Two Light Sushi Recipes
Sushi can be a perfect light snack, or a special occasion for a dinner with company. The sushi we eat today, like so many other recipes, does not have very much in common with the original dish. Each person that has prepared it, has created it in their own particular way. Sushi has its roots in Japan, as was originally fish wrapped in fermented rice, with an acidic taste. The rice was thrown away, and just the fish was eaten because of its particular protein taste that this method of preparation created. However, a lot of occidental palates would have a hard time recognizing that dish as the sushi we know and love today. One might not even like it.
Today, the popularized version has several ways of being prepared, and the only rule is that the rice is always cooked. The rice has rice vinegar added to it, and they could be rolled with some sort of type of filling, which generally contains fish or sea food, sometimes raw. Seaweed and other vegetables are also added to it, and they could also be completely vegetarian. Some people have even created a more hyper-caloric version of sushi by adding steak, bacon, cream cheese, bread, etc., to it. As fun as these may sound, we are going to focus here on light and easy versions of sushi to prepare, and I hope you like them. Although they will still be westernized, they won’t be too different from your local sushi menu favorites.
Smoked salmon, mango and avocado roll
Ingredients
- One packet of nori seaweed sheets
- 1 ½ c. calrose, or some other short grain rice
- 3 Tbsp. vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- Salt to taste
- 125 grams smoked salmon
- 1 mango
- 1 avocado
- 1 cucumber
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. diced green onion
- One sushi roller
Directions
- Cook the rice with a bit of salt. Once done cooking, place on a pan and spread out.
- Mix the rice vinegar with the sugar and a bit of salt, and sprinkle over the rice. Use a wooden spoon to blend the ingredients. You can use a fan to help cool the rice.
- Cut the mango, cucumber, avocado and salmon into slices.
- Place a sheet of seaweed paper on the sushi roller, and then place a thin layer of rice on ¾ of the surface of it. Lightly press down on the rice to create a solid layer.
- Halfway down the rice, place the salmon, avocado, mango and cucumber strips. Roll by pressing uniformly against the roller. On the end that does not have any rice, moisten the seaweed to help better close the roll. Cut the sushi with a sharpened and moist knife, into slices.
- Mix the soy sauce with the green onion and use as a dressing for the rolls.
Vegetarian Roll
Ingredients
- 1 Package of nori seaweed paper
- 1 ½ c. calrose, or some other short grain rice
- 3 Tbsp. vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- Salt to taste
- 1 red pepper
- 1 c. mushrooms, sliced
- 1 avocado
- 1 cucumber
- Rice vinegar
- ¼ toasted sesame seeds
- Soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. diced green onion
- 1 Tbsp. serrano peppers, sliced
- 1 fan
- 1 sushi roller
Directions
- Cook the rice with a bit of salt. Once finished cooking, spread out over a pan.
- Mix the rice vinegar with the sugar and a bit of salt, and sprinkle into the rice. Mix using a wooden spoon, while the fan cools off the rice.
- Cut the pepper and cucumber into slices, along with the avocado.
- Use the sushi roller to roll the sushi by place half of one seaweed paper on it. Spread a thin layer of rice to cover the surface of it, and sprinkle the sesame seeds over top. Lightly press the rice to create a solid layer. Once finished, turn the sheet over so that the rice is facing down and the filling ingredients will be spread on top of the seaweed paper.
- In the center of the seaweed sheet, place the mushrooms, pepper, avocado and cucumber. Roll using the roller, pressing the roll uniformly. Cut the sushi with a sharpened and moist knife.
- Mix the soy sauce, green onion and serrano peppers. Use this as a dressing for the rolls.