It’s time for another Meatless Monday! Today I’m excited to share with you, my Avocado Tempura Sushi Roll topped with mango. I’m going to give you the step by step to help make sushi at home the easiest it’s ever been. I’m sharing all my tips and tricks, how to get perfectly round sushi rolls, how to make inside out sushi rolls and how to top your sushi rolls off! I’m going to start by sharing the kitchen tools you’ll need, since there’s one you probably don’t have but I promise if you want to make sushi at home, it’s sooo worth getting!
Things you’ll need:
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Plastic Wrap
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Potato peeler
- Rice Cooker (optional)
and
I know what you’re thinking, what in the world is Sushezi? It sounds like sush – easy and I guess it’s technically called a sushi maker. I purchased mine on eBay for less than $10 and it’s completely taken my sushi game to the next level! When I first got it in the mail, my initial thought was that I wasted money on a hunk of plastic BUT then I tried it out. I’m now able to make oversized perfectly round sushi rolls at home. (fyi, this isn’t any kind of paid ad – I really just like this product)
Ingredients for sushi roll:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 ripe mango
- 1/2 cup sushi rice
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsps rice vinegar
- 1 tsp raw sugar (optional)
- panko crumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for dipping sauce:
- teriyaki sauce
- sriracha sauce
Instructions:
- Start by placing the water and rice in the rice cooker. Follow instructions for your rice cooker. I don’t use an electric one so I just pop mine in the microwave on high for 19 minutes. I used Nishiki brand sushi rice. Once your rice has finished cooking, you can add the sugar (optional) and rice vinegar. I used Nagano All Natural Rice Vinegar. If you’re using a sweet rice vinegar then definitely skip the sugar. Mix everything together, then spread the rice out on a plate and place in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes. At this point you’ll also want to preheat your oven to 400′.
2. While your rice is cooling, cut your avocado in half (as seen below) and remove the pit.
You’ll want to cut your avocado this way because of how you’ll need to finish cutting it up in the next step.
You can remove the pit by chopping your knife in and twisting or using a spoon works well too. If you try the knife method just be careful!
3. Next cut the avocado into thick strips. Be careful not to cut through the avocado skin and cut your fingers! Once you’ve cut the avocado into strips, you’ll go along the edges with your knife to detach the avocado from it’s shell.
Cut your avocado into thick strips, about the size of a french fry
Cut along the edges with your knife and then scoop out the avocado slices
This is what you’re avocado slices should look like
4. Place some parchment paper on a baking sheet and set aside. Next take out your panko crumbs and spread them out on a plate. One by one coat your avocado slices with the crumbs. I piled the crumbs on top of my avocado slice and then lightly pushed them into the avocado. Place them on the baking sheet and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
Coating an avocado slice with panko crumbs
Avocado slices before going into the oven
Avocado slices after
5. Once your avocado slices are done, your rice should be done cooling as well. Set both of these aside. Get your mango and potato peeler. You’ll want to skin the mango and once you’ve skinned it, you’ll want to keep using the potato peeler to take off slices of mango. Keep going until you start to see the pit. You should have about 10 – 12 mango slices. Set these aside.
Mango slices
6. Next you’ll want to cover your cutting board in a sheet of plastic wrap. Then grab your rice and Sushezi. I used a spoon and my hands to get the rice into the Sushezi. How much rice you end up putting in, is really up to you. The less rice you use, the more avocado you’ll be able to fit but at the same time you want to make sure the sushi roll will hold together. I ended up using 3/4 of my rice and 2/3 of my avocado slices. Also try to place the same amount of rice in both sides of the sushi maker. This ensures that your filling stays centered.
Sushezi empty – make sure you have the sushi maker completely set up with all 3 parts before you start adding rice
You’ll want to make sure that in the bottom half of your Sushezi you leave an empty space to allow room for the arm that will eventually push the sushi roll out.
Allow some space at the end
This is what it should look like after you’ve finished adding the rice
Another tip is to make sure that the rice comes up and slightly past the sides. This makes sure that your two halves will become a whole sushi roll and keeps your sushi roll from splitting in half once you’ve pushed it out.
Make sure rice ever so slightly goes past the edge of the sushi maker
7. Now you’re ready to add your avocado! Place your avocado slices in the center of the rice of only one part of your sushi maker. You really want to make sure that the avocado slices stay centered and don’t go over the sides.
This is what your sushi roll should look like at this point
8. Now you can place the half that’s only holding rice on top of the other half that is holding the rice and avocado. Make sure to lock them together! Hold your sushi maker over the plastic wrap and cutting board. While one hand is holding the sushi maker, push and twist clockwise the arm with your other hand. Eventually you’ll get to a point where you won’t need to keep twisting the arm. Keep pushing until your sushi roll is resting on the plastic wrap.
Sushi roll on plastic wrap
9. Next you can add the mango slices. You’ll want to make sure that you layer them on top of each other (shown below)
Layer the mango slices on the top of your sushi roll
a close up of the mango slices
10. Once you have all your mango slices on top of your roll, you’ll want to tightly wrap the plastic wrap around the roll.
Sushi roll with plastic wrap – wrapped tightly
11. For the next step, you’ll want to make sure your knife has been cleaned, dried and sharpened. You’ll lightly cut into the plastic wrap and sushi roll using a gentle back and forth sawing motion. DO NOT cut all the way through the plastic wrap on the bottom. You’ll want to cut all the way through the roll but not the plastic wrap, this makes it easier to take off once you’re done cutting. I usually cut 8 pieces from my roll. Cutting more pieces means smaller pieces of sushi but you also run the risk of having your sushi roll fall apart. The thicker the sushi pieces, the more likely they’ll stay together.
Go ahead and gently unwrap your sushi!
12. Congratulations! You just made an amazing sushi roll at home!! You can go ahead and mix your dipping sauce. I use Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce. It has the consistency of soy sauce and I usually add several drops of Sriracha to it. This spicy teriyaki dipping sauce goes really well with the sweetness of the mango. Once you’ve mixed your dipping sauce, you’re ready to eat!
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