Shortcut Sushi
By Nancy Eisman
Food bowls are appearing on restaurant menus everywhere, with fun names (Bollywood Bowl, Beantown Bowl) and interesting ingredients. Filled with delicious, healthy, and colorful items, and often providing a culinary journey to an exotic destination in a beautiful bowl, it’s no wonder they are really popular right now.
This recipe takes its inspiration from the bowl phenomenon, and takes its components and concept from traditional sushi, with just a few exceptions. No fish here, which doesn’t technically matter because sushi by definition is cooked, vinegared rice combined with other ingredients. And if it just isn’t sushi to you unless there’s something fishy included, here’s where roasted nori (seaweed) comes in to make this plant-based and make your mouth happy at the same time. (I used teriyaki flavored nori and it’s extra tasty in this recipe.)
Many of our favorite recipes are just as delicious and almost always healthier when we stick with plant-based ingredients, especially recipes that feature fresh vegetables, herbs, and grains. In this recipe, replacing white rice with a mixture of quinoa and cauliflower “rice” will give you extra nutrition and the texture and fiber you need to feel satisfied.
In fact, the very clever Japanese already invented the sushi bowl, called Edomae Chirashizushi. Also known as scattered sushi, it’s a bowl of sushi rice topped with uncooked, artfully arranged ingredients – just the way I like to “cook”. Instead of making sushi rolls, that require a special tool or two, along with patience and a certain dexterity, this recipe is pretty quick, simple, and also easy to customize depending on who is at your table.
I just finished a bowl of this shortcut sushi and must say it’s super good exactly as is, but as always feel free to change it up to your personal liking. Either way, this colorful, nutritious and delicious recipe will have you asking yourself - why would you roll when you can bowl?
Shortcut Sushi in a Bowl
Dressing:
¼ cup Tamari or Soy Sauce
¼ cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1½ Tablespoons Grated Horseradish or Wasabi Paste
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Arugula
⅓ cup Cilantro
2 tablespoons Fresh Ginger, grated
“Rice”:
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
3 cups Cauliflower Florets
½ cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
Toppings:
¾ cup Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
¾ cup Carrots, diced
¾ cup Mini Cucumbers, diced
¾ cup Radishes, diced
¾ cup Pickled Red Onion, ½ Chives or Nira Grass, chopped
1 cup Roasted Seaweed (Nori), cut into strips
1 cup Hawaiian-Style Tofu, diced (optional)
1½ tablespoons Chia Seeds
To make the dressing, combine the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
To make the “rice” place 3 cups of cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until completely crumbled. Set aside. Put 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook about 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Turn off the heat. Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. Add the crumbled cauliflower to the quinoa and stir to combine. Pour ½ cup seasoned rice vinegar over the mixture and stir again. Set aside to cool.
Put the “rice” into a bowl. Add toppings. Drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle with chia seeds.
Food bowls are appearing on restaurant menus everywhere, with fun names (Bollywood Bowl, Beantown Bowl) and interesting ingredients. Filled with delicious, healthy, and colorful items, and often providing a culinary journey to an exotic destination in a beautiful bowl, it’s no wonder they are really popular right now.
This recipe takes its inspiration from the bowl phenomenon, and takes its components and concept from traditional sushi, with just a few exceptions. No fish here, which doesn’t technically matter because sushi by definition is cooked, vinegared rice combined with other ingredients. And if it just isn’t sushi to you unless there’s something fishy included, here’s where roasted nori (seaweed) comes in to make this plant-based and make your mouth happy at the same time. (I used teriyaki flavored nori and it’s extra tasty in this recipe.)
Many of our favorite recipes are just as delicious and almost always healthier when we stick with plant-based ingredients, especially recipes that feature fresh vegetables, herbs, and grains. In this recipe, replacing white rice with a mixture of quinoa and cauliflower “rice” will give you extra nutrition and the texture and fiber you need to feel satisfied.
In fact, the very clever Japanese already invented the sushi bowl, called Edomae Chirashizushi. Also known as scattered sushi, it’s a bowl of sushi rice topped with uncooked, artfully arranged ingredients – just the way I like to “cook”. Instead of making sushi rolls, that require a special tool or two, along with patience and a certain dexterity, this recipe is pretty quick, simple, and also easy to customize depending on who is at your table.
I just finished a bowl of this shortcut sushi and must say it’s super good exactly as is, but as always feel free to change it up to your personal liking. Either way, this colorful, nutritious and delicious recipe will have you asking yourself - why would you roll when you can bowl?
Shortcut Sushi in a Bowl
Dressing:
¼ cup Tamari or Soy Sauce
¼ cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1½ Tablespoons Grated Horseradish or Wasabi Paste
¼ cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Arugula
⅓ cup Cilantro
2 tablespoons Fresh Ginger, grated
“Rice”:
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups Water
3 cups Cauliflower Florets
½ cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
Toppings:
¾ cup Yellow Bell Pepper, diced
¾ cup Carrots, diced
¾ cup Mini Cucumbers, diced
¾ cup Radishes, diced
¾ cup Pickled Red Onion, ½ Chives or Nira Grass, chopped
1 cup Roasted Seaweed (Nori), cut into strips
1 cup Hawaiian-Style Tofu, diced (optional)
1½ tablespoons Chia Seeds
To make the dressing, combine the dressing ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
To make the “rice” place 3 cups of cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until completely crumbled. Set aside. Put 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook about 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Turn off the heat. Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork. Add the crumbled cauliflower to the quinoa and stir to combine. Pour ½ cup seasoned rice vinegar over the mixture and stir again. Set aside to cool.
Put the “rice” into a bowl. Add toppings. Drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle with chia seeds.
