I’ve already told you about my endless love for all things Tex Mex. Well, I also love Japanese food as well. (not as bad health wise, but loads of carbs due to the amount of rice served per meal) I used to live in Japan as a teenager, and first of all, sushi in America is a lot different then sushi overseas. First, there is an artistic element to creating the sushi which gets lost here in American culture. Try as we may, it’s not the same. It’s also about the quality vs the quantity of food, which tends to be a very American thing (any Chipotle lovers in the house?!? PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN!!! I stopped eating Chipotles once I did two things… I weighed a Chipotle burrito once and it came to 2 pounds and said “all THIS is going in my body? DAAAANG!!!” and I also found out Chipotle is owned by McDonalds, the absolute king of fake and non-nutritious food … I haven’t eaten at a McDonalds in over 4 years). And eating sushi in Japan is a very social event. It’s what you do with you friends and loved ones, with a good mixture of beverages like tea and sake. It’s another reason why the pieces are so small… you eat a bite, sip some tea, and chat it up.
Most of the sushi you see (the individual rolls of sushi pieces with a seaweed wrap) are called Norimaki. Inside-out norimaki, with the rice on the outside and the seaweed on the inside is an American thing. I’ve seen a good number of custom sushi recipes here in the US, like barbeque sushi, sweet potato sushi, cheese steak sushi, even sushi with cream cheese and sausage. (honestly, whatever tastes good mixed together with rice is pretty much a decent sushi roll… but someone needs to break out and do some soul food sushi… chicken and waffles roll, anyone?)
Oh, yeah, this is a site about raw food… stick to the subject, veggiebro.
Anyhow, like i said earlier, I’m starting to mix up my foods a bit more. It’s dinner time and my daughter asks me to buy sushi for her from the local Sarku Japan (bleah)… but, I’m going to do her one better. I’ll break out the Daddy Rolls make her some sushi instead… and, I’ll make myself some as well… heck, yeah! And I thought ahead and bought everything I need. For rice, I’ll be substituting chopped cauliflower. (Just so you know ahead of time, I’m not an artistic sushi maker… my first sushi rolls always look like crap. My sushi looks better the more I wrap, but first ones look terrible. But they still taste good.)
Raw Sushi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package nori seaweed wraps
- 1 cup of cauliflower
- 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
- Himalayan sea salt to taste
- Thin slices of carrots
- 1 Avocado, cored and sliced thinly
- 1/4-1/2 of a cucumber
- Bean sprouts (optional)
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
- Pickled ginger (you know, the pink leafy stuff you normally get with sushi – optional)
- Tamari for dipping
Directions
- Put the cauliflower and vinegar in a food processor and chop until grainy.
- After chopping, shake a little sea salt into the cauliflower.
- Lay a nori wrap on a flat surface and spread a layer of the cauliflower mixture to the edge on about 3/4 of the wrap
- Near the edge, place a row of carrots, avocado, cucumber and bean sprouts on the cauliflower mixture.
- Tightly roll the sushi mixture from the edge where you’ve placed the veggies.
- Once you’ve completed the roll, seal the edges with a little water (almost like an envelope)
- With a really sharp knife, cut the roll about every inch or so.
- If you want a little more spice, you can shake a little bit of cayenne pepper on the rolls. (just a little)
- Put some tamari in a bowl, grab a roll with a slice of pickled ginger, dip it in and enjoy.
Nice! Here’s a pick. Like I said I will not win any artistic sushi competitions, but I will win on taste, darn it!
Enjoy and stay raw, beautiful people!
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