I used to work at a place that makes deconstructed sushi in a bowl, which are poke bowls. With sushi you can make rolls with different kinds of flavors and vegetables. Sushi is naturally GF if you don’t add any wheat products like tempera to it. Many people are gluten free so having sushi as an option is amazing! Sushi is my favorite type of dishes & can’t wait to share the recipe with you guys!

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Nori sheets health benefits

• Vitamin B12
• Iodine
• Unsaturated Fatty Acids
• Amino Acids.

Ingredients for Vegan Spicy Mayo

This vegan tofu sushi roll is an imitation of a spicy crab roll, or a California roll. If spicy doesn’t sit with you too well, you can also make the mild mayo instead of the spicy mayo which is only adding 1 tbsp. of sriracha, instead of 1/4 cup. You may adjust the sriracha however you may like. The tofu must be extra firm tofu because firm tofu has too much water & has a soft silky texture.

Best part of making sushi

The ingredients are very simple, fresh, and easy. I love using cucumber and avocado for my main veggies. For this recipe, I used cucumber, avocado, sweet potato, and eggplant. Feel free to add any other vegetables that are accustomed to your liking. Make it customizable with these vegetables or fruit that are great with sushi:

• bell peppers
• carrot
• sweet potato
• eggplant
• cilantro
• tomato
• snow beans
• mushroom
• onion

If you want to have a quick and easy recipe, I recommend to use vegetables or fruits that do not have to be cooked. Although, it is super worth it if you choose a fruit or vegetable like eggplant and sweet potato! The rice is the only thing you have to cook if you choose to go that route.

Other recipes you might like!

Best part when making sushi

With sushi, the best part of it is that you can explore hundreds of flavors. It is surprising how creative you can be. Adding a special sauce, vegetable, or fruit that you don’t see often in a sushi roll can be the next best thing! I love finding out new food combinations especially with sushi. I wouldn’t think tomato would be a good addition but surprisingly it gives a soft texture like ahi.

Process of making sushi

Rice

I cooked the rice in a pan so I can show people how to if they don’t have access to a rice cooker. The type of rice I used for this recipe is short grain sushi rice; it is sticky and moist. It helps attach nicely on the nori sheet. When purchasing the nori sheets, get the one without oil or it being baked.

Do not skip the part when adding maple syrup and white rice vinegar to the rice. Sushi restaurants always add some sugar and vinegar to their rice to flavor it. The balance of the sourness and sweetness creates an ecstatic taste.

Tofu

Preparing the tofu, the very first step is to drain as much water out of it with a clean reusable towel or tofu press.

Prepare the veggies & fruits

Cut the cucumber long ways so when cutting the sushi there won’t be little parts of cucumber falling out. For the avocado you can peel off the skin or cut it in the skin.

Prepare the eggplant & sweet potato

This is optional, but totally recommend the extra work. This is not included with the estimated time to make this. The most important part for cooking these two veggies is to add salt to them and let them sit to draw the moisture from it.

Prepare sushi rice

For the rice, it is important to add some kind of sugar and rice vinegar to the rice because sushi restaurants do this all the time to flavor their rice!

Spicy Mayo

This is the easiest part of the whole recipe. When adding the ingredients use a whisk or fork. If you like mild mayo add only 1 tablespoon of sriracha.

Spicy Tofu

Crumble the tofu as much as you can by using a mash potato tool or a fork. I like to use my hands because there is more control. Don’t forget to use gloves if you have sensitivity to heat & spice.

Assemble the vegan tofu sushi roll

The side to put rice is on the textured side. The soft side is for the exterior side of the sushi. For the rice, add the rice to 3/4 of the dried seaweed. Add the fillings and before rolling it add just a little water on the ends where there is no rice. After you roll it leave it there to sit so the seaweed can connect to form a stable roll.

What kind of tofu should you buy?

Tofu is high in protein. There are options to get the extra firm tofu(around $1.79) or the high extra firm tofu(around $2.49). For this recipe I only used regular to keep it budget friendly. I like to taste test my food, so make sure to taste the tofu if there is a good amount of spices and sriracha in it.

On to the Vegan Tofu Sushi Recipe!

Vegan Tofu Sushi

Never thought you can eat sushi ever again? Lucky for us vegan tofu sushi is super easy to make! It has flavor and love!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 6 people

Calories 341 kcal

Equipment

• rice cooker or pot
• spatula
• measuring cups and spoons
• cutting board

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

sushi rice

• 1.5 cup rice
• 2.5 cup water
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 2.5 tbsp rice vinegar

vegan spicy mayo

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3 tbsp. sriracha adjust it to 1 tbsp. of sriracha if you like mild mayo
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp sesame oil optional

filling

• 1 small cucumber
• 1 avocado

wrap

• 6 nori sheets

spicy tofu

• 10 oz. extra firm tofu
• 1 tbsp. of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of arrowroot powder or 1 1/2 tsp of cornstarch

Instructions

 

• Cook the rice in a rice cooker or pot. Make sure if you do use a pot, put it on high heat until it bubbles and then switch to low heat until ready.
• While the rice is cooking, drain the tofu. You can make holes onto the container and place the tofu on top of it with something heavy to press out the liquid. If you want something fast and easy, dry it with a towel. Or do what I did below.
• Skip this step if you do not want to cook sweet potato and eggplant. Cut the sweet potato into a a French fry shape, and the eggplant into squares. Add them to a paper towel, or a clean kitchen towel to sprinkle some salt on each side to draw out the moisture. Next bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Check on the rice. If it is ready, set it aside to cool.
• Skip this step if you do not want to cook sweet potato and eggplant. Next it is time to make the sweet vegan unagi sauce. In a small pot, cook the tamari, mirin, and maple syrup. Cook it on low to medium heat. While that is warming up, in a small bowl mix some water and arrowroot or corn starch into a bowl before adding it to the hot mixture. Stir the sauce for about 4-5 mins and once the veggies and fruit are done, coat them thoroughly. Bake the sweet potato and eggplant for another 3-4 minutes.
• While that is baking, prepare the rice. Use a big bowl or the pot/rice cooker if there is room and add the vinegar and maple syrup to the rice. Mix and use the tic-tac-toe motion through the rice for a minute or 2. It is important to coat all the rice with the vinegar and syrup. Once you are done cover it with a towel, lid, or close the rice cooker.
• Skip this step if you do not want to cook sweet potato and eggplant. Check on the sweet potato and eggplant, and take it out. Let it cool.
• For the spicy mayo, add the mayo, sriracha, maple syrup, and sesame oil. Mix until it is nice and creamy. If you want to make mild mayo, only use 1 tbsp. of sriracha.
• Next, crumble the tofu with your hands for 5 minutes until it is evenly mashed. I find it better than using a fork. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste. I added about 1 tsp of them all.
• Cut the cucumber and avocado to your desired size. I cut the cucumber to strips like French fries and avocado to slices.
• Next is to assemble the roll. It is harder to have the traditional roll with the rice outside the roll. You would need a saran wrap and a bamboo mat. I typically just use my hands to roll it when I put the rice inside the roll, ie in the picture below. Grab a bowl of water, lay out the nori sheet and place the rice on 3/4 of the sheet. Place the veggies onto the side where there is rice. Leave the space without rice to add water so the sushi doesn’t unravel.
• Make sure you tighten it up, just like rolling up a burrito without tucking the sides. Take the right side and move it to the left, according to the picture above.
• Drizzle some mayo on top, tamari, or coconut amino. An additional topping of roasted sesame seeds you can buy at the store can give a nice crunch to it as well. Serve with pickled ginger and wasabi on the side for an authentic Japanese dish! Enjoy!

Notes

 

• If you do not have sushi rice, it is okay. Use your normal rice and do a Rice:Water 1:2 ratio.
• I apologize for no videos onto how to roll the sushi, but there are many YouTube videos that can show you how to do it. https://youtu.be/RZXEnnWqtG8

Nutrition

Serving: 7gCalories: 341kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 7.6gFat: 18.6gSaturated Fat: 2.2gSodium: 1158mgFiber: 6.4gSugar: 6gCalcium: 104mgIron: 2mg

Keyword glutenfree, sushi, vegan, vegan tofu sushi

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