VEGETABLE SUSHI ROLL RECIPE

Vegetable Sushi Rolls

Ingredients:
2 cups sushi rice, (short-grain calrose rice);
3 cups cold water;
2 oz. rice vinegar;
2 flat tablespoons fine sugar;
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil;
2 ripe avocados;
1 carrot, peeled and shredded;
1 seedless cucumber, cut to strips;
1 red bell pepper, cut to strips and roasted;
several nori sheets, as needed;
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds, optional
(mix of black and white sesame seeds);
For serving:
wasabi and pickled ginger, as needed,
and soy sauce. For a list of everything you might need, click here.

Recipe: Rinse the rice several times under cold running water. Put the rice with the water in a rice cooker and cook it according to the rice cooker's manual. After the rice is ready, do not lift the lid for about 10 minutes. You can also use a cast-iron pot to cook the sushi rice. In this case bring the rice to a boil and reduce the heat to very low right away. When all the water is absorbed, remove from heat and do not lift the lid for 10 minutes. After that, stir gently and fan the rice a little bit until all the steam escapes. Fold the rice vinegar and the sugar into the rice, cover and let the rice stand for 15 minutes more. In the meantime, peel and seed the avocado, and slice it thinly with a potato peeler. Wrap a bamboo sushi mat with some plastic wrap in order to prevent it from sticking to the rice. Place a 1/2 sheet of nori on the mat and put a handful of sushi rice on it. Dip your fingers in water and spread the rice over the entire nori sheet. I usually use rubber gloves. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and turn the sheet upside-down, with the rice facing the sushi mat. Put some of the vegetables, except avocado, in the middle of the nori, in a line lengthwise. Roll with the sushi mat and close the sushi roll tightly. Open the sushi mat and arrange the avocado slices on top of the sushi roll. Close the sushi mat again and tighten it gently in order to stick the avocado slices on the outside of the roll. Place the sushi roll on a cutting board and cut it into 8 pieces. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. Serve the vegetarian sushi rolls with wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger on the side. Visit this page for my other sushi recipes.