Vegan Sushi Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Is vegan sushi still sushi? ›

However, since the primary ingredients of sushi are vegan, like sushi su (sushi rice, rice vinegar, water) and nori sheets (100% seaweed), whether a roll of sushi is vegan or not depends on the fillings and toppings used.

In Japanese cuisine, vegetarian sushi is referred to as “yasai sushi,” with “yasai” meaning “vegetable.” This term encompasses all types of sushi that are made without meat or fish, highlighting the focus on fresh and flavorful vegetables.

Sprinkle avocado slices with lemon juice in a bowl. Spread a thin layer of sesame seeds onto a sushi mat. Pick up about half a cup of cooled rice and place onto sushi mat in an even layer. Place 1/4 of the cucumber, avocado slices, bell pepper, and zucchini in a line down the middle of the rice.

Unfortunately, it's a safe bet that the rice cooked at most sushi restaurants contains a minuscule amount of fish-based dashi. If you can get vegan rice you're home free—just order a nori roll made without seafood or eggs.

Raw Vegan Sushi Rolls are made with fresh vegetables rolled in a nori sheet with miso and hemp hearts. They are light, healthy, and so easy to make! I've been making these raw sushi rolls for years and always have so much fun putting them together. It's easy to eat one, two, or sometimes three rolls all by myself!

Vegetarian sushi is likely to be a healthy choice to eat on a daily basis - assuming it's mostly vegetables and rice and maybe some tofu. However, soy sauce contains a lot of salt and if it contains caramel food coloring, it might not be the best choice.

Have you ever bitten into a piece of a vegan sushi roll and thought that it still tastes fishy? Chances are, it's from the seaweed wrapping. It makes sense when you think about it. After all, seaweed grows in the ocean, which, duh, is where fish live!

It's not only seafood in sushi that is expensive. Some of the mushrooms that are used in sushi are avocado and matsutake. To make sushi really delicious, these ingredients need to be imported and only used fresh. The sushi price cannot be low because all sushi ingredients are graded.

You can thinly cut a cucumber to use as a wrapper for delicious sushi fillings. Or you can use a soy wrapper that comes in a variety of fun colors. Either way, you're sure to create memorable sushi that doesn't rely on the standard seaweed.

Sashimi vs Sushi

Sushi always contains rice, while sashimi is just slices of meat or fish. Sashimi could be considered “no-rice sushi.”

Is vegan sushi good for you? ›

Sushi is a great way to get your lean protein servings if you love eating fish, but if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, you can also enjoy sushi made with plant-based proteins, such as tofu, to meet your recommended daily intake of protein foods.

You will often also see white strips on your plate. This is shredded daikon (radish). It is used as a garnish on sushi plates. Like many garnishes on American dishes, you can eat it or push it to the side.

So, even though nori is a type of seaweed that is vegan, if it is wrapped around or mixed with raw fish, it is no longer vegan. There are many vegan sushi rolls available that are made with vegetables, tofu, and other vegan ingredients.

Almost all sushi shops offer a few choices of vegetarian and vegan sushi. Three vegetarian options that just about every sushi shop offers are inarizushi, and tomagoyaki, and kappamaki. Inarizushi is sushi rice that is stuffed into pockets of paper-thin tofu that has been sweetened and deep fried.

Sushi is the rice, more than anything. Once you get that right, and get some nori, everything you put in there will taste great. We've done it using processed ("fake") vegan seafood substitutes but really, tofu and veggies and mushrooms do the trick.

Vegan sashimi is made with plant-based ingredients like sliced vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, seaweed, or plant-based alternatives to mimic the texture and taste of seafood.

It is very often prepared with seafood, such as squid, eel, yellowtail, salmon, tuna or imitation crab meat.