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Last fall we went to Montreal for a few days for a COVID change of scenery. In the Plateau neighbourhood we went to a sushi joint called Ohana. If you’re in Montreal we would definitely recommend checking it out. Now I have had fast food and grocery store sushi so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by the presentation and taste of the real, fresh made variety, but I was! Since then we have tried making sushi “by intuition” and ended up having a bowl instead because it just didn’t work out. The rolling fell apart and the rice just wasn’t right. Guess sometimes you have to actually read up on these things to get it right.

There were two basic mistakes we made the first time out. Firstly, go out and buy a couple of the sushi rolling mats. We used silicone baking sheets and it didn’t work that well. They only cost a couple of bucks and they’re available at your local grocery store. Secondly, be sure to add vinegar to the rice. That seems to keep it from clumping up and makes it easier to spread and roll. Don’t worry we go over all that below. So without further adieu we give you easy vegan sushi. It’s fun for a dinner party or just roll up a couple for lunch.

Easy Vegan Sushi
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Easy Vegan Sushi

Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: vegan, vegetarian, japaneseDifficulty: medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

40

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of Calrose or black rice

  • 2 Tbsp of rice vinegar

  • 2 Tbsp of white vinegar

  • 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of soya sauce

  • 2 Tbsp of corn starch

  • 1 clove of garlic, minced

  • 2 tsp of ginger, minced

  • 2 Tbsp of water

  • 1 tsp of hot sauce (sriracha works well)

  • 1 Tbsp of oil for frying the tofu

  • 1/2 an English cucumber, julienned

  • 1/2 of a large carrot, julienned

  • 1/2 an avocado, julienned

  • 1 block of firm tofu, julienned

  • 8 nori roll sheets (these are available at most grocery stores)

  • Pickled ginger (optional but worth picking up in the Asian aisle of your grocery store)

  • Sesame seeds (optional for garnish)

Directions

  • Preparing the Rice
  • Rinse the rice well, until you can see that the rinsing water become clear and not cloudy.
  • Bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot (check the package to verify cooking instructions) and add the rice. Lower temperature and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Set the rice aside to cool once done.
  • When is cool put it in a large mixing bowl and add both the rice vinegar and white vinegar and mix until the rice is well coated and there are no clumps.
  • Preparing the Fillings
  • While the rice is cooking, julienne the cucumber, carrot and avocado.
  • Julienne the tofu or at least cut it into thin strips that you’ll be able to roll later.
  • In a small bowl mix together the 1/4 cup of soya sauce, garlic, hot sauce, ginger and corn starch.
  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot add the tofu strips and fry until all sides turn golden brown. This takes about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat down and add the soya sauce mixture. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • Let’s Roll!
  • Well here’s the fun part. It’s actually really easy once you get a sense of what you’re doing.
  • Place your sushi mat on the counter and put a nori sheet on top.
  • Place 2/3 of a cup of rice in the centre of the nori sheet and using the back of a wet spoon (keep wetting it as you work) spread the rice into a thin layer over the nori sheet. Try to spread the rice right to the edges of the three sides closest to you leaving about an inch of empty nori at the edge furthest from you.
  • Place the carrot, cucumber, tofu and avocado lengthwise across the near edge of nori sheet. To start with try four or five strips of each ingredient.
  • Now that your sushi is laid out you can start the rolling. Take hold of the near edge of the sushi mat and begin rolling a fairly tight roll. Before the mat gets rolled into the sushi, lift the edge slightly and continue to roll to the end of the mat. At this point you should have a nice sushi roll. It’s pretty intuitive once you start.
  • Cut the roll into 8 pieces using a very sharp knife.
  • Sprinkle the rolls with sesame seeds and serve with a small bowl of soya sauce for dipping and pickled ginger.

Notes

  • You can use different filling ingredients. We have used fried enoki mushrooms, steamed sweet potato, mango and roasted red peppers, all of which were great.
  • You can try adding more ingredients to the roll to the point where you can still roll the sushi properly. After a couple of rolls you’ll figure out what works for you.
Easy Vegan Sushi
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