Tofu Rolls

Gee, it's been a long time, huh? Well, let's catch up. What's new with you? How was your week? What did you do on July 4th? And, most importantly, what have you been eating?

It's been an interesting week over here. I dyed my hair three times. I went on a long bike ride. I've been working on a scrapbook. And I made some sushi. Since the sushi is probably the most interesting part, let's talk about that.

I absolutely love vegan sushi. Actually, I've never had any other kind of sushi... what's raw fish like? The problem with being a vegetarian/vegan sushi lover is that sushi is really all about the fish. Sure, there are definitely some sushi places that have great non-fish options (if you live in Seatte, check out Kitaro in Wallingford). But, for most sushi places, vegetarian sushi is limited to avocado rolls.

This is why I embarked on a qwest to make my own sushi. I decided to start by making my favorite tofu rolls: tofu, avocado, and cucumber. Classic. I was feeling particularly lazy and added in plain, raw tofu. You can always bake yours and/or marinate it beforehand.

Making sushi is definitely an art, but it's not as challenging as I expected it to be. And, the good news for you is that if I can do it, you certainly can too. So, here's what you'll need to get started:

• a bamboo mat
• 1 cup sushi rice (I used Nishiki brand)
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbs seasoned rice vinegar
  
• nori strips
• 1 block of tofu
• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber
  

It doesn't take too much rice and fillings to make these sushi rolls so the ingredients above will make several batches.

Start by washing your rice. Add 1 cup of the rice to a pot and wash thoroughly. The water will initially be a milky white color, but keep rinsing until the water runs clear. Then add 2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Next, lower the heat and let it simmer until the rice is done. (You can also use a rice cooker.)

When rice is done, put it in a separate bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon of seasoned rice vinegar. Place a damp towel over the bowl to keep it moist.

Prepare the fillings. Start by cutting off the ends of the cucumer and then slicing it into quarters. Remove the seeds and then slice each quarter into thin strips. Cut open the avocado and remove the pit. Peel off the skin and slice the avocado into thin strips. Slice your tofu block into thin strips as well.

Grab your bamboo mat and lay your nori sheet on top of it. Cover the nori with a thin layer of the rice. This should cover about 2/3 of the sheet.


The next step is to flip the nori sheet over. A handy trick is to put a layer of plastic wrap between the nori sheet and the bamboo mat so that the rice does not stick to the bamboo mat. I forgot to do this step, but it makes a difference!

You will then add your fillings. Make sure that you are putting these on the end of the nori that does not have rice on the other side. It doesn't take too much to fill these rolls up, so a few strips of avocado, tofu, and cucmber should be enough.


Now you're ready to roll! Take your mat and begin to roll the nori starting at the end where your fillings are.


Continue to roll.


Your finished product will look something like this. If you used a plastic sheet, your roll will be wrapped in plastic and your mat will not be covered in rice!


Slice your sushi into individual rolls. If you used a plastic sheet, make sure to remove this prior to slicing.


Put on a plate and serve!