I confess myself disappointed. I have completed almost a month of daily blogs and yet, I have not blogged about Sushi. Not once. I wouldn't blame you to think that I didn't eat it or that I simply hated the stuff. Yet it is the complete opposite. I am enamoured with it, you could go as far to say it completes me.
Okay, so I am a little weird when it comes to Sushi. It was only introduced to me a couple of years ago and it was something I wouldn't forget for long. My friend Gemma and I decided to give it a go, naturally to beginners Yo! Sushi was the place to try it. I went for the basics at first, I remember being terrified of most of it. Taking it easy we ordered a few Cucumber Maki's here, some hot noodles dishes there, my FIRST TRY of Edamame Beans and back in the day I even tried the Salmon Maki which was a big step with it practically being raw fish! (I was a Pescatarian.)
Since then, I have started to recognise a bit better what is actually good quality Sushi. What I enjoy and what I really hate. I don't order the side dishes of noodles anymore, I'm no longer scared of the fish dishes as I don't eat them at all and I revel in anything Vegetable. The only downside is that my beloved Tempura is now off limits and I have to avoid Soy Sauce.
Here's my Gluten Free Vegan guide to Sushi...
1 - The Sandwich Fridge Stuff
You should really just walk straight past those quick grab Sushi packets that are kept with the no go Sandwiches, Pastas and Salads. For one, they are no good and secondly the reality of them actually being Gluten Free or Vegan is 1 in a million.
If you are reading this and you aren't either, I still would say, give it a hard pass! They are not made by highly trained chefs, they are too processed to be any good and Sushi should be something you wait for. Not something you just pick up out of convenience from any old Boots, Tesco Express or corner store.
2 - Counter in a Supermarket - Sushi Gourmet
Okay so this is different. Sainsbury's stores have brought in a new and easy way to get your fix of Sushi, trust me when I say it is actually of pretty good quality too!
They are called Sushi Gourmet, they run a small counter along the back with the other fresh food counters such as fish, meat, pizza etc. There is always a chef in there making Sushi throughout the day, so you know it is fresh and made well. They have a selection in the Fridge ready to go, although if there is a dish that you'd like that is missing you can ask them to make it right there and then (as long as they have the ingredients of course).
I find this Sushi to be one of the best takeaway options around, for me it is the quality of the rice that does it. It's so properly cooked through without being too wet or clumped together, as it is the base of the meal I guess that is pretty important. The fillings can be a bit hit and miss though, I have had it where the Avocado wasn't ripe making it hard, something an Avocado should never be, and then the complete opposite where it's horribly brown. So choose wisely when you go!
Each box lists the ingredients of each dish. Just be aware that although it says it contains Wheat, they are referring to the packet of Soy Sauce in each tub of Sushi. When you read the ingredients, it is clear that the Sushi itself does not contain any Wheat plus the Soy Sauce is enclosed completely in a packet. Obviously if you are Coeliac you know to be more careful, yet as I have an intolerance I am okay as there will only be traces.
I've heard rumours of Waitrose doing something similar, I'm yet to see it but I am sure it will be pretty exciting!
3 - Wholefoods
If you can be in a Wholefoods, then do it. That is an unwritten rule of any Vegan or health food lover, that place is just awesome. When you are in there, head for their Sushi counter or ready made food Fridges. I assure you there will only be food glory and delight to be found.
I have been fortunate enough to experience Sushi from Wholefoods on both sides of the Atlantic. My favourite actually being a little closer to home in the Richmond branch, purely because it was a totally Vegan pack of Sushi that was crazily delicious and unexpected. It had Cucumber, Carrot, Shallots and Avocado, unusually it had Brown Rice and was draped with Avocado with the Nori Paper layer inside like a Dragon Roll. My oh my was it good. So many fresh Vegetable flavours, never did I think Shallots would work in Sushi but I was so wrong. It's flavour was a sharp kick in the tastebuds which was brilliant as the other Vegetables are quite mild.
Their whole selection is wonderful. They use different rices, such as Brown or Sushi plus they sometimes use Quinoa as a complete alternative. Their fillings are always well calculated, perfectly ripe and ready to go. Alike Sushi Gourmet they have a counter and you can either take what is prepared or ask. With so much selection already available I just took the one I found, though there were many more options I'm sure I would have enjoyed just as much.
4 - A proper Sushi restaurant
Now when I say a proper Sushi restaurant I do not mean Itsu. No matter how much I used to enjoy Itsu, it is something I can stomach no more. When you have had high quality Sushi, it does it my tastebuds and my stomach an injustice to then go back to that place. The quality is simply no good and their rice is always on the edge of undercooked.
Myself and Chris adore Sushi, so when I found an all you can eat Sushi restaurant called Sushi Mania only 5 minutes walk away we had to try it. All you can eat Sushi is somewhat of a challenge, they even give you a time limit! It is to this day some of the best Sushi I have had. The rice is still warm from being freshly cooked, the ingredients so perfectly rationed and each piece was prepared just for us.
This is what you get when you pay for it. Of course for £16 per person it isn't too expensive and in a pay by the roll place you would be looking at a sky high amount of money. However for that handmade quality level of Sushi every now and again as a treat, it is worth it. You can tide yourself over with the other takeaways ones in the meantime anyway.
5 - The best way, Handmade Sushi
I have tried this a few times now, first with Chris for a date night back in our early days together. We thought we were geniuses when we rolled our first one and it worked pretty well. If only I had seen the quality roll of today!
All you need to make Sushi is in most Supermarkets down either the Asian or World Foods aisle. There is nearly always a shelf full of ingredients and most shops have a pack including the bamboo roller too.
My list to create a good plate of Sushi is this; Nori Sheets (Seaweed sheets that wrap the outside); Sushi Rice (best to use this as a beginner); Rolling Mat (normally Bamboo); a Wooden Rice spoon; and some filling. I use Cucumber, Avocado, Pepper and tonight I even tried steamed Carrot!
The trick to making Sushi is to cook the rice exactly as the packet tells you (made that mistake more than once), don't overfill the roll, choose your filling wisely (sweet potato doesn't work well, believe me) and always have a glass of water on hand. The water stops the rice sticking to your fingers when you inevitably use them to spread it across the sheet. Although mainly it is good for when cutting between each slice, as dipping your knife into the water each time makes for a cleaner cut and no sticking!
My attempt today was definitely the best I've done, as I've kept persevering the results are a lot better each time! These ones actually have the filling centred with a great level of rice.
For those of you Sushi scaredy cats, I'm looking at some of my friends that read this blog, don't knock it until you've tried it. Though when you do try it, do it right!
Sushi can be the best snack, lunch or dinner. It is truly versatile with hundreds of fillings as options, insanely delicious and highly addictive. I live by it a few times every couple of weeks but I wish I could have it a lot more, especially with my favourite Edamame Beans. Edamame Beans are literally the best.
Happy Veganuary Day 30!