#smokedshitakedragonroll #compressedsesamespinach #yuzutamari #blowtorch

smoked shitake dragon roll, compressed sesame spinach, yuzu tamari

There is a widespread misconception that sushi is healthy. Sashimi, yes. Sushi, not so much. Why? Because your typical sushi rice is made by boiling white rice (refined non-wholegrain carbohydrate), white sugar (hideous) and rice vinegar together. The below recipe provides a delicious root vegetable alternative, which is both carbohydrate and sugar-free.

rice

1 ½ cup jicama, roughly chopped (or cauliflower)

½ cup parsnip, chopped

1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

Pulse the chopped jicama in a food processor until you reach a rice like consistency. Using a fine mesh strainer drain any excess liquid out of the jicama. Repeat this process with the parsnips. Transfer the “rice” to a mixing bowl and add the brown rice vinegar and salt.

smoked shitakes

1 cup shitakes

1 tablespoon tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and smoke with a smoking gun. If you don’t own a smoking gun (unlikely!) then you can either skip this step or source a blowtorch and some wood chips. Step in the man-drawer. Simply place the woods chips in a bowl and smoke them using the blowtorch. Place a larger inverted bowl over the smaller smoking bowl to capture this smoke. After 1 minute, place the larger inverted bowl over a bowl of marinated mushrooms that you have sitting close by (hint, hint). Do this step as quickly as you can! Leave the mushrooms to “smoke” for 5 minutes. Repeat if desired.

yuzu tamari

¾ cup tamari

2 tablespoons yuzu

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Mix ingredients.

Dragonroll

sushi mat

1 nori wrap

half avocado

1/2 cup sushi filling (anything you fancy!)

Place nori on sushi mat. Ensure the shiny side of the nori wrap is face down. Portion "rice" onto the bottom half of the nori wrap , about 1/2 cm thick. Line the smoked mushrooms and your chosen sushi filling horizontally across the nori wrap, about 1/3 of the way up the rice. Roll the sushi (think joint, it might help!). Seal your sushi roll by dabbing a little water along the nori seal.

If you wish to try the dragonroll part (!), then very thinly slice half an avocado. Fan this out in your hand and place to the side. Cover your sushi mat in cling film and place the fanned avocado on the sushi mat horizontally across the full length of the mat. Make sure the light green-side is facing up. Carefully place your sushi roll on top of the fanned avocado and gently roll using the sushi mat. There you have it!

Slice sushi roll into eight equal-sized portions usng a sharp knife dipped in a little vinegar (makes it easier to cut cleanly).