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Everything you ever wanted to know about sushi

This thead is started to discuss all things sushi. It was started on a different thread that wasn’t about sushi and ron4540 suggested starting a different thread… here it is…

So, let’s start with the “rice” part… Has anyone figured out a way to actually use rice? If you use something else, what do you use? Since actual “sushi rice” uses sweet rice vinegar, what do you use to get that tangy, sweet taste?

Let the sushi games begin…

Comments

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    hey,

    a dolphin for sushi heh?

    i have not found a recipe for “rice” that was entirely like the real thing. i am not a substitution girl by nature, so i find i really like any phyo’s method: lay down a bed of dried off greens, some nut pate (or i REALLY like vegetable pulp mixed with tahini, dill and lemon… which might be an acquired taste, who knows?), then some slivered vegetables (careful cut, or shaved with veggie peeler) such as carrots, zucchini, cukes, avocado, daikon, etc… roll and roll. and cut and enjoy. i have foregone the whole wasabi, nama shoyu thing as well in favor of some finely slivered ginger and some grated daikon radish. alternately, you can make your own ginger, which is labor intensive, but very tasty.

    if you are looking for a cool substitute, i grated some parsnip the other day and was REALLY impressed by how naturally sweet and starchy it was. i’ve seen that used in recipes before and suspect that diced in a food processor, patted dry, & mixed with a bit of ACV or lime juice, it might make a very nice “rice”

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Hi pianissima~ Yeah… I can pretty much guarantee that the sushi found in here is dolphin free… teee eee eee. :-) Great ideas. I have made handrolls before (with nonvegan stuff). Have you tried it that way? ... less mess. The pate you mentioned sounds like a greek version of sushi. I love ginger. Have you tried “grating” ginger with a metal or ceramic plane (you get a metal plane at a hardware/home shop for cheap, a ceramic one for more money at a cooking store)? It is really easy and easy clean up. I had parsnip spaghetti the other week… come to think of it, I still have a parsnip in the fridge…

    I’m wondering if the substitute “rices” are sticky like rice is or really flakey and messy…

  • At Pure Food and Wine Takeaway here in NYC, they make a delicious “sushi” using pignoli nuts for the rice. It tastes fabulous and very much like the real thing. I have no idea how they do it, however. It might be in the Pure Food and Wine uncookbook (I forgot the title, but the author is Sarno).

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Thankx Mon46~ The book is Raw Food Real World. I hope the recipe is in the book and someone posts it… of course on your recommendation. :-)

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    hahah, the “sushi” is indeed a greek variation… for some reason i just LOVE dill. =) i guess i like making raw sushi, because anything pretty much goes (for me anyway… i have to be careful not to confuse others by calling it “sushi”... and sometimes when i read menus i forget that their sushi is different from my sushi!)

    pure food and wine uses jicama. i thought it was kind of soggy though. i have the book:

    this makes 6-8 rolls. 6 cups chopped jicama 1/2 cup pine nuts 1-2 TBS sea salt 1/4 cup brown rice wine vinegar (my note: not raw) 3 TBS agave nectar (my note: not raw)

    process jicama and pine nuts in food processor and pulse until chopped to “rice” size. place mixture between clean kitchen towels to remove moisture. in bowl, combine rest of ingredients. dehydrate at 115 for 2hrs. toss it around a bit to make sure it isn’t getting too dry. (if it turns pale brown from over-dehydration then it’s not a big deal, just not very pretty).

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    p.s. i REALLY like the hydroplane idea for ginger bluedolphin. such a cool trick! usually use it for citrus zest.

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    HI Bluedolphin, you are a sushi fan after my own heart!! soooo, heres what i did, i mixed cauliflour with some parsnip, and some pine nuts, i chopped the living heck out of them in the blender. i then mixed a little agave with some apple cider vinegar and a touch of salt to taste and mixed it drop by drop with my rice so it would not get soggy…..that was my rice, i then made cucumber roll, spicey untuna roll, and veggie roll. sliced and decorated it like the real thing with condoments decidedly not raw like soy sause and pickled ginger but hey it was so like the “real” thing…. oh yeah and i used raw nori as well!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Thank you pianissima and omshanti~ Both “rices” look great! They both look like they might “stay in place.” I was afraid the “other rice” was going to be a mess. For more sticky power, what do you think about adding a little flax seed to the mixture? The flax would get sticky from the moisture in the mixture… Think it would work? Think it would add something to sushi?

    pianissima~ I saw the microplane idea on, cough, cough, Martha. :) Greek sushi works… I can see making Latin versions…oh yeah, been done, that’s a burrito. lol Thai version with peanuts (maybe not raw, but yummy)? Italian version with sun dried tomatoes and ??? fusion cuisine. ;-)

    omshanti~ Spicey untuna roll?... do tell!!!! Do you sprinkle sesame seeds on your sushi? Funny story… I had a Japanese roommate many years ago. I took her the Airshow. We packed lunch… she made sushi rice and I made all the fixings… cucumber, avo, ginger, wasabi, etc. and iced it all down… In the middle of a scorcher on the tarmac (you know, fry an egg time…) we lay out our portable sushi bar… People are chuckling all around us… Then we start to make handrolls. Yum… wanting eyes all around us as they look at their own sad looking hot dogs and other “show” food. I know, mean… but it was fun

  • bluedolfin – thanks for starting the new thread!

    I like the ground flax idea to make the mock rice stick together better. [Last night, I made another batch of dehydrated veggie sunburgers. It’s the flax that holds everything together.]

    For the rice part in the nori rolls, I used jicama at first, but it was too watery. I didn’t think of dehydrating it first (will try that!). Then I tried sweet potato (didn’t bind together too well). Then I tried cauliflower & it works really well (it might work better with ground flax – will try).

    For the inside part, I like to use organic spring mix (the assorted baby lettuce & greens). I also sometimes include sprouts. And of course, the old standards – carrots/celery/avocado.

    Now for the seaweed part – I use the untoasted “black” nori (instead of the toasted green nori). I get the “Emerald Cove untoasted organic pacific nori.” But I understand that some of the untoasted nori is still heated above 105, so I emailed them to ask (still waiting).

    http://www.great-eastern-sun.com/productflyers/...

    For wasabi, I use sushi sonic wasabi -

    http://www.great-eastern-sun.com/productflyers/...

    It’s really good stuff, made with real wasabi.

    Also, I haven’t been using a bamboo rolling mat. I seem to have better control without one.

    And I find that using a really sharp, high-quality knife makes cutting the rolls so much better. I use -

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009NZ6G6/105…

    The same knife is sold under the Forschner and Victorinox brands. Wetting the knife between cuts also helps.

    I also like to top the sushi with hemp seeds. I use -

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GAT6MM/105…

    That’s all for now. Looking forward to learning more from others!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Awesome info Ron & others!!! Keep it coming… FYI… peasandthankyou posted a sushi rice recipe. Goto Sushi Rice- . It got me into a craving for cauliflower. lol

    What type of stuff do people use for “fish”?

    Here is a recipe for “tuna” just posted by jamestheraw: tuna salad sandwiches- . I think this would be great to use for a California Roll or ???

    I was also thinking this same discussion can also be for Vietnamese spring rolls (fresh not fried). Spring Rolls are usually wrapped in a rice wrapper and include a few shrimps and rice noodles (atleast where I get them). The dipping sauce is Hoisin based. Any ideas folks?

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Just had a thought… since rice is a grain, I figure there is a reason why the Japanese use a grain for sushi, what about using sprouted quinoa or another sprouted grain for the sushi rice? What do you think?

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Last week my “adventure” food was kelp noodles by Sea Triangle. It was interesting. I can see using them in sushi or spring rolls. They have no/very little taste. The texture is crunchy like undercooked rice or pasta. The crunch to me was “fun.” I can see chopping this into small pieces for a “rice” or using in short threads. I actually made it into a mock egg salad. I added veganaise, salt, pepper, and chopped kosher pickles from Trader Joes. I had this twice. I must admit I am going through some weird cravings… the pickle thang… no not pregnant.

  • Hi, I’m new to the board, but I have been visiting and gleaning from the recipes. I did try “Sushi” a few times, and not a fan of raw fish, I only ate it for the wasabi and pickled ginger, but even then, the green die and sugar weren’t a good idea. I bought some nori sheets at least 4 years ago and they have been in the cuboard untouched all this time, til recently. I used some veggie pulp mashed with avocado, some extra diced celery, garlic, onion, jalapeno,etc. Everybody loved them. Just calling them Nori Rolls, is enough. Try running jicama and/or daikon through the juicer, not sure how it will hold together, but it won’t be soggy.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Tonight I finally got around to making some sushi (or as rawX3 calls them nori rolls). It was soooooooo good. I used jamestheraw’s tuna recipe-. On a nori sheet, I put a slather of the tuna and the mayo from that recipe, spinach, kelp noodles, and on one, nutritional yeast. I dipped the rolls into Braggs. They would really. really good. I did miss the pickled ginger and the wasabi. The sweetness of the dates in the mayo and crunchiness of the kelp noodles did a really good job for the sushi rice, didn’t miss that at all. I can see using cucumber and more avocado on the next batch or some spiciness to make a spicy tuna roll… can’t wait for the next go-round. :)

  • Bluedolfin, I’ve used a variation of the tuna recipe for a spicy tuna roll, it’s sooo good. Lots of avocado, and spinach for the rice layer. For a chili dipping sauce I like to use dried chili peppers, chopped garlic, salt, some soy sauce and touch of olive oil. It’s reaaally spicy but really tasty.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    That sounds yummy elizabeth~ Sounds like it would really warm up the tummy also. :)

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    Hey, Blue, i havent been on this thread in a while, ill have my untuna sushi roll at the party, but its basically ani phyos untuna recipe with out the mayo part mixed with the same concoction that elizabeth dips in…you can get undied wasabi and pickled ginger with out the color too, i tried making mine my self and it was alright but i like the original version better!

    did you try the rice with cauliflour and pine nuts yet? i was wondering why you wanted it so sticky then i remembered the rice being outside on real sushi, i put mine as the first layer on my nori wrap! when i go to sushi now i ask them to leave off the rice so i forgot! hahaha

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Hi omshanti~ I am looking forward to the party and meeting you. :) Thankx for the heads up on the wasabi and ginger. I’m not hardcore raw, so the regular wasabi and ginger isn’t a problem for me… I just didn’t have any in the house. I think I’m going to do more sushi though (there is something about the nori that really hits the spot) and if I can get healthier versions, that’s a good thang.

    I haven’t tried the cauliflower rice yet. I was interested in the stickiness because I was imagining that the “rice” would just spill out of the sushi if there wasn’t something there to stick it together…. could be wrong though…

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    FYI… Hime brand now has a “natural” wasabi. The only ingredients are horseradish, spirulina, and tumeric. No “unnatural” stuff in it. Don’t know if could be considered “raw”, but atleast there are no dyes or other icky stuff in it. Happy sushiing!

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