My celiac diagnosis nearly two years ago changed quite a few things about my life. Of course it meant changing my approach to sandwiches and rolls and all of that, but it had some unanticipated impacts as well. Some things are just not very safe or satisfactory for people with celiac disease to get at restaurants. In my experience, one of the most prominent of these was sushi. Although it seems as if sushi would be a safe bet (all that rice, right!?!) there are lots of places for gluten to hide, such as in some vinegars, soy sauce, and tempura batter. The upshot of this realization, coupled with my determination to continue eating sushi, was that I learned how to make sushi rolls. Rolling sushi is a bit of a project, but it is fun and quite a lot less expensive than going out to eat.
It is also a good way to use up some left-overs, like chicken and already sliced cabbage, for instance. By keeping a few things on hand and augmenting them with the aforesaid left-overs, you can make delectable sushi just about anytime you get the craving! The following recipe seems long, but it is separated into stages and similar ingredient groups. Once you get rolling, sushi is really very easy. The preparation of all of the pieces is the difficult part. This takes over an hour to put together and serves six or so very comfortably. You should sharpen your best knife before you begin.
- 4 rice cooker cups /3 cups calrose rice
- 1 3-inch piece kombu
- Measure the rice into the cooking vessel. Cover with water and stir through the rice with your fingers. Pour the cloudy water off the top of the rice. Repeat until the water is translucent. Allow the rice to sit for an half hour. Place the kombu on top of the rice and add the additional water as indicated by the rice cooker or package instructions. Cook with rice cooker settings or for approximately 20 minutes (covered) on the stovetop.
- 1/2 package firm tofu
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon siracha
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Cut the tofu into 1/2-nch slices and drain slices for 10 minutes on absorbent towel. Whisk remaining ingredients together. Cut tofu into slices into 1/2-inch sticks and place in a 8×8-inch baking pan. Pour sauce over the tofu and bake for 30 minutes. Reserve the sauce.
- 2 cooked chicken drumsticks/thighs
- 3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Cut the chicken into 1/4-inch thick strips. Combine sauces and spice and toss with chicken. Set aside.
- 1/4 of a purple cabbage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 6 shiitake mushroom caps, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- Place a steamer into a large saucepan with 1 inch water in the bottom. Place vegetables in separate sections on the steamer and steam for two minutes. Remove from the steamer and place the vegetables in separate containers in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them.
- 8 oz imitation crab
- Soft smoked salmon
- 1 medium cucumber, sliced into 1/4-inch sticks
- 1 large avocado, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
- 2 oz cream cheese, cut into 1/4-inch square strips
- Furitake seasoning
- 1 small bunch chives
- 6-7 Roasted nori sheets
- Japanese mayonnaise
- Bamboo sushi rolling mat
- Bowl of warm water
- Damp towel
- Prepare all of the pieces and have them ready to use as you need them.
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 large shallow bowl, preferably wooden
- 1 8×8-inch piece of cardboard or other stiff material
- Place in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl. Mix to combine and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar and salt. Keep warm.
- When the rice is finished, place it in a large shallow bowl (preferably a wooden bowl, such as a salad bowl). Pour the hot vinegar over the rice. Fold the rice over and cut through using a rice paddle or large spoon. Fan the rice as constantly as possible. Repeat until the rice cools.
- 4 teaspoons wasabi powder
- 4 teaspoons water
- Whisk these together and invert the dish to make sure the mustard is not too runny. If it is, add a bit of additional wasabi powder. If it is to crumbly, add a bit of additional water.
You are ready to roll! To begin, place a sheet of the nori on top of the bamboo rolling mat so that you can see an edge of bamboo around the sides of the nori. Place approximately 1 cup of rice on the nori and spread it out to cover the nori, leaving a 1/4-inch margin at the top of the sheet (furthest away from you).
Smear a light layer of wasabi on the bottom edge of the rice (the one closest to you).
Place lines of your desired filling on the bottom of the rice next to one another. Three fillings is an optimal amount. Much more gets really unwieldy to eat.
Take up the bottom edge of the bamboo and roll so that the bottom edge of nori touches the rice and the filling is enclosed in the rice. Squeeze lightly but firmly with your hands all along the bamboo mat. Continue to roll and squeeze until the roll is finished. I like to cut my rolls in half then divide the halves into equally sized pieces of sushi roll, but this is just my preference and you can cut them any way you like. Following are some good roll combinations:
- Cucumber, cream cheese, tofu, drizzled with soy sauce mixture the tofu braised in
- Avocado, carrot, mushroom, sprinkled with furitake seasoning
- Crab, avocado, Japanese mayonnaise, drizzled with additional Japanese mayonnaise
- Smoked salmon, cream cheese, chives, cucumber
- Chicken, cabbage, chives
- Mushroom, tofu, chives
- What did you come up with?
Serve the rolls with soy sauce and remaining wasabi.
