If you knew Sushi...vegan twist on an old friend

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Who doesn't love sushi? Of course, those who are following a completely meatless diet aren't going to have any of it on their menu.

Says who?

While looking over some recipes for someone I know who is looking to transition from the carnivore world to ours, I found one for vegan sushi. I know you would probably never think that "vegan" and "sushi" would ever appear in the same sentence, but I am here to tell you they belong together like peas and carrots!

Peeled tomatoes, flavored with umami seasonings, not only look like bits of tuna...they taste like that fish that goes on sushi so well.

Anyone who reads this blog -- even casually -- knows I am not a fan of faux flesh. I gave up meat and I don't need any facsimile of it on my plate, but this dish is really good. If you want to think of it as a sushi tuna replacement go ahead (the taste and texture are pretty close), but the tomato sushi is good enough to be it's own thing...not a substitute.

Vegan Sushi

Serves 6

For the rice

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 3/4 cup of short grain brown rice
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of coarse salt

For the tomato sushi

• 6 Roma tomatoes
• 1 piece of kombu seaweed 
• 2 tablespoons of lower sodium soy sauce
• 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more greens for serving
• 1 sheet of nori, cut into 24 strips
• 1 largish piece (a little smaller than thumb size) of ginger, sliced thickly
• 2 tablespoons of chili mayo (if you don't have this on hand, mix a teaspoon of chili paste with 2 tablespoons of vegan mayo)
• Sesame seeds for serving

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the rice and reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from heat, cover it and let it stand for about 10 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooling its heels,  bring a  pan of water to a boil.
4. Put a bowl of ice water next to the stove. 
5. Core the tomatoes and cut an X through the skin on the bottom of each tomato.
6. Plop the tomatoes into the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes...the skin will look saggy and loose.  Transfer the tomatoes to the ice water and  leave them there for a minute. 
7. Peel and quarter the tomatoes, tossing the seeds. 
8. Return the water to a boil and put in the kombu, the soy sauce, the scallions and the ginger. Cook the whole lot together, stirring continuously for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the tomato slices. Let them all hang out together for about 20 minutes.
9. Remove the tomatoes from the marinade and gently pat them dry.
10. Put the rice in a bowl. Whisk the vinegar, the sugar and the salt in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
11. Drizzle this mixture over the rice and toss it all together until every grain of rice is coated. (This is what gives sushi rice its distinct flavor so don't gloss over this step.)
12. With wet hands, form 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sushi rice into a oval. Top with 1 tomato slice and wrap with 1 piece of nori. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and nori.
13. Serve the sushi topped with sesame seeds, chili mayo and scallion greens.