Veggie Sushi Hand Roll Recipes

Steps:

• Place the rice in a coarse-mesh sieve and rinse with cold running water until water runs clear. Shake out excess water.
• In a large saucepan, combine rice and water; heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer rice to a bowl and sprinkle with rice vinegar; toss and let cool.
• Meanwhile, peel the carrot and cut into matchsticks. Cut the unpeeled cucumber lengthwise in half; discard seeds. Then cut cucumber into matchsticks. Slice peppers into matchsticks. Cut chives to match the length of the vegetables. All vegetables should be about the same length and thickness. Cut each nori sheet in half crosswise.
• To prepare sushi, hold the nori in one hand, shiny side down. Dip your free hand in a small bowl of water to prevent sticking. Using your wet hand, shape 1/4 cup rice into a ball and place on the left side of nori sheet. Spread the rice to a 1/4-inch thickness, leaving about a 1-inch border of nori on the sides. With your finger, make a crosswise "well" in the center of rice where vegetables will go.
• Place 1-2 sticks of each vegetable (carrot, cucumber, peppers, and chives) in the well and tightly press vegetables together. (Let kids pick combos of their favorites, but making colorful sushi is the goal!)
• To roll sushi, start with bottom left edge of the nori and bring it up on a diagonal to the center of the rice and vegetable. Start rolling the sushi to the right to create a cone shape, using your free hand to tuck it all together tightly. With your fingertip, place a drop of water on the outside bottom corner of the nori to hold the sushi together.
• Repeat steps 4-6 with remaining ingredients.
• Place sushi rolls on a platter and serve with low-sodium soy sauce for dipping, if you like.

Steps:

• Slice cucumber into wide, flat pieces and blot with a paper towel to dry.
• Lay cucumber slices flat on a work surface, slightly overlapping each piece. Place nori sheet on top and arrange bell pepper and carrot slices along the edge that is closest to you. Gently roll the sushi, slice into 6 pieces, and top with avocado slices.

Steps:

• Place a half sheet of nori horizontally in front of you on your mat. Place rice on left third of nori, leaving border of nori all around. Place filling ingredients vertically across middle of rice. Fold near corner of nori over to begin folding into cone shape. Continue to roll until cone is formed.
• Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce as condiments.
• Rinse rice in water until the water runs clear and then drain in a colander for 1 hour. Place the drained rice in a rice cooker or in a pot with a tight-fitting lid and add 4 cups water. Over medium heat, cover and bring the water to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes, reduce heat and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes, or until water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, remove lid, and place a towel over pot. Replace lid and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
• While the rice cooks, combine vinegar, sugar and remaining 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Heat over low temperatures, stirring, until sugar and salt dissolve. Let cool.
• Empty rice into a hangiri (or other nonmetallic) tub and spread it evenly over the bottom with a shamoji (or large wooden spoon). Run the spatula through the rice in slicing motions to separate the grains. While doing this, slowly add vinegar mixture. Add only as much as is necessary; the rice should not be mushy. If you have help, fan the rice with an uchiwa (fan) during the cooling and mixing procedures.
• Do not refrigerate the rice. Keep it in the tub covered with a clean cloth until ready to use. The rice will last one day.

Steps:

• For the rice:
• Mix together vinegar, sugar, and salt.
• Rinse the rice in colander and drain. Put the rice and water in medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered. (For a good seal wrap the pan's lid tightly with a small kitchen towel and cover the saucepan. Make sure the towel's edges are folded up well away from the heat.) Cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat (don't uncover) and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Fluff the rice with a fork and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the vinegar mixture and toss with the rice, using a wooden spoon. Spread it out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Fan the rice continuously with a fan or magazine until cooled. Cover the rice with a damp towel.
• To assemble rolls:
• Place the sushi mat with the slats running crosswise directly in front of you on a clean work space. Lay a sheet of nori shiny-side down and lined up with the closest edge of the mat. Lightly moisten fingers with water, and evenly press about 1/4 of the rice onto the nori, with 1 1/2-inches uncovered at the far edge. Line up the fillings about 1-inch from the closest near edge, evenly across the rice. Leave 1-inch of rice uncovered at the far edge.
• Beginning with the near edge of the mat, tightly roll up the nori, rice, and fillings into a cylinder. Firmly tug on the rounded mat over the roll as you pull on the far edge of the mat to tighten the roll. Open the mat, dab unsealed edge of nori with a bit of water and roll the sushi forward to seal. Transfer the sushi to a plate and cover with damp paper towels. Repeat with remaining rice and fillings.
• Cut each sushi roll, crosswise, into 8 pieces with a sharp wet knife.
• Serve with bowl of soy sauce for dipping.

Steps:

• Rinse rice well and bring to a boil with 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat to very low and simmer, tightly covered, until water is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let rice stand, covered, 10 minutes.
• While rice is standing, stir together vinegar and remaining teaspoon soy sauce.
• Transfer rice to a wide nonmetal bowl (preferably wood, ceramic, or glass) and sprinkle with vinegar mixture, tossing gently with a large spoon to combine. Cool rice, tossing occasionally, about 15 minutes.
• Stir together wasabi and remaining teaspoon water to form a stiff paste. Let stand at least 15 minutes (to allow flavors to develop).
• Place sushi mat on a work surface with slats running crosswise. Arrange 1 sheet nori, shiny side down, on mat, lining up a long edge of sheet with edge of mat nearest you. Using damp fingers, gently press half of rice (about 3/4 cup) onto nori in 1 layer, leaving a 1 3/4-inch border on side farthest from you.
• Arrange half of cucumber in an even strip horizontally across rice, starting 1 inch from side nearest you. (You may need to cut pieces to fit from side to side.) Arrange half of carrot just above cucumber in same manner. Peel avocado half and cut lengthwise into thin slices, then arrange half of slices just above carrot in same manner. Repeat with radish sprouts, letting some sprout tops extend beyond edge.
• Beginning with edge nearest you, lift mat up with your thumbs, holding filling in place with your fingers, and fold mat over filling so that upper and lower edges of rice meet, then squeeze gently but firmly along length of roll, tugging edge of mat farthest from you to tighten. (Nori border will still be flat on mat.) Open mat and roll log forward to seal with nori border. (Moisture from rice will seal roll.) Transfer roll, seam side down, to a cutting board. Make second log in same manner, then cut each log crosswise into 6 pieces with a wet thin-bladed knife. Serve with wasabi paste, soy sauce, and ginger.

Steps:

• In a small pot over medium heat, add the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and continue whisking until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove the pot from the heat.
• Add the cooked sushi rice to a large bowl and the cooked black rice to a separate medium bowl. Add ¾ of the rice vinegar mixture to the sushi rice and the remaining ¼ to the forbidden rice. Mix until the vinegar mixture is well distributed.
• Make the shiitake veggie roll: Heat the sesame oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Once the oil is simmering, add the shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, garlic powder, and pepper and cook for 6-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their juices and begin to crisp up.
• Place 1 sheet of nori over a bamboo sushi mat. Scoop 1 cup (230 g) of sushi rice on top of the nori. Fill a small bowl with water to dip your fingers into--this will prevent them from getting sticky when handling the rice. Using your fingers, spread the rice in an even layer over the nori, leaving a 1-inch (2-cm) border at the top to seal the roll.
• Over the bottom quarter of the nori, layer the spinach, cucumber, carrot, and shiitake mushrooms. Use your fingers to hold the vegetables in place while you begin to roll the nori. Squeeze the bamboo mat around the roll as you go to ensure a tight sushi roll. Transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board and cut it in half, then cut each half into quarters for a total of 8 sushi pieces.
• Make the sweet potato tempura roll: Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot until it reaches 375ºF (190ºC).
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper and mix well with a fork. Pour in the ice water and mix until incorporated--some lumps are okay. Drop the sweet potato sticks into the batter and toss with your fingers to ensure they are thoroughly coated.
• Transfer a few of the sweet potato sticks at a time to a spider and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until crispy, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
• Place 1 sheet of nori over a bamboo sushi mat. Scoop 1 cup (230 g) of sushi rice on top of the nori. Using your fingers, spread the rice in an even layer over the nori, leaving a 1-inch (2-cm) border at the top to seal the roll.
• Over the bottom quarter of the nori, layer the sweet potato tempura and avocado. Use your fingers to hold the vegetables in place while you begin to roll the nori. Squeeze the bamboo mat around the roll as you go to ensure a tight sushi roll. Transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board and cut it in half, then cut each half into quarters for a total of 8 sushi pieces.
• Make the avocado cucumber mango roll: Place 1 sheet of nori over a bamboo sushi mat. Scoop the forbidden rice on top of the nori. Using your fingers, spread the rice in an even layer over the nori, leaving a 1-inch (2-cm) border at the top to seal the roll.
• Over the bottom quarter of the nori, layer the avocado, cucumber, and mango. Use your fingers to hold the filling in place while you begin to roll the nori. Squeeze the bamboo mat around the roll as you go to ensure a tight sushi roll. Transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board and cut it in half, then cut each half into quarters for a total of 8 sushi pieces.
• Make the teriyaki tofu roll: Place 1 sheet of nori over a bamboo sushi mat. Scoop the remaining cup of sushi rice on top of the nori. Using your fingers, spread the rice in an even layer over the nori, leaving a 1-inch (2-cm) border at the top to seal the roll.
• Over the bottom quarter of the roll, layer the teriyaki tofu, red bell pepper, and carrot. Use your fingers to hold the filling in place while you begin to roll the nori. Squeeze the bamboo mat around the roll as you go to ensure a tight sushi roll. Transfer the sushi roll to a cutting board and cut it in half, then cut each half into quarters for a total of 8 sushi pieces.
• Serve the sushi with wasabi, pickled ginger, and soy sauce.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine rice and water; let stand for 30 minutes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes., Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved., Transfer rice to a large shallow bowl; drizzle with vinegar mixture. With a wooden paddle or spoon, stir rice with a slicing motion to cool slightly. Cover with a damp cloth to keep moist. (Rice mixture may be made up to 6 hours ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with a damp towel. Do not refrigerate.), Place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender., Place sushi mat on a work surface so mat rolls away from you; line with plastic wrap. Place 2/3 cup rice on plastic; with moistened fingers, press rice into an 8-in. square. Top with one nori sheet., Arrange a small amount of vegetables and avocado about 1-1/2 in. from bottom edge of nori sheet. Lifting bottom edge of the bamboo mat, roll up the rice mixture jelly-roll style, being sure to lift plastic from rice. Roll bamboo mat over sushi roll, pressing firmly, to make a more compact roll. When the roll is complete, tighten the roll to make more compact. Remove mat; cover roll and set aside. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make seven rolls., Cut each into six pieces. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

Steps:

• Prepare the sushi rice according to package instructions (I use a rice cooker - fool proof).
• Prepare your veggies while the rice is cooking.
• Once the rice is done put it in a bowl and season to taste with rice vinegar and sugar - the mixture should be pleasantly sweet and sour. Spread up the edges of the bowl to cool for a couple of minutes.
• Lay down a nori sheet on a rolling mat. Using a spoon dipped in water spread the rice (min. 1/2 in / 1.5 cm thick) on the nori leaving a strip of about 2 in / 5cm at the far side of the sheet facing away from you.
• Use a teaspoon to spread some plum sauce down the middle of the rice. Top with 1-2 slices of cucumber, carrots, avocado and green onion each depending on size of the veggies you cut (they need to spread all along the middle of the rice from end to end).
• Using your mat roll up the nori pressing down with your hands as you roll to keep the roll firm.
• Set the rolls on a plate with the bare strip of nori facing down. The moisture from the rice will seal the rolls. Let sit to firm up.
• Using a sharp knife cut the ends of the rolls and eat immediately ; )
• Cut the rest of the rolls into neat bite sized pieces and serve with the wasabi and pickled ginger and soy sauce for dipping - you may want to let your guests decide on how much wasabi to use, especially if they are French : ).