little rice rolls of complete veggie joy!
Hi there & Happy Friday. GUESS WHAT? I'm writing to you live from home right now, which means I've gotten out of work super early to kick off the 3 day weekend, and I couldn't be more stoked! LIKE 2PM on a FRIDAY? AMAZING! To celebrate this beautiful weather, and show how thankful I am that the sun is finally shining, I figured I'd whip up some simple, delicious + BRIGHT sushi! For those of you (like my dad), that has this thought that sushi is only made with raw fish, you have got it ALL wrong. If you haven't had veggie packed sushi before, you are totally missing out. Plus, think of all the little fishy lives you are saving by steering clear of the raw (yeccck) fish sushi you think you should be eating.
Check out the vibrant colors of those little sliced up rolls- the perfect dish to reflect on this gorgeous sunshine. And if you haven't got a clue on how to make sticky rice from home, I will teach ya below!
SO just a little side note: It just hit me today that I'm going down to Florida in only a few weeks, so I need to get beach body ready. And what healthier (slash satisfying) dinner than this!? Like c'mon- seaweed, vegetables, brown rice. HEALTHY CENTRAL if ya ask me! And I'm a super greedy eater so when I eat, I EAT. Like if I need to get ready for beaches and pools and bikinis, nothing is more satisfying during my 'clean eating' diet than this, because I can basically shovel endless amount of sushi in my mouth and not feel guilty. OK WELL, this recipe makes enough for 5 full rolls, but whatevs. Double it if you're feeling daring ;) And since I just enjoyed a Krispy Kreme donut for lunch, maybe I should make these again tonight... Woooops.
Let's BEGIN! Enjoy guys, and Happy Memorial Day- please try to remember what this holiday is really about :) xx S.
|Vegetarian • Vegan • Gluten Free|
I N G R E D I E N T S:
- 1 cup of uncooked brown rice
- 3 Tbs rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbs cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 2 small carrots, sliced
- 1 Cucumber, sliced
- Small bunch of Alfalfa
- 5-6 dried seaweed sheets
- Sesame seeds, to top!
PREPARE: Begin by cooking your brown rice according to instructions. While that's cooking, make sure your 'sticky rice' mixture gets on the stove as well. In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cook while whisking until the little crystals dissolve. Remove from heat, pour into a small dish, and throw it in the fridge until rice is done cooking. Now, you can finally slice up your veggies as thin as you can.
Once your rice is complete, pour in the chilled syrup and combine well. Let it cool for a bit so it's not super hot.
GET ROLLIN: Finally, the fun part begins! On a dishtowel or sushi bamboo mat, place your seaweed, and lightly spread (up to the edges) the brown rice. Only add rice to a little less than half of the seaweed so it's not too packed. Then lay your veggies & alfalfa sprouts flat on top, and press down so it will be more manageable. NOW personally, I like to do this on a sheet of plastic saran wrap so I can roll it tightly and it will keep it's form. But the true technique is done on a sushi mat. I'm sure that way is much easier and quicker- but hey- I had to work with what I had! And a sushi mat was nowhere to be found in the grocery store. You can also see a simple tutorial here. :)
COMPLETE & EAT!: Now that you've [hopefully] successfully rolled your first sushi roll, place it in the fridge. This step is super important because it will cool & kinda 'glue' all your components together, so it's won't fall apart when you cut it up. After about 10 minutes, take the sushi out, and with a fine sharp knife, carefully slice em up! Top with some sesame seeds, and serve with soy sauce & wasabi. MMMM Enjoy!