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Meals Kids Might Eat:
Vegetarian Sushi with Kids
by Jyotsna “Jo” Sreenivasan, from the October 2005 newsletter
WARNING: Do not try this with kids under three! Years ago, I made sushi successfully with my older son, who was three at the time. Then, when my younger was less than two, I somehow got the idea that it would be “fun” to make sushi with the two of them! It was not. The little one was crawling all over the table and the rice was flying.
Nevertheless, it can be fun and not too difficult to make vegetarian nori rolls with kids three and above. If you have sushi rice, which is a short-grain sticky rice, and a sushi mat (both available at the Co-op), you can concoct your own beautiful custom rolls. When serving sushi to kids, I leave out the wasabi (Japanese horseradish).
A note about brown rice: it’s not as easy to use as white sushi rice, which develops the perfect sticky consistency to hold the rolls together. If you must use brown rice, choose a short-grain variety and combine it half-and-half with the white sushi rice. The more brown rice you use, the harder it will be for your rolls to stay together.
We served our sushi rolls with baked tofu (the recipe was from Sundays at Moosewood) and fruit salad.
Vegetarian Sushi Rolls
2 1/2 cups white sushi rice
3 3/4 cups water
5 tablespoons rice vinegar or cider vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons sugar
One package nori (7 pieces of nori)
A selection of fillings, such as: arugula (chopped), asparagus (cooked), avocado slices, bell pepper slices, carrot (shredded), cucumber, cilantro, green beans (steamed), herbs (Thai basil is good), jicama (peeled and sliced), mushrooms, omelette slices, pine nuts, radishes/radish sprouts, scallions, sesame seeds, spinach, tofu, umeboshi plum paste, watercress, yams/sweet potatos (cooked), and zucchini.
Pickled ginger
Soy sauce
Wasabi (Japanese horseradish) -- optional
Combine rice and water and cook in a rice cooker. If you don’t have a rice cooker, bring rice and water to boil in saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed (about 20 minutes).
While the rice cooks, combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. When the rice is done, spread it on a baking tray. Pour vinegar mixture over it and stir gently to combine. Many recipes ask you to fan the steam away as you stir – this would be the perfect job for a kid! After the vinegar is mixed in, let the rice cool.
As the rice cools, prepare your fillings. I like to include a combination of pungent or highly flavorful fillings (such as arugula, herbs, radish, scallions, or watercress) with bland ones.
Once your rice is cool enough to handle, you are ready to make your rolls. Set your fillings in separate small bowls on a work surface. We used our dining table. Put your tray of rice and a bowl of water (large enough to dip your hand into) on one side. On the other side, place a cutting board and a sharp knife. (You might have to put the sharp knife up higher until needed, if you have little ones). Put your sushi mat in the middle, and place your first piece of nori onto it. The rough, dull side should face up.
Scoop 3/4 to 1 cup of rice onto the nori. Spread it around with the back of a spoon. Wet your hand and pat it all the way to the side edges. Leave a couple of inches of blank nori at the top edge, and possibly a blank edge at the bottom.
Make a long indentation at the center point of the rice. Let people choose their own fillings and lay them in the indentation. Then lift up on the mat edge nearest you and roll the nori and rice in a spiral until you get to the blank part of the nori. Wet that edge with some water and press it onto the roll to seal the roll. Don’t wet the nori until you’re ready to seal it, or else it will curl up on you! You can wrap the mat around your roll and squeeze it to seal it even better.
Put the roll on a cutting board seal-side-down and cut it in half. Cut each half into half again, and half again, until you have eight pieces. Arrange your beautiful sushi pieces on a plate and admire!
When all the sushi is made, give everyone a small bowl for their soy sauce, and a small pile of pickled ginger. Trade your pieces around and eat!
Jyotsna “Jo” Sreenivasan is the featured Co-op business partner this month.
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