Vegan sushi is delicious, and it can be a lot of fun to make! It can serve as a snack, an appetizer, or even a meal! We've substituted tomato for the fish, and it's so tasty even non-vegans will love this sushi. Pass the chopsticks!
The "fish"
1 Roma Tomato (scored)
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon Nori Komi Furikake
The rice:
3 cups short-grain Japanese rice
3 1/2 cups cold water
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
The rolls:
6 nori sheets
2 carrots
1 cucumber
1 avocado
1 red bell pepper
Romaine lettuce
Make an X on the bottom of the tomatoes and place them into a pot of boiling water for no more than a minute. Take them out using a slotted spoon, and plunge them into a bowl of cold water (or an ice bath), then lift them right back out. Peel back the skin with a knife or your fingers. Cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut each half lengthwise into six pieces. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, mirin, and nori furikake. Add the tomato and set it aside to marinate.
Next, wash and rinse the rice two to three times, then prepare it in either a rice cooker or saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. In a small pot over medium heat, stir together the rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt until sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables; rinse and dry the lettuce leaves, then cut into long matchstick-sized pieces the carrot, cucumber (peeled and seeds removed), avocado, and bell pepper (cored).
Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Pour the rice wine mixture over the rice and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
Assemble the rolls:
Place a sheet of nori on a bamboo mat or large piece of cellophane. Wet your hands with cold water and spread the rice evenly over the nori to about 1/2-inch thickness, leaving about 1/2-inch on the top edge. Next, arrange a couple of lettuce leaves, depending on their size, horizontally about 1-inch from the bottom, then tightly layer a single row of the marinated tomato pieces, end to end on top of the lettuce. Next, lay two cucumber strips next to the tomato, then lay the avocado, bell pepper, and carrots next to that.
Roll the nori from the bottom, away from you, while tucking the vegetables in as you go. Use the mat or the cellophane to help keep the roll tight. Moisten the 1/2 inch nori with water at the top, then roll the sushi forward to seal. Set the sushi roll aside and place a damp paper towel over the top to keep moist while repeating the remaining ingredients.
Cut each roll crosswise into eight pieces with a sharp wet knife; a sushi knife or a serrated knife works the best.
Serve with wasabi, pickled ginger, and extra soy sauce for dipping.
