I made some sushi today (Alton Brown’s rice method is dead simple and perfect), just the standard spicy (fake) tuna roll, spicy and non-spicy versions of a Cali roll with fake crab and chayote instead of avo (sorry, Sherri), and random veggie roll (cheap bag o’ broccoli slaw makes an excellent, crunchy mix) with tofu, plus a couple of the above with brown rice. And some of it was good. One of the Cali rolls was very tasty. But I found myself wanting something more… weird.
Tonight I did a lot of searching, finding things like Tex Wasabi’s weird and gringo-friendly sushi (sans nori) and Hawaiian Spam sushi. That got me thinking, and I made a couple super-simple experimental rolls.
Roll 1: vegan ham (seitan), mayo, and broc slaw mix
Roll 2: breaded vegan chicken patty, mayo, veggie ham, and broc slaw mix
Both were super tasty, particularly after I toasted the nori in the toaster oven for 20 seconds. And I could almost hear the graves of the ancient sushi chefs vibrating as their occupants spun crazily. My sushioija board spelled Breaded vegan chicken patty — on SUSHI?!
But I don’t care. I’m all into non-traditional sushi, now, plus twisting some American classics. For example, I’m thinking I might try a mock Philly roll with Tofutti cream cheese and veggie ham in place of the smoked salmon.
Isa has some interesting sushi ideas on her site, including the “Elephant Roll” with oily peanuts, which sounds fantastic! I’m betting Trader Joe’s blister peanuts would be perfect, though maybe too crunchy.
So I put this question to the other clubbers and our non-existent outside readers: what other supremely non-traditional ingredients would be good inside a sushi roll?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So I just came across your blog from the ppk, and it’s neat, and just random sushi ideas i’ve done in the past – philly roll with tofutti cream cheese and smoked tofu (works really well!) annd i usually do a curried tofu with apple sushi. also, wasabi flavoured veganaise is really tasty inside a roll of veggies and tofu!
Love the curried tofu & apple sushi idea, that just sounds delicious! Sounds like the makings of a great, chilled rice salad too… hmmm… Oooh, the wasabi Veganaise would be tasty. I have done Veganaise & Siracha mixed together to replace the spicy sauce that often would be used on a spicy rolls.