I love sushi! Buuuuut, I live in a small town with only one sushi place that is ridiculously over priced and I wanted a different kind of vegan sushi besides the average. Years ago when I worked in the mental health field, one of my clients wanted to learn to make sushi. So, we googled and YouTubed how to make sushi. I took that memory and my newer cooking skills to make my own vegan creation!

Have fun with the sushi, you guys. You don’t have to use the exact vegetables I’ve used. Use what you like, ya know?!

Full How To Video

Ingredients:

• 1 small red onion
• 1 orange pepper
• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts
• Sushi rice (I use Nishiki)
• 1 pkg halved seaweed sheets
• 4 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp sugar
• Old Bay (optional)
• Bang Bang Cauliflower (optional-I had leftovers)

*You will need a bamboo mat

Directions: 

1. Make your rice. You can make it on the stove of microwave but I prefer a rice cooker because you don’t have to do anything. I add a bit more water than the directions say. I do 3 cups sushi rice to 4 and 1/2 cups water.
2. While the rice is cooking you can start cutting your veggies. For the cucumber, I peel it and then cut it in a half and use a small spoon to scoop out the seeds. Then I cut that into smaller thinner pieces. Remember, it’s sushi, so you don’t want huge pieces, but an even amount of each thing you’re putting into your sushi.

3. For the avocados, I cut them in half, remove the seed and then cut each half in half so I have fourths. That makes it easier to peel them out of the skin. Then you can cut those thinly pretty easily at that point

4. Thinly slice veggies to appropriate size as your other veggies. Take your time with your veggies and knife cuts, since you’re not cooking anything, you can take that extra time. I like to cut my quartered artichokes in half long ways if they’re a bit big and then I toss them all in some old bay. The artichokes are to emulate ‘crab’ and then my left over bang bang cauliflower is to emulate a ‘spicy shrimp’

5. Microwave the rice vinegar and sugar until the sugar melts into it and mix that into your rice when it’s done. You certainly don’t have to do this part because the sushi rice is sticky on its own, but it really gives it that extra familiar ‘sushi flavor’

6. Sometimes I can only find the big sheets of seaweed, and that’s ok, just gently cut it in half. Then put a sheet of seaweed on your bamboo mat and cover it in some rice. Moosh the rice down with your fingers and smooth out covering the whole sheet of seaweed so it’s kind of translucent looking. You can dip your fingers in a little water so the rice doesn’t stick to your fingers. 

7. Flip the seaweed over so that the rice is now on the bamboo mat. Lightly fill your roll with whatever veggies you want. I like to do make a plethora of different varieties, so with each roll, I make a different veggie combo. I really like to get the different textures in each one. Something soft, something crunchy.

8. Then roll up your roll in the bamboo mat. Wipe a serrated knife with a wet rag and then cut your roll into 6 equal pieces.

9. And repeat until you use up everything!

10.Dip in soy sauce and go crazy! Sometimes I drizzle a little bang bang sauce or sriracha over mine!

11. ENJOY!