauliflower in hot water, dehydrating, etc. Just can't do it. The flavor and odor is too offensive to me.

So I used the parsnips to make the rice, with cashews as a binding agent and some white miso and it works great. I'm not too hot on creamed pine nuts, too strong a flavor.

[misslinda]

Ugh, let's see so much to catch up on......

Yes! World Market has awesome prices for oriental/asian dishes. I love the glazed color ones.

To make your sushi dining fun, you can use a large orgami paper (some kind of japanese print) on top of a light wood bamboo sushi roll as placemat.

Bretta, have you tried seasoning your nori....in the korean culture, their version of sushi, they season the outside with oil and salt. maybe even like gralic oil....sesame oil tends to be the most complimenting to the nori texture.

I triend to make my sushi yesterday, but there is something I am not doing right with the rolling mechanism. I also need to create more dipping sauces!


:)

[Sharon in Colorado]

I made some "pickled" (marinated) ginger by peeling the ginger and marinating in plum vinegar and agave.

[misslinda]

Sharon, do you soak the ginger for a few hours or do anything additional to it?

this is making me so hungry! :cool:

[Sharon in Colorado]

misslinda - I just do the ginger first, peel it into very thin strips with the veggie peeler and let it soak a few minutes while I'm doing the sushi. I don't do anything else to it.

I bought a tube of wasabi but you can get the powder too, might be more natural.

[Punky]

I've done cauliflower mashed potatoes every and any which way. I've tried soaking the cauliflower in hot water, dehydrating, etc. Just can't do it. The flavor and odor is too offensive to me.

So I used the parsnips to make the rice, with cashews as a binding agent and some white miso and it works great. I'm not too hot on creamed pine nuts, too strong a flavor.


Great ideas for the parsnip rice & ginger Sharon! Thanks!
They sound excellant, I'll have to try them.

[Punky]

To make your sushi dining fun, you can use a large orgami paper (some kind of japanese print) on top of a light wood bamboo sushi roll as placemat.

Bretta, have you tried seasoning your nori....in the korean culture, their version of sushi, they season the outside with oil and salt. maybe even like gralic oil....sesame oil tends to be the most complimenting to the nori texture.


Neat idea with the orgami paper. That would be festive for a sushi party!

I really like the idea of rubbing the oil on the nori. That would be
great when I make really quik sushi hand rolls with just veggies and avocado
and no faux rice. I have some cold pressed sesame oil I just bought
too. Thanks Miss Linda !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lady Green Jeans]

misslinda,

Bumping this thread up to ask an additional question. I made the sushi rolls twice, both times using the cauliflower for rice. The first time was following Alissa's recipe. The second time I followed another recipe calling for marinated shitake and pickled ginger. Probably did not drain things enough, that attempt they were soggy city. Tasty though.

My question is in seasoning the outside. I used to eat CA rolls with sesame or something on the outside. How do you get them to stick?

Thanks for any input.