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!