recipe: vegetarian sushi (this time with recipe!)

Kyle had a craving for sushi so we're making it again, just one week after the first time. And it was just as good this time around! I'm actually writing out the full recipe this time, mostly because we finished our package of nori that has the instructions... and I want a permanent record ;)

These instructions are based on what we made tonight.

Vegetarian Sushi
Ease: 4 not very easy (well, it's a bit complicated at first but it gets easy with practice!)
Time: 4 somewhat time consuming (rice preparation, filling preparation, and rolling all take a while)
Ingredients: can be tricky to obtain
Source: general instructions were on the back of our nori package, Yaki Sushi Nori, which be bought from the International Food Market on Wyandotte. Our ideas for the fillings came from previous experience with sushi restaurants.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 a block of tofu
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp tempura sauce
• 1/2 tsp hot chili oil
• enough water to cover tofu
• 2 cups sushi rice (we bought ours at International Food Market)
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp cooking sherry (our instructions call for Mirin, Japanese Sweet Rice Wine)
• 1 pc Kombu (dried kelp - we omitted this because we didn't know what it was)
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2.5 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• nori
• 1 avocado
• ~ 1/3 - 1/2 of a cucumber
• 1 carrot
• Special Equipment: sushi rolling mat

Directions:

1. Cut and marinate tofu: Mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, tempura sauce, and chili oil (or whatever sauces you'd prefer to use for your marinade). Cut the tofu into long strips about 1/3" x 1/3" x the longest dimension you can get. Add the tofu to the marinade and then add enough water to bring the marinade up and cover the tofu. Set aside.



2. Cook rice: Rinse rice in cold water several times until water runs clear. Add the measured water, the sherry, and the Kombu (if you're using it) to the rice and let sit for 30 minutes. If you're using Kombu, remove the Kombu before cooking the rice. Next, cook the rice until done (we used an electric rice cooker so just pressed "on" and it was done when it popped up). Once finished, remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes. Then fluff with wooden spoon.
3. Prepare sushi vinegar: While rice is cooking, mix together the rice wine vinegar, the sugar, and the salt. Warm in the microwave for 20 seconds to help dissolve everything.
4. Prepare fillings: While rice is cooking, prepare the fillings (except the avocado - leave that until last) Tofu: Sauté the tofu in a bit of oil and about half the sauce. Turn down the heat and let the rest of the sauce boil off. Carrot: Using a potato peeler, create long strips of carrot. Avocado and cucumber: Peel & remove seeds from cucumber, then cut into long matchstick-like strips. Cut the avocado the same way.
   
5. Prepare rice: After rice has been fluffed, spread it in a shallow pan and sprinkle the sushi vinegar over the rice. Toss with a wooden spoon so that the vinegar is evenly absorbed. Apparently using a fan at this point helps cool the rice to handling temperature and prevents sticky rice. Now you're ready to roll :)



6. Make maki sushi! Place one sheet of nori on a rolling mat. Moisten fingers and spread rice evenly over bottom 2/3 of nori sheet. I prefer small sushi pieces, so I usually only use about 1/2 cup of rice, which makes a layer about 1/3" thick (but with lots of holes that I can still see the nor through). Make a long indentation across the rice, about 1/3 of the way up the nori (so it splits the rice layer in half - top and bottom). Fill this indent with your ingredients (see below for flavour combos). Lift the mat over and tuck it around the fillings, squeezing a bit to compress the rice. Then continue rolling while releasing the mat as you go. (at this point, Kyle feels the need to give his whole roll a good squeeze. I found that mine worked well enough that I didn't need the extra squeeze. You'll find a technique that works for you).
   
7. Cool them: I put the "sushi logs" in the fridge for at least about 45 minutes, because I prefer them a bit cooled and it makes them easier to cut.
   
8. Cut them: Then, you cut your sushi into pieces of your desired size.
   
9. Serve with soy sauce, ginger, and wasabi. Mmm wasabi.
   

Serving size: This last batch made 10 thin logs of sushi, each log making up to 12 small pieces (like, really small pieces). For example, this photos below shows the sushi made from 4 logs.

Sesame Tofu

(Originally emailed March 19, 2008.)

I stumbled across this recipe online and Kyle and I loved it when we first had it. It was a little overpoweringly sweet, so we've reduced the amount of honey in it. Also, serving it over more rice helps cut the sweetness. It's very quick and simple, which I like. It's also pretty healthy if you serve with broccoli and brown rice. Tip: If you're serving it with rice (and I suggest you do), make sure to start the rice just before or right after you start pressing the tofu, or your tofu and sauce will be done and your rice won't (this is especially true with brown rice)!

Photo: Sesame Tofu with broccoli and brown rice
Sesame Tofu
Effort: very easy and pretty quick too!
Ingredients: Easy
Source: Jewish Vegan and Whole Foods Market

Serve with steamed bok choy or broccoli, sautéed watercress or eggplant, and brown rice.
Note: this is the original recipe. Try it out and then decide how to tweak it for yourself (e.g. we use less honey)

• 14 ounces / 1 block extra-firm tofu
  
• 1/4 cup cornstarch or flour for dusting
  canola or corn oil for frying
  
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
  
• 3 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces \
  
  Sauce
  
• 1/3 cup honey (we reduced it to about 3 tbsp)
  
• 3 tablespoons tamari
  
• 3 tablespoons finely minced ginger
  
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (not toasted)
  
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  
• 2 cloves finely minced garlic
  
• 1–2 teaspoons red chili flakes

1. Wrap tofu with paper towels and place on a cutting board. Put another cutting board or heavy plate on top to press out liquid about 20 minutes.
   
2. Stir together sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer sauce while you cook tofu.
   
3. Dry drained tofu with paper towels and cube. Dust very lightly with corn starch or flour.
   
4. Heat <1cm>
5. Serve with remaining sauce for dipping or to drizzle over vegetables.
   

Pad Thai

I lurve this recipe. It's so easy and so tasty. It's also one of the "gateway" recipes I used to make Kyle kind-of-sort-of like cilantro. In reply to my email I was asked a few questions (is there something you can substitute for the ketchup? can you omit the cilantro? what other veggies would you add?), and I have since modified the recipe to include some of the suggestions. The original recipe did not have tofu or red pepper. Here are my answers, based on the original email:
"Don't omit the ketchup. The sauce doesn't end up tasting like ketchup, so don't worry. Cilantro is not necessary if you hate it. However, Kyle hates hates cilantro and I added about 1/8 of a cup really finely chopped and he was OK with it. I think it makes it better because the cilantro is cooked a bit. But if you hate cilantro, then no point in buying it, right. I wouldn't add other veggies... pad thai is usually pretty simple. Maybe some chopped red pepper. And I"d probably add protein next time by frying up some tofu, chopped into small cubes... right now it's pretty protein poor. If you're not into tofu yet, this is an OK way to cook it to start getting used to it: Chop it up until small cubes - about 1-2cm on each side. Marinate it in a little bit of soy sauce, garlic, ginger and veg broth for as many hours as you can. Then dump the tofu (sans soy sauce) into a frying pan with sesame oil.. Fry the tofu until it's brown and crispy (this might take a while). Then add it to the pad thai in the last step when you're adding everything else. Even people who don't really like tofu tend to like it when it's prepared that way."

Pad Thai
Effort: med-easy
Ingredients: pretty common (rice vinegar and rice noodles would be the only difficulty)
Cookbook: I can't remember where I found this recipe, and I've made modifications anyhoo

8 oz rice noodles, uncooked (I just used one package of rice noodles)
1 block tofu, cubed (1/2 " cubes work well)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp each reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp + tsp sesame oil, divided (+ extra for sprinkling)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup diced red onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup bean sprouts (i usually omit these and it still tastes good)
1/2 cup grated carrots (i usually add more than this)
1 red pepper, chopped into med-small dice
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

- If you are can plan ahead, chop tofu and then marinate it in a bit if soy sauce, garlic, and lime juice for several hours (or overnight).
- Cook noodles according to package directions (usually this involves pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit for 3 minutes). Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Sprinkle with sesame oil to help prevent sticking. Set aside.
- Saute tofu over med-high heat in 1 tbsp sesame (or chili) oil until it starts to take on some brown colour. Set aside.
- To makes sauce, combine ketchup, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat veg oil in a large, non-stick wok or skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook and stir until onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add the tofu plus all of the vegetables (bean spouts, carrots, green onions, red pepper and cilantro). Mix well. Add noodles, mix, and cook until noodles are heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle individual servings with chopped peanuts.