Are you intimidated by the thought of making sushi at home!? Don't be!!
It's actually quite simple once you get the hang of it!
Hand-rolled sushi is a precious art of the culinary world, especially in Asian cuisines. Sushi chefs are well-respected and are highly revered! I 100% respect the work that they do, however the price of sushi simply does not sit well with my budget. The average sushi roll can cost around $10 per roll.
As a consumer you are typically paying the labor cost for this person to roll your dinner together, instead of the actual cost of the ingredients- this is not necessarily true if you are getting sashimi or fancy sushi rolls though!
However, I prefer vegan/vegetarian rolls so I simply don't understand why I'm paying the same price for vegetables...
Become your own sushi chef at home with this simple, plant-based tempura roll. (You can always improve upon these basic skills and add sashimi later on if you'd like!) These techniques, with a little practice, can make eating sushi much more affordable and can make a date night more interesting if you both get involved in the creation process :)
Sweet Potato Tempura Sushi Recipe:
Yield: 4 Servings- 8 Sushi Rolls
Cook Time: 1 Hr
Ingredients:
- 8 Nori Seaweed Sheets
- 2 Cups Sushi Rice or Short Grain Rice
- 2 ½ Cups Water
- 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
- 2 tsp White Sugar or Raw Sugar
- 2 Small Sweet Potatoes, Batonnet
(Cut like French Fries + Shavings for Topping)
- 1 Tbsp Sea Salt
- Tempura Batter Mix or Homemade:
o 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
o 2 Tbsp Corn Starch
o 2 tsp Sea Salt
o 3 Cups Club Soda or Seltzer
- 2 Cups Sunflower Oil or Canola Oil for Frying
- 6 oz Teriyaki Glaze or Sauce
- Black Sesame Seeds + White Sesame Seeds
- Soy Sauce (Optional)
Directions:
1. First, gather all your ingredients together. Measure out rice, rinse until the rice water is clear, and then add to a rice cooker with 2 ½ cups water. You can also cook in a pot over medium heat with the lid on for about 20-25 minutes. (I prefer using my rice cooker for perfect rice!)
2. Let the sushi rice cool down on a sheet tray with parchment paper. While cooling, rinse, peel, and slice sweet potatoes into French fries- making sure to reserve 1/3 of one of the potatoes to shave with a vegetable peeler as a delicious garnish.
3. In a small bowl, add rice wine vinegar and white sugar together and mix. Transfer the cooled sushi rice to a wooden bowl. Sprinkle vinegar mixture over the cooled sushi rice and mix a few times to fully incorporate together.
4. Next, heat 2 cups of oi for frying in a small pot. While the oil is heating up to 350F, prepare the tempura batter. Dip sweet potatoes fries into the batter and fry in batches (about 3-4 batches overall). They are finished frying when they start to float to the top and are turning a golden-brown color.
5. Remove from the hot oil with a “spider” or metal spoon. Lay on a cooling rack with paper towels and sprinkle sea salt over the top. Repeat process with the sweet potato shavings for garnish.
6. Let the fried sweet potatoes cool slightly to the touch. If you have a sushi mat- this is helpful for the next step, however you can create a “mat” using plastic wrap to help roll sushi into rolls.
7. To roll sushi rolls, use a rolling mat covered with plastic wrap. Next, place rice onto the matte/textured side of the nori sheet, leaving one inch of room that is rice-free, pat the rice carefully on the nori. Place tempura fried sweet potato in the center and start to roll the sushi.
8. With the rice-free side in front of you, roll away from you, tucking the nori tightly into a roll/log. Repeat process until you have desired amount of sushi rolls.
9. Top sushi rolls with teriyaki sauce or glaze. Serve with soy sauce if desired and sprinkle black sesame seeds on top for an added crunch factor. Enjoy!
Tips/Tricks:
- The rice can get sticky when placing onto the roll, use a small dish filled with water and a tiny splash of rice wine vinegar to keep the rice from sticking to your fingers.
- If your sushi rolls won’t stay rolled, you can seal them also using some rice wine vinegar + sugar water.
Click Link Below For Recipe PDF:
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