Cauliflower Rice Sushi

There is only a few people in my life that do not like sushi. I personally love sushi but sometimes I do feel bloated sometimes after eating sushi. So I wanted to make a lighter variation that is still satisfying. Some people assume making sushi is difficult or time consuming but it actually is pretty simple to assemble once you have all the filling prepared. I created two filling options for you to try but the possibilities are endless, just keep in mind to cut your vegetables or fruits thinly.

Cauliflower Sushi Rice: (this will make four sushi rolls)*

• 1/2 the head of cauliflower, grated
• 2 TBSP rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp cane sugar
• pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Start by cutting the cauliflower half into four to six pieces. You can pulse the cauliflower in a food processor or use a box grater using the larger holes. If you do use a box grater use a baking sheet to collect the stray pieces that will happen. You should end up with about 3 cups of grated cauliflower that looks like white rice.
2. In a non stick pan heat the rice wine vinegar with the cane sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add in the grated cauliflower and saute them until they become tender, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to brown the cauliflower or press to much.
4. Once it has become tender allow it to cool by spreading in out on a baking sheet to cool completely.

Spicy Vegan “Lobster” sushi filling:

• 1-400ml can of hearts of palm, drained
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup vegan yogurt
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 1 tsp tamari ( or soy if gluten is not an issue)
• 1 tsp old bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• zest from one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• toasted sesame seeds, optional

Directions:

1. Drain the water from the canned hearts of palm and rinse them with cold water. If you purchased whole hearts of palm cut them into 1/4″ pieces.
2. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick pan and saute the onions until they become tender, then add the minced garlic with the hearts of palms and season with salt and pepper.
3. Continue to cook the hearts of palms on medium high heat until they become golden brown on the edges. This will give an extra flavour and make them less crunchy and more tender. Once they are golden brown, cool to room temperature before mixing together with the remaining ingredients. The quickest way to cool them down is to spread them out on a tray or plate and put it in the fridge.
4. As the hearts of palms are cooling combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Once the hearts of palms have completely cooled, mix into the mayonnaise-yogurt mixture.
5. Put it into a container and place in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Vegan “Tuna”:

• 4 roma tomatoes
• 1 nori sheet
• 1/4 cup hot tap water
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tsp tamari (or soy sauce if gluten is not an issue)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Prick the skin of the roma tomatoes on the top and bottom. Carefully put each tomato into the water until the skin start to pull away from the outside, about 2-3 minutes.
2. While the tomatoes are in the water, prepare an ice bath to put the tomatoes into right after they come out of the pot. This will shock the tomatoes and stop the cooking process. It will also help with peeling the skin away.
3. Once they are cooling in the ice bath start to make the marinade by combine all the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl. Pour the hot tap water in and whisk together until all the dry ingredients are dissolved then add in the remaining ingredients except the nori sheet. Cut or rip the nori sheet into small pieces and add them into the marinade, set aside.
4. Once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle peel the skin off, cut into quarters lengthwise, remove the seeds and membrane from the inside.
5. After you’ve completed that process with all the tomatoes, put the peeled and portioned tomatoes into the marinade, cover with plastic wrap directly touching the top surface. Place in the fridge for a minimum of 8 hours but 24 hours will give a deeper flavour.
6. Depending on what you are going to be making you can cut them into cubes for sushi cones, in strips for maki sushi or leave them whole for nigiri or even sushi bowls.

Assembly:

1. If you have a bamboo sushi mat to roll the sushi that’s great but if you don’t not to worry. All you need is a tea towel or a piece of plastic wrap as an alternative.
2. Place the tea towel on your work surface or the plastic wrap and have a small cup of water on standby.
3. There are two sides of a nori sheet, one shiny side and one matte side, place the shiny side down on top of whatever you are using to roll.
4. Take about 1/2 cup of the cooled cauliflower rice and spread it even onto the nori sheet leaving 1″ exposed on the bottom and about 2″ exposed at the top.
5. Once you’ve done that, place some of the “lobster” filling on top of the rice above the the 1″ exposed nori portion at the bottom. Dampen your fingers with the water and gently shape the filling into a cylinder no thicker than about 1″. At this point you can also add julienned cucumber or jalapenos too.
6. Now it’s time to roll! Take whatever you are using to roll and start to roll from the bottom up. Once you have the nori sheet fully covering the filling, gently squeeze the roll to make sure there is no air pockets and it is even on the inside. Be mindful not to squeeze the rice and fill out the ends of the roll too much.
7. Continue to roll the sushi up until you reach the top. Use a damp finger and moisten the nori sheet at the top and roll over top and gently press down to close the roll.
8. You can follow the same process for the “tuna” as well. Start by cutting the “tuna” pieces in half lengthwise. Then stack them before putting it onto the cauliflower rice and rolling them into maki rolls.
9. Continue until all the cauliflower rice is used up. After you finish making the sushi rolls cut the each rolls into 6 even pieces.

The fillings you could do are literally endless. I’ve use mango, avocado, cucumber, carrots, jalapeno and smoked tofu with kale. The list could go on and on, just remember to julienne or thinly cut what you want to put into your roll.