Saturday, November 14, 2009

Daring Cooks Challenge - Sushi!


The November 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was brought to you by Audax of Audax Artifex and Rose of The Bite Me Kitchen. They chose sushi as the challenge.

Hooray for a fun vegan challenge!

The challenge was in four parts:-

Part 1: Making proper sushi rice – wash, rinse, drain, soak, cook, dress, and cool short grain rice until each grain is sticky enough to hold toppings or bind ingredients. Then use the cooked rice to form three types of sushi.
Part 2: Dragon sushi roll – an avocado covered inside-out rice roll with a tasty surprise filling.
Part 3: Decorative sushi – a nori-coated rice roll which reveals a decorative pattern when cut.
Part 4: Nigiri sushi – hand-shaped rice rolls with toppings.

I’ve mentioned many times how poor my rice making skills are. Part 1 was obviously my biggest challenge. I prepared the rice exactly as per the instructions. After all the rinsing and soaking, I put the rice in a big pot along with a piece of kombu.


I am thrilled to report that my sushi rice turned out perfectly! Quite unlike my usual attempts at making a proper rice. Look at all those individual grains.

For the rest of the challenge I made a small batch of each type of roll. The inside out roll took me a couple of tries, but surprisingly I had a rather easy and fun time making all the sushi.

TexMex sushi is quite popular here, so that was the inspiration for Part 2. My Inside-Out Dragon Roll was filled with spicy sweet potatoes and black beans.
I topped him with avocado and then plated him with cilantro and sriracha legs, and a green onion tongue and head decoration. He was deeeeelicious!

Part 3, the Spiral Roll, was simply filled with colorful veggies – cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and red bell peppers.

Nothing fancy, but quite pretty and so fresh tasting.


Finally, Part 4, the super easy Nigiri Rolls. Simply topped with a smear of wasabi paste and shitake mushrooms.


Chase and I ate as much as we could for a fabulous late lunch. Thanks again to the hosts for providing such great instructions. Click here for recipes, including the perfect sushi rice.

24 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

EXCELLENT craftsmanship, Diann!

Andrea said...

Now I'm in the mood for sushi! (I think I'm always in the mood for sushi.) Very pretty rolls.

Ruth said...

wish I live closer...I'd be knocking on your door to sample!!

Jes said...

So beautiful! I would have never thought of the tex mex sushi but now I think I need to try my hand at it.

FoodFitnessFreshair said...

I love to make my own sushi, especially because I prefer brown rice, and this allows me to incorporate that! Looks good!

Michal said...

Pretty and tasty looking too! You are very talented :)

Ricki said...

Fun sushi! Love the dragon. I bet the best part of this challenge was eating it all--all your variations sound wonderful! I usually make my sushi with a grain-free filling such as raw almond pate or something, because I've never been good at sushi rice either. Yours looks perfect!

Audax said...

That dragon roll looks so good I could print it out and just look at it well done. I'm so pleased that your rice worked out so well Rose and I did a lot (I mean a lot) of research to get the perfect recipe for sushi rice made on top of stove in a pot, your spiral roll is so pretty I love the purple coloured veggie (red cabbage). And your nigiri is sublime. Bravo bravo bravo and kudos to you, Cheers from Audax in Australia.

Rose said...

Excellent job! Your sushi is a shining example of beautiful vegan solutions to what most people consider "fish-only" food. I usually fail at making rice too! This recipe surprised me as it actually worked easily!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

What a great job you made of those Diann. Very professional!

Dips said...

Amazing amazing tryout! The mexican sushi is awesome and that nigiri looks delicious!! Great job!!!

Beatrice said...

Your rolls are beautiful. I like making homemade sushi, but I've never strayed beyond the basic veg (avocado/cucumber/mango/radish) rolls.

miss v said...

i *love* sushi! these are some awesome combinations! that spiral roll is on my list for next time i make some!

Oraphan said...

Wow! What an impressive post!!!Excellent job, Diann. Each part looks perfect and amazingly delicious. Now I'm craving sushi again!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

What gorgeous sushi!

Anonymous said...

I want that dragon roll!

Unknown said...

your decorative rolls are so pretty! i have a pic i saved from something where one looked like a snail inside :)

jessy said...

my goodness, Diann - your rolls look perfect, fun, and beautiful, too! i'm so happy your sticky rice turned out fantastic as well - nice! i looooove your dragon inside-out roll (your fillings are just too creative & delicious) and i'm really digging the shitake nigiri rolls, too. (also - i love your plates!)

River - The Crafty Kook said...

My rice cooking skills aren't the greatest either, but your sushi rice sure looks perfect, Diann! Score!

The Inside-Out Dragon Roll is so cute! He has a little tongue! Sweet potatoes and black beans is one of my favorite food combinations. Everything looks fabulous! YAY for a successful sushi adventure!

Hannah said...

What fantastic sushi! I'm a big sushi fan and eat it a lot, but usually just plain, ordinary vegetable rolls. Something like this would be such a treat!

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

This is seriously amazing! My sushi skills aren't that great. It never looks pretty when I make them. That dragon roll is the cutest thing! And that spiral roll is so freaking gorgeous! Good job.

bazu said...

great job, D! those are gorgeous.

Melody Fury // GourmetFury.com said...

These rolls are sooo darling!!

I adore your recipes and your veggie blog is a wonderful read. Care to join a veggie food-fight hosted by me and shesimmers.com and submit a fennel recipe? More details: http://www.bouchonfor2.com/beet-n-squash-you/

Jackie said...

Never been one for sushi but after seeing your photos maybe I should give it a try again.