Make sushi a hit, not a miss Vegetable Nigiri
Seafood substitutes satisfy in this homemade veggie nigiri
One of the most common questions I get is “what food do you miss most?”
As a relatively new vegetarian and one who believes strongly that vegetables should be celebrated, not apologized for, I usually resist answering. Or I demur by saying something like, “I can’t really think of anything.”
The truth is, there is something I often miss — sushi. I know I can get plenty of vegetarian sushi, but it’s almost exclusively in the form of maki rolls, with little julienne carrots or avocado or cucumber, or sometimes — woo-hoo! — all three. Yawn.
What I miss is nigiri, the style of sushi that focuses on the ethereal, elegant, delectable combination of a single, perfect piece of fish and vinegared rice beneath it, perhaps with a punch of wasabi (or what passes for it) and a little dab of soy sauce, along with some other minimal garnish, if any. It’s not that I want the tuna or the yellowtail or the mackerel per se, but very few Japanese restaurants seem to apply those same principles to, say, a mushroom.
I’d never really thought to take matters into my own hands, literally, until the book A Visual Guide to SushiMaking at Home crossed my desk. The nigiri chapter includes such stunners as marinated roasted red bell pepper, looking for all the world like ruby red tuna, topped with a bright green slice of jalapeno. It made my mouth water, and not just for trompe l’oeil effects, either. My other favourite was a grilled royal trumpet mushroom slice, scored with a diamond pattern and draped over a perfectly formed, oblong mound of rice. The book’s authors, Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani, walk readers through all the crucial steps in expert sushi making.
RECIPE
Red pepper plays the part of tuna, and coins of meaty king oyster mushrooms look like scallops in this vegan sushi, beautiful enough for an elegant dinner party appetizer. Make ahead: The red pepper needs to marinate for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. (It can marinate overnight, in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before making the nigiri.) King oyster mushrooms, Japanese rice, ponzu, vegetarian dashi mix and wasabi can all be found at Asian supermarkets. Adapted from A Visual Guide to SushiMaking at Home, by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani (Chronicle Books, 2014). 1 medium red bell pepper 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegetarian dashi (from a store-bought mix or homemade) 1 cup (250 mL) Japanese-style short-grain white rice 1 cup (250 mL) plus 1 tbsp (15 mL) water 3 tbsp (45 mL) seasoned rice vinegar 2 king oyster mushrooms (a.k.a. king trumpet), preferably no bigger than 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm) in diameter 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ponzu sauce Prepared wasabi (optional) Pickled or fresh sliced jalapeno pepper Coarsely grated, fresh, peeled ginger root Finely chopped chives (optional)
Makes: 6 to 12 servings (or 12 pieces) Preheat the broiler. Place the bell pepper on a small baking sheet as close to the broiler as possible and broil, turning frequently, until the flesh is charred and blistered on all sides. Transfer the pepper to a small bowl and cover with a plate. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel off the pepper’s skin and remove the stem and seeds. Cut the cleaned pepper into 4 rectangles, about 3 in. (7.6 cm) by 1 in. (2.5 cm). Finely chop the trimmed scraps of pepper to use as a garnish. Pour the dashi into a wide, shallow dish. Add the pepper rectangles to the dashi and marinate for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. Rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water loses most of its cloudiness, then drain in a colander for 10 minutes. Transfer the rice to a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the 1 cup (250 mL) plus 1 tbsp (15 mL) of water, cover the pan and place it over high heat. Cook until you see steam streaming from under the lid. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting (not warm); cook for 13 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer the rice to a wide, shallow nonreactive bowl. Use a spatula moistened with water to gently spread the rice as thinly as possible. Splash the vinegar evenly over the rice, then use the spatula to gently “cut” and fold the rice to mix in the vinegar (the rice must be hot to absorb it). As you mix, use a hand fan to cool the rice and remove some moisture until it is at body temperature. Place a clean, dampened kitchen towel over the rice and keep it as close to body temperature as possible until using. While the rice is cooking, trim the stems from the mushrooms so the mushrooms are 3 in. (7.6 cm) long. Cut the mushrooms lengthwise into slices 1/2 in. (1.3 cm) thick, or simply in half if they are thin. Slice the remaining stem pieces into coins 1/2 in. (1.3 cm) thick. Lightly score one cut side of each mushroom piece in a cross-hatch pattern. Heat a stovetop grill pan over mediumhigh heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, put the mushroom slices in the pan and cook until light golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn them over and cook another minute, until soft to the touch. Transfer them, scored side up, to a plate and sprinkle with the ponzu sauce. When ready to make the nigiri, lightly moisten your hands with water. Divide the rice into 12 equal balls, each about the size of a golf ball. Pressing gently, form each ball into a small brick shape, about 2 in. (5 cm) long by 1 in. (2.5 cm) wide. Top four of the rice bricks with red pepper, gently pressing the pepper into the rice. Top each of the remaining eight bricks with a tiny smear of wasabi, if using, and then a mushroom slice or two overlapping mushroom coins, scored side up. Garnish the peppers with the jalapeno slices and/or the grated ginger, and garnish the mushrooms with the reserved chopped red pepper. Sprinkle on a little of the chopped chives, if using.