VEGAN SUSHI BOWL + A COOBOOK GIVEAWAY! (V+, GF, ChF, NF)
What I enjoy even more than sharing the food I love right here on the blog, is sharing the food YOU love right here on the blog, which is how this week's recipe was chosen :). See, I asked you guys on instagram stories a few weeks ago what recipe you wanted to see on The Little Plantation and - presented with a few different options - you chose a vegan sushi bowl! So TADA here it is, my version of a delicious, quick, easy and fun vegan sushi bowl or, to be precise, vegan onigiri bowl. But let's not get caught up in the technicalities, shall we? ;).
Much as I wish I could claim that the recipe is all mine, I can't. That's 'cause I adapted it from Dominique Eloise Alexander's new book JAR FOOD. Dominique Eloise popped by my home the other day (and filmed a youtube video in my kitchen. Long story) and kindly left not one, but TWO copies of her cookbook on my dinner table. One for me (THANK YOU Dominique Eloise) and one - signed copy no less - for you, my FAB readers!
So what's the cookbook like...
Dominique Eloise is keen for you to give up sad desk lunches and disappointing snacks and replace them with easy, nutritious and delicious home-made meals and flavoursome nibbles that are super duper quick to throw together, can be packaged up in a jar and munched on at work, on the road as well as in the park! Not only that, JAR FOOD focuses predominantly on vegetarian and vegan recipes, which is music to my ears of course. The few recipes that aren't plant-based are MEGA easy to adapt to your dietary needs, just like today's sushi bowl recipe was.
Highlights from the cookbook include...
The sushi jar today's recipe was based on, the pistachio, coconut and cranberry energy balls, the lemon crunch pots as well as the burrito jar (YUM) are all winners if you as me. There's also a section on breakfast jars in the book for those of you who need to have your breakfast on the go, so clever, right?
Anything else...
Dominique Eloise is a very talented, experienced cook and food stylist and it shows in the recipes she's put together. These are simple, but well written recipes that are foolproof and bound to work EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. It's a small book with only 30 recipes or so, making it the perfect Christmas stocking filler for those eager to start 2018 on a healthier note.
What you need to do to win a copy...
THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! All you need to do for a chance to win is tell me: What holiday recipe(s) you'd like to find on The Little Plantation over the coming weeks? But please be quick with your answers, entry to this giveaway closes at midnight (Greenwich Time) on Monday, October 30th, 2017. The winner will be picked and notified within a week of the closing date. KATIE, YOU'RE THE WINNER. CONGRATULATIONS!
Please note that this competition is open to UK residents only. Therefore, I'd be super grateful if you can be clear when you comment whether you live in the UK or not. And even if you don't, please still feel free to let me know about what recipes you'd like to see. As always I'm super interested to read your answers no matter where you live. Good luck everyone!
Thanks for reading.
Recipe below :).
VEGAN SUSHI BOWL
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes: 1 large sushi bowl or 1x700ml/25fl oz lunch jar (serving 1)
INGREDIENTS:
150g /5 1/4 oz / 3/4 cup sushi rice
200ml / 7fl oz / scant 1 cup water
2tbs seasoned vinegar for sushi rice (I used this one)
1/2 small sweet potato (100g)
a drizzle of vegetable oil (I used rice bran oil)
1/4 cucumber
1 carrot
1/2 avocado
juice of 1 lime
1/2 toasted nori sheet
ADDED EXTRAS:
tamari sauce, to taste
wasabi, to taste
black or white sesame seeds for sprinkling
INSTRUCTIONS:
Thoroughly rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then place the rice in a pot with the water and warm up over a low heat. When the water starts bubbling, cover the pot with a lid and leave for 6-8 minutes until the water has been completely absorbed.
As the rice is cooking, set the oven to 150C (300F), prepare the sweet potato by peeling it, cutting it into thin disks and then halving the disks. Place the sweet potato pieces into a small bowl, drizzle with some vegetable oil, mix thoroughly, place them on a prepared baking sheet and pop them in the oven for about 25-20 minutes or until cooked through and soft.
When the rice is done, using a wooden spoon, scrape the rice into a bowl and add the seasoned vinegar. Leave to cool to room temperature.
As the rice is cooling and the sweet potato pieces are in the oven, prepare the veggies, by either cutting them into thin matchsticks or veggie ribbons, like I did here. Drizzle the lemon juice over the avocado half to avoid discoloration and to add some zest.
If you're in a rush, you can serve the rice as is in a bowl, with the nori sheet cut into little bits and sprinkled over the rice. If you'd like to make the onigiri balls, cut the nori sheet into thin strips, prepare a little bowl with water, dip your fingers and the palms of your hands in it and start rolling some of the rice into onigiri balls in the palm of your hands (think the size of a golf ball, check TIPS below). The water will stop the rice from sticking to your fingers and will help the nori stick to the onigiri ball :).
Once you've made your onigiri ball, wrap the thin nori strip over the onigiri ball and place in your bowl. Repeat until all the rice has been used up (you should end up with about 8 onigiri balls approximately and a tiny bit of nori left over).
Further assemble the bowl by adding the veggies and sprinkling with sesame seeds if using. Serve with wasabi and tamari sauce, then tuck in and enjoy!
Tip 1: I used white sushi, but you can also use brown sushi rice. It tends to require a little bit more cooking time, so check the instructions on the packaging before you get started.
Tip 2: I served this with sweet potato to give it an autumnal feel, but the original recipe calls for smoked salmon or tofu for a protein kick.
Tip 3: To get the onigiri balls all the same size I used this ice cream scoop. One of my most favourite tools in my kitchen. It's not necessary, but does help.
Tip 4: I kept salt here low on purpose. That's because the sushi is served with tamari sauce which is quite salty, so - in my opinion - doesn't require lots of extra salt. However if you aren't using tamari, you may want to add some salt to the avocado and sweet potato for example.
Tip 5: You can double the amount (as I did) to create 2 bowls. It also helps give purpose to the sweet potato and avocado 'left overs'.