Hello! Hope you are well. The best sushi my boyfriend and I ate was on holidays in 2019 in Argentina! Quite random, but it really was. I have to say we weren’t big sushi lovers before that time and were still a little sceptic after. However, one of the things I really wanted to try and make myself in 2020 was sushi and so I did. Not just sushi rolls, but also some nice side dishes. In this posts I will share ideas for sushi rolls, enari sushi, side dishes and also some suggestions for left-over ideas.
If you haven’t already, I strongly recommend you to watch Seaspiracy. It is a documentary on Netflix that shows the environmental side of eating sea food. As fish is often promoted over land animals, I find it especially important to share.
Disclaimer: this post contains a larger amount of links to other pages and recipes than usually, I am not payed by anyone to share things, I only share products and recipes that I sincerely like and recommend.
Sushi rolls
Marinated (oyster) mushrooms
This idea was shared by a friend who is raises awareness about the fish industry. As mushrooms have a meaty texture, they are very versatile and when marinated, I love them in sushi. I usually marinate them in some soy sauce with some drops of liquid smoke. Just marinate them for the longest time you have, I think a minimum of 20 minutes will already give some nice flavor. If you don’t have liquid smoke, you could also use plain soy sauce, or teriyaki sauce, sweet soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar or lime juice. If you don’t have time to marinate them, you could also just fry them off in the sauce of your liking.
Vegan fish sticks
I know fish sticks are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I personally like them (when they are vegan). I believe that in quite some countries in Western Europe, they are sold in supermarkets, for example by the following brands: Vivera (fridge), AH home brand (fridge) and Quorn (freezer). Most meat substitutes are freezable by the way, so if you only want to make a few sushi rolls with fish sticks, you only have to defrost a one or two. So after defreezing them (either by thawing them or putting them on very low heat with a lid on until unfrozen), you can just fry them up in some (olive) oil and then cut them into small slices. I like the combi of avocado and vegan fish sticks, but you can also use other veggies like carrot, cucumber, or even fried zucchini.
Tofu: marinated or egg/omelet-like
Tofu may seem a little boring compared to some other ideas, but you can go so many ways with tofu! Just marinate it in your favourite sauce and then fry it off is one. However, if you like omelet/fried eggs in sushi, you could keep the tofu un/just lightly marinated and add some kala namak (black salt) to it. Kala namak smells and tastes like eggs, so when used with tofu, I find it a nice egg substitute.
Vegan tuna/salmon
Have you heard of the Vegan Junk Food Bar? Clearly they sell vegan junkfood, including burgers but also seafood dishes/snacks! Some products include vegan tuna/salmon, but they also have calamari. They are now also sold at Jumbo, it is from the brand Seastar, usually in the bigger shops. If you can’t find them (freezer section) they can also be ordered online and then picked up from the shop. I have only tried it in the Vegan Junk Food Bar, but a friend of mine regularly uses it at home to make sushi and she is a big fan! Below are also some ideas on how to make your own salmon and tuna based on veggies.
Vegan prawns
In some Asian supermarkets, they sell vegan prawns in the freezer section. In the Netherlands, the Amazing Oriental shops usually have them. Jumbo also sells them as part of the Seastar range.
Veggie rolls
Well this one is definitely the most obvious one, but I got to mention it. The predictable yet classic veggie sushi is with avocado, carrot and/or cucumber. Those are raw, but you could also use some fried zucchini. Or you could try mango, for some sweet sushi.
Carrot smoked ‘salmon’
Probably almost all vegan blogs out there include their version of a recipe for salmon made from carrots. All recipes are pretty similar. I usually use the one from Lisagoesvegan her cookbook ‘Comfort Food’, but I also trust that this recipe from Edgyveg would also work well. It tastes delicious on a bagel with vegan creamcheese, but also in sushi.
Tomato ‘tuna’
So I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I saw it’s possible to make tuna based on tomato?! Click here for the recipe, it’s one from the Goodful Youtube channel and I have to say it looks awesome.
Capsicum ‘tuna’
Another recipe I have yet to try out: tuna made from roasted capsicum. It’s this recipe by Cheap Lazy Vegan and although I haven’t tried it so I can’t speak about the flavours, it does look great to try out!
Enari suhi
For those not familiar with enari: it’s a type of sushi. Enari is a tofu pocket that can be filled with rice and vegetables. I usually use marinated mushrooms in enari, but I also tend to add some seaweed (like wakame seaweed salad) to give it a more fishy flavour. You could also do that in the sushi rolls, but that already contains nori and seaweed can be difficult to cut. Cheap Lazy Vegan made this video with several ideas for vegan enari, so be sure to check that out if interested.
Side dishes
- Fried shiitakes in teriyaki sauce and sesame oil
- Edamame bean salad: in the Netherlands you can buy bags of edamame beans (green soy beans) in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets, but some supermarkets also also sell them in the fridge. If bought frozen, just boiled them for a minute. You can pair the edamame beans with some sea weed and/or sesame seeds. I find them like this nice to eat, but you can also add a dressing to it with sesame oil and rice vinegar.
- Sesame-panko coated tofu, this recipe by ‘It doesn’t taste like chicken’ has got to be one of my favourite tofu recipes ever. It works well as appetizer, snack, to go with a main course or as part of a sushi feast. It is baked in the oven, therefor also a healthier option.
- Dumplings/Gyoza’s, either homemade or store bought (freezer section of Asian supermarkets). If you do make them yourself (just Google ‘vegan dumplings recipe’ and pick one you like, or come up with a combination yourself and use dumplings wrappers), you could make a whole batch and then freeze part of it. If you first freeze them on a plate, with space between them, they won’t get stuck together so it will be easier to just take out a few when you want to have them later. Be sure to check them after 20 minutes to make sure they aren’t getting stuck to the plate and get them loose. After like another 20 minutes or hour you could transfer it to a container. Not all store bought dumplings are vegan, so please check the ingredients.
- Spring rolls: most vegetable spring rolls from supermarkets (frozen section) should be vegan, but please always check. You can just fry them off to have them as a side dish.
- Fried battered prawns: either the ones from Seastar as mentioned above, or you could try a recipe like this one, as I was writing this post I came across it, so it is now on my list on things to make too!
Left-overs
When making sushi, I always end up preparing more rice and sushi stuffing that I will actually eat that night, thereby creating leftovers. Binning leftovers is not only wasting food (and therefor not sustainable), but also wasting money. So I also thought to share some ideas on what to do with these sushi left-overs to enjoy the days after:
- Make more sushi! That’s a very obvious one, but it should be mentioned still.
- Try out some other sushi-like dishes like sushi burrito’s and sushi quesadillas.
- Make a sushi bowl, they are fast to make once all the ingredients are prepared. If you have already ran out of the sushi rice, you could just prepare some other grain for variation. Quinoa, bulgur, brown rice or even couscous are good alternatives. You could also add in some roasted or boiled sweet potato/pumpkin, and also use some raw/slightly cooked greens like spinach or kale.
- Prepare rice rolls, like I did in this recipe.
- Use the leftovers in a noodle soup like miso soup or pho, like in this recipe. Or even just in a quick veggie broth.
That is it for this post! I hope you can find some inspiration from here to leave out the standard sushi ingredients such as fish and eggs. No need to harm animals and still have delicious sushi. Which sushi rolls are your favourite?
Planetleafde 