Sushi Rice Salad

April 25, 2009

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What do I make when I’m making miso soup?  Sushi Rice Salad.  I’ve made sushi rolls before – I have the bamboo mat to prove it.  But, while they are delicious, healthy, and nutritious, they are also kind of time consuming and fussy.  When I crave those flavors, I make this salad.  A purist would gasp but someone wanting sushi would just dig in.

This recipe is written on yellow legal paper in my own hand and I have no idea where I got it.  I have tweaked it significantly over the many times I have made it so I am going to officially call it my own.  Whoever wrote the original says to use long-grain rice.  Every single time I have made it, except for this last one, I have used sushi rice.  You have to wash sushi rice endlessly so it doesn’t gum up and wouldn’t you know it, every time I made this dish, the rice gummed up.  Last week I decided to make it with brown rice and I loved it.  Try whatever you like.

Sushi Rice Salad
Serves 4-6

You should be able to find all the more unusual ingredients in the Asian food section of your grocery store.

1/2 cups long grain rice or brown rice
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, divided
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. finely chopped pickled ginger
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 English cucumber, seeded and chopped
8 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
2 sheets nori
1 avocado

Cook rice.  (If making brown rice, simply boil in a large pot of water, as you would for pasta.  Cook until tender and then drain.)  Meanwhile, in a small saucepan 1/4 cup vinegar to boil with sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved and remove from heat.

Transfer rice to a large bowl and stir in vinegar mixture.  Cool rice.  (If there is excess liquid in the bottom of the bowl, drain rice again.)  Stir in sesame seeds, remaining 3 tbsp. vinegar, oil, ginger, scallions, cucumber, tofu, and carrot.

Cut nori sheets into 1 inch wide strips.  Peel and pit avocado.  Quarter, then cut cross-wise into thin slices.  Add avocado to salad with nori.  Toss well.

Dressing

I like a lot of wasabi with my sushi.  I like my nose to burn a little bit.  If you like things mellower, add between 1 and 2 tsp. wasabi and then see how it tastes before you add it to the salad.

3 tsp. wasabi paste
1 tbsp. hot water
2 tbsp. cold water
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. ginger juice

In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together.  Drizzle dressing over salad and mix carefully.



11 Comments »

  1. Oh, that does look good :)

    Comment by holler — April 26, 2009 @ 12:01 pm

  2. I love this idea! I’ve only ever made sushi rolls once, and this I would definitely make repeatedly.

    Comment by lisaiscooking — April 26, 2009 @ 4:46 pm

  3. Delicious, I can eat this 3x a day! recipe sounds great.
    Cheers,
    elra

    Comment by elra — April 26, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

  4. Thanks for stopping by my website. I love the deconstructed sushi salad idea. Healthy and very creative!

    Comment by Jackie @ PhamFatale.com — April 26, 2009 @ 10:01 pm

  5. Saw your photo on Tastespotting. Looks delicious! I made something very similar a while back, but with shrimp: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharedrecipes/4439813/

    Comment by yoko — April 27, 2009 @ 9:04 pm

  6. i tried this recipe on my roommates tonight. every one loved it! so delicious! thank you for sharing!

    =)

    Comment by Jessi — April 28, 2009 @ 1:24 am

  7. This is one of those dishes you look at and think, “Why didn’t I think of that?” That is to say, it looks fabulous, and something I’d totally like to try. And I think I have every one of these items in my pantry and refrigerator!

    The picture of the dish is lovely.

    Comment by HappyTummy — April 29, 2009 @ 2:02 am

  8. Made this for dinner tonight–so good! Thanks for the inspiration.

    Comment by Tea — May 3, 2009 @ 4:12 am

  9. […] Sushi Bowls […]

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  10. […] simple sushi at home? A few months ago I saw a recipe for sushi rice salad on Dana Treat’s blog, Treat Yourself, and knew I had to try it. We have made sushi rolls […]

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  11. […] Deconstructed Sushi Salad (adapted from danatreat.com) […]

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