Mango-Pear Sushi with Pomegranate-Blueberry Wasabi

I have ALWAYS wanted to make fruit sushi. Why haven't I until now? Well.. I have no idea! *laughs* But you know, it was well worth the wait. Definitely something I'm going to make again. I made this wonderful fruit sushi for a dinner party, and OH BOY did it go over well! A friend of mine said she had never eaten so much in one sitting. ;)

This is sort of considered a dessert, because of the fruit, but the rice isn't sweet at all. If you like, feel free to add some sugar to the mix. I ended up having some rice left over (because I always make extra rice) so I made some fruit onigiri with banana, mango, and apple, and I can honestly say that I would never get tired of it! I really do love just about any sort of Japanese food, even if it's fusion vegan-geekery! :D

Mango-Pear Sushi with Pomegranate-Blueberry Wasabi

2 cups prepared sushi rice (I added some shredded coconut into the rice pre-cooking)
1 mango, sliced into thin strips
1 pear, sliced into thin strips
1 banana, mashed
1 apple, shredded
2 peeled cucumbers

Using a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer, shave long, flat strips of cucumber, and discard the seedy insides.
Lay out the cucumber strips vertically on a bamboo mat, overlapping them to make a continuous sheet (this will replace for the usual sushi nori). Pat dry.
Press about 1/2 cup of sushi rice onto the bottom half of the cucumber sheet, making sure to press the rice all the way out to the ends. Smear out a spoon of mashed banana onto the rice, then add a few slices of pear, mango, and some of the shredded apple.
Using the bamboo mat, roll up your sushi. Try to keep all of the fillings in the center of the rice. Get it as tight as you can, then using a very sharp knife, cut into 1" to 1 1/2" rounds.
Garnish with pickled ginger and Pomegranate Blueberry wasabi dipping sauce (see below).

Pomegranate Blueberry Wasabi
1 tbsp. Wasabi powder (available at most Asian markets)
1/4 cup Pomegranate Blueberry juice
1 tsp. Tamari

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together with a fork until well incorporated. If you can only find wasabi paste, just double the amount of wasabi, and you're good to go! :) (I didn't show the wasabi in the picture because the color didn't photograph well. Tastes great though!)

Onigiri with Mushroom and Red Pepper

So, by now I'm sure you've figured out that when it comes to food, I tend to not play by the rules. This time is really no exception. :)



Traditionally, Onigiri is filled with salmon, or pickled vegetables. I had a hankering for mushrooms and red pepper though, so I filled my fun rice triangles with them instead! I made a pretty large batch for a potluck (cooking 6 cups of sushi rice for about 24 of these puppies) so I'll round down a bit.

First, you'll need to start your sushi rice. I used the About.com recipe, found here. Those amounts should make about 12 onigiri, depending on size.

While the rice is cooking, you'll need to marinate your mushrooms. I used dried shiitakes. You can use fresh, or other mushrooms if you like, but I really enjoy the extra earthiness dried shiitake mushrooms have. I just tossed this all together without measuring, so it's really all about your particular tastes.

2 cups of dried shiitake mushrooms, broken up, in a large bowl
2-3 Tb wheat-free Tamari
1 Tb fresh ground garlic
1 Tb fresh ground ginger
2 Tb sweet red pepper sauce (can be found in any asian market)
Two generous splashes white wine
A splash of red cooking wine (asian market as well, with salt added)
A drizzle of rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4-1/2 cup of water

Mix everything together except the water, making sure to coat the mushrooms as much as possible. Taste the marinade, and if it tastes good to you, add the water. Just enough water to make it a functional marinade. You don't need to cover the mushrooms with water; you'll lose flavour if there's too much water, and they'll float anyway. ;) Once the marinade has set in (about 10-15min), squeeze most of the marinade out of the mushrooms, reserving the liquid, and chop the mushrooms into small pieces. (I just did this while the pepper was frying.)

Next, prepare the red pepper.

1 red pepper, diced small
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp coconut oil (optional, but I really love the slightly sweet creamy flavour)
1 Tb black sesame seeds

Heat a small pot to medium high, and melt your coconut oil with the sesame oil. Throw in the pepper, stirring occasionally. After the pepper has softened a bit, add your mushrooms and black sesame seeds. Once it's back up to the proper heat, add the marinade in splashes to keep everything moist. If the liquid evaporates too quickly, turn the heat down a bit. Once most of the liquid is cooked out, turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

Once your filling has cooled enough to touch, you can stuff your onigiri! I used a triangle mold, which my room mate was awesome enough to have in-stock. They're very inexpensive, and can be found here.
I also found a great tutorial on how to make onigiri without a mold!

Instead of covering these beauties in nori sheets, I decided to sprinkle the top with my Hemp Seed Furikake. Also, no Japanese rice dish is complete (IMO) without wasabi and pickled ginger! :)

I love the way they compliment sushi rice.

Needless to say, they were a hit! I love how they have a bit of mystery as to what's inside. Also, the slight sweetness of the marinade blends well with the softness of the rice. It was a very nice blend.


Enjoy!

Hemp seed Furikake

I've been eating a lot of rice lately because of stomach issues (read: free pizza, oy!) and looked around the local asian market for some vegan Furikake with no MSG. Usually I can find this, but our market here doesn't seem to have it. C'est la vie. So I rummaged around my cupboards and made up this recipe instead.


Hemp Seed Furikake

5 sheets of nori, ground into a rough powder in the blender
Equal parts:
Black sesame seeds
Raw hemp seeds

Toss all ingredients into a pint jar, and shake vigorously until evenly mixed. (It helps to do a little dance and jump around a bit!)


I'm LOVING this mix. Salt-free, sugar-free, but full of flavour! Plus, you get a punch of nutrition from all sides. The hemp seeds particularly. You can it sprinkle on rice, salads (yum!), soups, noodle dishes, veggies - well, pretty much anything! :) Best of all, it's shelf-stable.


Blessings!
~L