Raw Sushi (in the making)

Sushi going/gone raw.

The word maki means “roll” and if you put the nori and maki together you get rolls made with fried seaweeds. I thought some of you might be interested in how I make raw sushi at home and enjoy a great tasting snack or dinner. Sea vegetables are the best at providing mineral, calcium, B vitamins and lignans, all of which are antioxidants that protect us from disease and cancers. I’ve experimented over the last year on to make totally raw sushi and I’ve come up with some seriously good eats.

My ingredients are pretty much the same as that of a regular sushi rolls except mine are without meat and totally raw. I use avocado, carrots, sprouts and cucumbers.  No rice is used in my rolls because I have found two really great ways to make rolls without the rice, which is white rice and has little to no nutrient value. I wanted my rolls to be healthier and more nutritious than what one could buy out in a sushi restaurant.

Rice mixture#1:

1 ½ cups of peeled and dice turnips

½ cup pine nuts

2 teaspoons of rice vinegar (or substitute your own)

Process the ingredients together in a food blender until everything is a small uniform rice size mix. Add more vinegar if the mixture is too dry.

This is mock rice but works really well and most people wouldn’t know the difference. I have used other foods such as squash and jicama for the rice mixture. Experiment and have fun with different foods.

Rice mixture #2:

Couple handfuls of sprouts mixed with avocado to make a sticky mess. Combine to the two together so the avocado is thoroughly mixed with the sprouts. This is a tasty and very effective way to make mock rice.

Making to roll:

 On a dry surface, using a sushi mat or just your hands, spread a layer of your mock rice evenly over the seaweed sheet. Arrange some cucumbers (cut long and into thin strips), add in some carrots (cut the same way, long and in very thin strips0, and some avocado, cut into strips.

To make the actual roll, start at the edge closet to you. Lift the nori (seaweed sheet) up and begin to roll very tightly away from you. Repeat with the remaining sheets and mixtures. After you have made several and they have set, cut into 1 inch to 1 ½ inch pieces and enjoy with Braggs instead of soy sauce which will have less sodium than soy.

I eat them as fast I make them and love the process. Making my own is a fun thing I do for myself and I get pleasure from experimenting and finding what works and what doesn’t. The cool thing I’ve learned is that when I fail, I eat the evidence and no one knows. Pretty sweet failures!

To your health,

Bill