When I went vegan I thought I had to give up sushi or that my only option would be a cucumber avocado roll and that was it. After discovering a whole new world of plant based sushi, I was obsessed. While I actually love a good simple avocado cucumber roll, I love getting intricate with my sushi recipes just like this vegan eggplant “eel” nigiri. I try to imitate the look of non-vegan sushi while it still taste delicious. It also makes me feel like eating at a sushi bar with a vegan nigiri buffet!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
If you want to know more about vegan sushi, click here to see my recipe of vegan tofu sushi.
How can this vegan eggplant nigiri imitate “eel” nigiri?
Eggplant has a nice brown color with a soft and smooth texture like eel. While it doesn’t taste like eel, it still has a lot of flavor. I find it is best to bake it for premium results for this vegan eggplant nigiri. Also, adding a little piece of seaweed over the whole nigiri will not only hold it together but adds an authentic look to it. This can be an entrée, but I decided to categorize it under an appetizer.
This is an eggplant “eel” sushi that imitates nigiri.
I thought it would be tasty to add a side dish, so I paired it up with sweet potato. Once it is covered with the unagi “eel” sauce, it will be sweet and crunchy.
Curious, what is the health benefits of eggplant?
Not only is eggplant a delicious fruit but it has lots of benefits too. Sweet potato is also in the super food category that has other benefits and nutrients as well.
Eggplant has:
- Folate
- Vitamin A,C,K
- Potassium
- Phosphorus
Sweet potato has:
- Vitamin A,C, B6
- Magnesium
- Potassium
Prefer cooking without oil?
This recipe is oil free! Baking the eggplant will make it airy and crisp. Sometimes oil disguises the taste of eggplant. It does take a bit longer to bake, but just kick up the temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you prefer, you can bake it with oil but that will change the calories and texture.
While preparing the eggplant and the sweet potato, believe me it is easy and quick. I prefer cutting the eggplant into diagonal squares but feel free to cut it into a rectangular shape. I like cutting the sweet potato in a French fry shape.
Other recipes you might like 🙂
No Refined Sugar Sweet and Sour Tofu
Steps
Adding salt onto the veggies, sucks the moisture out giving it an airy texture. Make sure it is coated equally between the eggplant and sweet potato. If possible, use a reusable towel for less waste. 🙂
Now for the sauce that makes it taste like “eel”. When I was working at my job that had a wide variety of sauces, unagi sauce was my favorite. It is sweet and it is super easy to make. Unagi sauce is similar to a sweet teriyaki flavor, if you haven’t tried it yet. What I use to make my own is only 4 ingredients tamari, mirin, maple syrup, and arrowroot or cornstarch.
The additional nori sheet adds a seafood and salty flavor that helps the eggplant taste “fishy“. It also finishes the look as a whole for the vegan eggplant “eel” nigiri.
When making the rice balls, I use a tablespoon for measurement. I use two tablespoons of rice and form it in my hand into an oval ball shape. This keeps the size similar to one another.
It is optional to make the spicy mayo, and you can just use sriracha by itself. Although, you’ll be missing out to on a creamy and spicy sauce. It adds a kick to the “nigiri” because it helps add an additional flavor it it. I don’t like simple food, so I recommend to make it. Also, this spicy mayo can be saved for all kinds of food like: French fry dip, veggie burgers, tacos, and more!
I know you’ve been waiting, so here is the vegan eggplant “eel” nigiri recipe!
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On to the Vegan eggplant “eel” nigiri recipe!
Vegan Eggplant “Eel” Nigiri
Equipment
- oven tray pan
- small pot
- measuring cups and spoons
- cutting board
- knife
Ingredients
Unagi "eel" sauce
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- ½ cup tamari
- ½ cup mirin
- 1 tsp arrowroot
- 1 tsp water
sushi rice
- 1.5 cup of short grain rice
- 3.5 cup of water
- 2 tbsp. maple syrup
- 2 1/2 tbsp. rice vinegar
veggies
- 1 eggplant
- 1 sweet potato optional to snack on the side of the nigiri
spicy mayo/mild mayo
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 1/2 tbsp. sriracha adjust it to 1/2 tbsp. of sriracha if you like mild mayo
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
wrap
Oil
- 4 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Measure the rice and wash it until water is clear. Place rice and water in pot on high heat and bring to a boil with lid on. Once you bring it to a boil, switch to low heat. Cooking times will vary.
- While the rice is cooking, set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash the veggies and cut the eggplant into diagonal squares and the sweet potato into a fry shape. I included the pictures below how to cut the veggies.
- Use a reusable clean towel to let the veggies lay and dry for 2 mins. Add salt to draw out the moisture from the veggies. Before transferring the veggies to the baking pan add the oil. Once the oven is ready add them to the oven.
- In a small pot, on low to medium heat, add the unagi sauce ingredients but wait to poor the slurry last. Mix until it thickens. Transfer to a little sauce bowl after it gets thick and boils.
- Once the veggies have been in there for about 10-12 minutes, add the unagi sauce and bake for another 3 mins. Keep an eye on it if the sauce on the fruit and veggies burns.
- In the meantime, cut a nori sheet into 4 inch long stripes.
- Use a tablespoon to scoop up the rice into your hand. You can wet your hands with water, so the rice doesn't stick to your hands. Get two tablespoons of rice and form them into an oval shape in your hand.
- Add the eggplant on top of the rice ball. Wrap the seaweed piece around the ball like how I did in the image below, and you may use water to stick the seaweed together. Now it is ready to serve! Feel free to top it off with roasted sesame seeds. Don't forget to enjoy the sweet potato if you end up cooking it!
Notes
- Leave the spicy mayo out if you would like to decrease the amount of ingredients and time to prepare. It is honestly great with just the unagi sauce! If you do have sriracha add that as one of your additional sauces.
- Making the mild mayo would only need 1/2 tbsp. of sriracha.
- If you do not have a nori sheet, you can always have it without! Although, if you do add a nori sheet buy the no oil and raw nori sheet.
Nutrition
Please create your own pictures like ours, and post them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest for us to see. Also, add the hashtag #PlantFulfilledEggplantEelNigiri! Thank you for the support friends!
Make sure to follow me for any further updates or would like to see me every other day haha. But anyways I’m proud to be here, so if you have any recommendations of what kind of foods you would like to see and make vegan, ask me! Stay Gucci :).
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Mmm… I really want to make this. I don’t like eggplant at all but for some reason I feel like this would be the way I could eat it. It looks so good in the pictures.
I actually didn’t like eggplant before going vegan, except this one Filipino dish. When I transitioned to a vegan diet, I was so open to every kind of vegetable and fruit. Eggplant was a great way to mimic eel on sushi! And I LOVE NIGIRI haha. So this was the best fit for me and it’s totally worth it! Enjoy!! Tip: the sauce makes it better and the eggplant must be cooked through. When cutting them don’t be afraid of how thick it is before cooked, it will whittle down when baking!
I love vegan sushi and eggplant! This looks wonderful.
Same! Thank you Cindy ??
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