Vegan California Rolls - Welcome to Asian Month - Recipe 38

So, I've decided to go Asian in June.   (Well I haven't.. you won't see me 'turning Japanese' anytime soon.)   However, there are a bevy of asian dishes out there which are so not vegan of which I do not partake in anymore, but would really love to.  
One of those?

California rolls!  Aka, Sushi!

Before I run off to the Golden State, let's learn a lil bit about sushi, shall we?

"The original type of sushi, known today as nare-zushi (馴れ寿司, 熟寿司), was first developed in Southeast Asia, and spread to south China before introduction to Japan. The term sushi comes from an archaic grammatical form no longer used in other contexts; literally, sushi means "sour-tasting", a reflection of its historic fermented roots. The oldest form of sushi in Japan, narezushi, still very closely resembles this process, wherein fish is fermented via being wrapped in soured fermenting rice. The fish proteins break down via fermentation into its constituent amino acids. The fermenting rice and fish results in a sour taste and also one of the five basic tastes, called umami in Japanese.  In Japan, narezushi evolved into oshizushi and ultimately Edomae nigirizushi, which is what the world today knows as "sushi".

Contemporary Japanese sushi has little resemblance to the traditional lacto-fermented rice dish. Originally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only the fish was consumed and the fermented rice was discarded. The strong-tasting and smelling funazushi, a kind of narezushi made near Lake Biwa in Japan, resembles the traditional fermented dish. Beginning in the Muromachi period (AD 1336–1573) of Japan, vinegar was added to the mixture for better taste and preservation. The vinegar accentuated the rice's sourness and was known to increase its shelf life, allowing the fermentation process to be shortened and eventually abandoned. In the following centuries, sushi in Osaka evolved into oshi-zushi. The seafood and rice were pressed using wooden (usually bamboo) molds. By the mid 18th century, this form of sushi had reached Edo (contemporary Tokyo).

The contemporary version, internationally known as "sushi", was created by Hanaya Yohei (1799–1858) at the end of the Edo period in Edo. The sushi invented by Hanaya was an early form of fast food that was not fermented (therefore prepared quickly) and could be eaten with one's hands at a roadside or in a theatre. Originally, this sushi was known as Edomae zushi because it used freshly caught fish in the Edo-mae (Edo Bay or Tokyo Bay). Though the fish used in modern sushi no longer usually comes from Tokyo Bay, it is still formally known as Edomae nigirizushi."

Do you like how I can write in Japanese?  I'm so smart.

One of my very favorite sushi's is the California roll, which traditionally has cream cheese and crab meat in it... so not vegan.  But alas, I'm a smart little american and I'm going to make this so that I can enjoy it.. and I'm going to do it with the help of my vegan sous chef girlfriend, Jen.  
We're going to V-log it too. ;)

So, let's get to the numbers.   I'm going to adapt a recipe from my boy-crush, Alton Brown.  So, let's roll on over here and see what we've got.


California Roll Sushi                                           Sunshine Roll Sushi
    one roll                                                                  one roll
Calories 232                                                                 159   
Total Fat 14.4 g                                                              8.4       
Cholesterol 5mg                                                              0
Sodium 135mg                                                              128 
Total Carbohydrate 23.7g                                             20.2    
Dietary Fiber  4.4 g                                                       5.2    
Protein         3.9                                                             2.6
WWpts -       6                                                               4

So there you have it.  

My Saturday night date night is going to turn into an episode of Iron Chef.  (Ok, not quite).   But it should be fun, intense and a little wild in the kitchen with bamboo mats and rice vinegar.

Stay tuned, you'll be glad you did!

Music enjoyed while blogging:
Nothing today but what's in my head -- Goin' To California (Led Zepplin) & Turning Japanese (The Vapors)

Current Motivation:
Doing something I've never done!


Current Craving:
Potato Chips