VEGETARIAN NIGIRI SUSHI

If you've never made sushi before, don't be scared to try it! It's not hard, it's just very time consuming. Some may find it relaxing, others may find it totally useless as it's just as easy to call your favorite sushi restaurant for delivery. However, there is something fun about making Japenese food, as it's so full of wonderful ingredients, flavors, and color. As we had many friends over for dinner, I thought making platters of sushi would be great, as I wanted to serve only bite sized food. Little did I know that it would take me the entire day, and then some, to finish making everything! Once I was finished, I was quite happy with my results. Everyone said the sushi was incredible tasting, even though all I served was the vegeterian kind! 

I have still not perfect the art of rolling that perfect maki roll, so I didn't make as many as I wanted to. I found here in Geneva these little nigiri molds, that were so easy to use, and made the rice look amazing! Each one came out perfectly and I did not have to worry about rolling each spoonfull of rice myself. If you can't find one, then yes you still can take a teaspoon of rice and roll it into the shape of your choice. Or if you can make that rectangular round perfectly, be my guest. 

Husband approved.

STICKY SUSHI RICE

Time: 1 hour 15 min

Yield: 4 cups

STICKY SUSHI RICE

Ingredients:

2 cups sushi rice

2 cups water

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp coconut sugar

1 tbsp kosher salt

Directions:

Rince the rice with cool water until the water is clear. Place raise and water into a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for about 10 minutes. Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Fold into the cooled sushi rice and mix. 

NIGIRI

Directions: use a nigiri mold or take 1 tbsp sushi rice and shape into a small 1 1/2 inch rectangle shape.

TOPPINGS

SWEET POTATO

3 sweet potatoes, boiled, peeled, mashed

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tsp tamari

Sweet soy sauce

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon about 1 tsp of sweet potato mixture onto each piece of nigiri. Top with a dot of sweet soy.

EGGPLANT

1 large eggplant, roasted, peeled, cut

Miso paste

Directions:

Roast eggplant at 400F for 35 minutes, until its tender and fully cooked. Cut into 1 inch slices. 

Place a dab of miso on each piece of nigiri rice and top with eggplant.

Other toppings: raw asparagus, sliced avocado, sliced cucumber.