This straightforward vegan sushi recipe makes 4 different varieties: pickled carrot & ginger maki rolls, tenderstem & avocado California rolls, roasted pepper nigiri and peas ‘n’ carrots California rolls.
I’m really not a roses and chocolates kinda girl. All the Valentines’ recipes for pretty pink soups and dainty heart-shaped desserts doing the rounds at the moment really aren’t for me. But a heart-shaped vegan sushi platter? Now you’re talking…. (I know, my poor husband…!).
The idea of an ‘easy’ sushi platter might be a bit hard to believe, and I’m not promising this is super-speedy, (you’re probably looking at about 40 minutes prep time, and then 30 minutes assembly of the sushi – you could prep the night before if you don’t have time to do it all in one go).
But there’s nothing difficult about making sushi, just follow the instructions and my little videos below, and you can’t go wrong. (Probably).
📝 What you need
Here’s what you will need pictured above – yes, a few specialist ingredients, but I got all of these in a large-ish supermarket so you shouldn’t need to go out of your way or to multiple shops to find them.
Ingredients
Sushi rice is a Japanese variety of short-grain rice. It has a particular texture and cooking style so do try to get hold of it for a really authentic sushi texture. However if you really can’t find any, I’ve heard of people using arborio (risotto) rice with good results, though haven’t tried it myself so can’t make any promises!
Rice vinegar is a mild and sweet vinegar made from fermented rice. Again, it is really a big part of that authentic sushi flavour.
Sushi nori (or roasted seaweed sheets) are the dark green sheets that you roll your sushi up in. They are fairly easy to find in supermarkets. Read my ‘top tips’ below for a few pointers on working with nori sheets.
Sushi ginger I love this stuff!! It is a pink pickled ginger quite specific to Japan. I bought mine, but if you make a lot of sushi it is very easy to make your own which will work out a lot cheaper. This is a good recipe.
Sesame seeds and black sesame seeds The combination of black and white sesame seeds give your sushi a real wow-factor. Black are a little harder to find, I got mine in Waitrose.
Tamari or soy sauce What’s the difference? Tamari is made without wheat. It is richer, darker and less salty than soy sauce, and has a stronger umami flavour – all good things if you ask me! But soy sauce is good stuff too, if that’s all you can get hold of.
Equipment
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You will need a bamboo sushi-rolling mat – it is possible to make sushi without one but honestly, this makes it just so much easier.
They are very inexpensive and once you have realised how easy it is to make homemade vegan sushi you will get a lot of use out of it, I promise! Something like this one* would be ideal.
👩🏽🍳 Expert Tips
A few key tips not to miss in the instructions are:
- Wet your spoon when spreading the rice over the nori sheets – this makes everything a lot easier, I promise.
- Wet your knife before cutting every slice – I had a tall glass of water and dipped the knife in between every cut. This stops the rice from sticking to it, for really clean and neat slices. (Oh, and your knife should be really sharp too).
- Wet your hands when shaping the Nigiri – for the same reason, it stops the rice from sticking to you and everything you touch!
- Squeeze tightly as you roll everything up – the tighter the roll, the neater your finished sushi will be.
Its as easy as that, I promise! Why not give it a go?
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “This was so fun and easy to make! Perfect for a stay at home date night, thanks for sharing 🙂” Noelle
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “It was amazing and my 8 year old helped. Fiancee very impressed. We didn’t have a bamboo rolling mat so used a tea towel and tin foil and it worked pretty well. Definitely making this again. Great recipe and instructions, thank you.” Jude
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Easy Vegan Sushi
Ingredients
- 250 g sushi rice
- 1/2 yellow pepper
- 1 carrot (large – or two small)
- 6 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 stalks tenderstem broccoli
- 2 tbsp frozen peas
- 4 sheets sushi nori (roasted seaweed sheets)
- 2 tbsp sushi ginger
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
- 1/2 avocado
- tamari or soy sauce (to serve, in a dipping bowl)
Instructions
To prepare the ingredients:
- Begin by preparing the sushi rice. Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, then tip it into a saucepan and add 330ml of water. Bring it to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes covered with a lid. Then turn off the heat and leave it to stand for 30 minutes, without removing the lid.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4. Remove the seeds from the yellow pepper, and place it (skin side up) onto a baking tray. Drizzle or spray with a little oil, and roast for 25 minutes until it is soft and the skin is just starting to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- To pickle the carrot: peel and trim the ends off, then cut it into very fine matchsticks, either by hand or using a julienne slicer or peeler. Place the carrot into a shallow bowl or tupperware container. Mix together 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Pour this over the carrot and mix to combine, then pour over a little warm water until the carrots are just covered. Chill in the fridge until needed.
- To cook the tenderstem broccoli and peas: place them into a microwaveable bowl with 2 tbsp water. Cover with a lid or cling film with a small hole, and microwave on full power for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
- When the rice has completely cooled, tip in 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and mix thoroughly with a fork until fully combined.
To make the Pickled Carrot & Ginger Maki Rolls:
- Lay a sheet of nori on the bamboo rolling mat.
- Spoon about a quarter of the rice onto the nori, and use the back of a wet spoon to spread it to the edges of the nori sheet, leaving about a centimetre at each end to allow it to stick together when rolled.
- Place a line of sushi ginger along the rice, followed by a line of pickled carrot (about half the carrot – you will need the rest later).
- Use a wet finger to slightly dampen the edges of the nori sheet, then roll it up tightly, (moving the bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so it isn’t trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Fill a tall glass with water, and dip your sharpest knife into it – you will need to wet it again every time you cut through the roll, to stop the rice sticking to it as you cut. Trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 8 equal slices.
To make the Tenderstem & Avocado California Rolls:
- Lay a sheet of cling film on the bamboo rolling mat, followed by a sheet of nori.
- Spoon about a quarter of the rice onto the nori, and use the back of a wet spoon to spread it to the edges of the nori sheet.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp sesame seeds and 1 tbsp black sesame seeds over the rice, then cover it with another sheet of cling film. Flip over the nori so that the rice is now face down, and peel off the cling film over the nori sheet.
- Lay the pieces of tenderstem broccoli in a line across the nori, then de-stone and slice the avocado and lay this on top of the broccoli.
- Roll everything up tightly, (moving the remaining cling film and bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so they aren’t trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Use your sharp, wet knife to trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 8 equal slices.
To make the Roasted Pepper Nigiri:
- Cut six equal-sized rectangles from the roasted pepper, (save the offcuts for hummus sandwiches… yum!). Turn them skin-side down, then lay a slice of sushi ginger on each one.
- Take a dessertspoon full of rice, wet your hands, and squeeze and shape it into roughly the same shape as a pepper slice. Mould the rice onto the pepper slice with your hands.
- Cut strips of nori about half a centimetre wide, then dampen each one with a wet finger, and wrap one around each pepper and rice mound.
- Your finished roasted pepper nigiri.
To make the Peas ‘n’ Carrots California Rolls:
- Lay a sheet of cling film on the bamboo rolling mat, followed by a sheet of nori. Spoon about a quarter of the rice onto the nori, and use the back of a wet spoon to spread it to the edges of the nori sheet.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp sesame seeds and 1 tbsp black sesame seeds over the rice, then cover it with another sheet of cling film. Flip over the nori so that the rice is now face down, and peel off the cling film over the nori sheet.
- Squash the peas with the back of a fork, and put them in a line across the nori, then place the remaining pickled carrots on top of the peas.
- Roll everything up tightly, (moving the remaining cling film and bamboo mat out of the way as you go, so they aren’t trapped inside!). Squeeze the bamboo mat as you go to make the roll as tight and neat as possible.
- Use your sharp, wet knife to trim the ends off the roll, then slice the roll into 8 equal slices.
To serve:
- Serve the sushi with a dipping bowl of tamari or soy sauce.
Love the combination of colours of your sushi. My wife makes kimbap which is similar to sushi. We also use cucumber as a filling as well.
Thanks for the step videos and ingredient ideas. Your sushi looks great!
Great Recipe with detailed explanations and videos! I also love to make vegan sushis but I always use brown rice to make. My wife is a newly converted sushi fanatic. When we were in Japan, I took her to a sushi restaurant and now nigiri become her favorite sushi .
Hey Kate that’s a good idea, I’m just leaning to use sesame on my sushi rolls. That’s a good idea to use a plastic wrap for when you want to flip it!
Loved how easy these rolls were to make! Everyone enjoyed them.
Your step by step guide is so well done. You take the guess work out of it.
This sushi looks absolutely fantastic. I am one to order the veggie sushi so this is right up my alley.
Yummy! My daughter and I are going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to show her this recipe!
This was so fun and easy to make! Perfect for a stay at home date night, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi. Is it really 2tbsp sugar in the rice? It seems quite a lot!
Hi Jude, yes it is! It balanaces out the pretty sharp vinegar. By all means substitute in another sweetener if you prefer or use less sugar – though you may want to reduce the vinegar a little too if you do that. Enjoy the sushi!
Hi. OK thanks! We weren’t sure but made this anyway yesterday. It was amazing and my 8 year old helped. Fiance very impressed. We didn’t have a bamboo rolling mat so used a tea towel and tin foil and it worked pretty well. Definitely making this again. Great recipe and instri9 thank you.
Brilliant! That’s great to hear. My kids love helping to make sushi too, it’s fun! x
This was amazing! Do you know if leftovers keep in the fridge for the next day?
Hi Phoebe, That’s great! Yes you can keep it overnight in the fridge but please chill as soon as you can and eat within 24 hours. For more info on storing pre-cooked rice see the Food Standards Agency’s website. Enjoy!