I found the simplest and healthiest way to satisfy my sushi cravings vegan-style. I really loved sushi a lot, and ate it pretty often. The healthiest way to make sushi is just to put some vegetables in a sushi roll with a little rice (in the same manner as my summer rolls). But that’s pretty different than the sushi rolls I loved, and doesn’t always hit the spot – sometimes I want something richer and creamier.
The super-simple solution is to make a spicy “crab” roll, using mashed chickpeas in place of crab. It is so easy and really good.
“Crab” roll:
serves 1
1/4 C cooked brown rice
1/2 t sushi rice seasoning
1 sheet nori
2 or 3 slices avocado (about 1/4 an avocado)
1/3 C chickpeas
1 T vegan mayonnaise
1/2 t sriracha (amount depends on your taste preference)
If you have brown rice that’s really fluffy and doesn’t seem sticky enough for sushi rice, here’s my little trick: blend half of the rice into a paste, then combine with the other half. It will stick together perfectly. It may not be authentic, but it works wonderfully.
Then mix sushi rice seasoning into brown rice. You can find pre-bottled seasoning in most large grocery stores, and definitely at Asian markets. If you can’t find that, mix together equal parts seasoned rice vinegar and agave syrup for a similar flavor.
Mix mayonnaise with sriracha. Then mash the chickpeas, and mix them with spicy mayonnaise.
Place nori onto bamboo sushi mat (these are pretty easy to find now, but if you don’t have them, you can just use a sheet of tin foil, folded in half to make it stronger), then pat rice into a thin layer in the bottom half of the nori, leaving a one-inch border at the bottom. That was hard to explain – just look at the pictures:
Then spread chickpea mixture in a thin layer on top of rice. Place avocado slices in a line across the middle of the chickpeas. Fold the nori over itself, so that the part covered in rice meets in a circle, and the bare inch meets the nori on the other side of the filling. (Note: my rice doesn’t make a perfect circle around the filling in the pictures because I had just a little over 1/3 C of chickpeas left so I have more filling than the recipe calls for. If you use the measurements above, this should work out.)Using the sushi mat, tightly roll the sushi up. Use a little liquid to seal the end of the nori – I like to use a little extra of the sushi rice seasoning, but water or soy sauce or whatever else you have nearby would work.
Nutrition facts per roll: Calories: 288; Calories from Fat: 123.4; Total Fat: 13.7g; Saturated Fat: 7.4g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 433mg; Total Carbohydrates: 36.4g; Dietary Fiber: 8.8g; Sugars: 1.5g; Protein: 7.2g
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