Thursday, March 19, 2009

Sushi Bowls



Since I've had the money to develop a taste for it sushi has been both my comfort food and the meal I'm most likely to splurge on for a special occasion. It was definitely the food I was most worried about losing to the French diet, necessitating a pricey sushi binge the day before the diet began. Fortunately we've been making so many meals that have either been so delicious or so odd I haven't had much time to lust after sushi. Much.

This next best thing for next time the overwhelming urge for sushi appears and made totally diet friendly by substituting brown rice for the traditional sticky white and using only good low carb fats and veggies It's also good for sushi when you're feeling lazy and cheap because the ingredients are readily available and there is no rolling or Japanese food artistry necessary.

I'm not a big fan of the texture of tofu however so we substituted a nice firm tasty tempah for tofu which made preparing this even easier. And the fella dislikes avocado with a passion so he used cucumber on his portion. Overall he just wasn't that into this faux sushi experience, the real thing isn't his favorite but it's a sign of his niftyness that he acquiesced to a meal he would never eat on his own just for my love of sushi. It was glorious, I may eat nothing but this when the fella goes out of town in May.



Sushi Bowls


2 cups short-grain brown rice
3 1/2 cups water
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 (4-inch) square sheets nori seaweed
6 ounces extra-firm tofu


grated zest and juice of one orange
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons fructose
2 tablespoons shoyu sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons (brown) rice vinegar


4 green onions, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted


Rinse and drain the rice two or three times. Combine the rice, water, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, about 45 minutes.


Toast the nori in a preheated 300F degree oven or a medium-hot skillet for a few minutes. Crumble or chop coarsely.


Drain the tofu and pat it dry. Cut the block of tofu lengthwise through the middle to make four 1/4-to 1/2-inch thick sheets of tofu. Two at a time, cook in a dry skillet or well-seasoned skillet over medium-high for a few minutes until browned on one side. Flip gently, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. Let cool, enough to handle, then cut crosswise into matchsticks. Repeat with the remaining sheets.


To make the dressing, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, and fructose in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 1 or 2 minute, the add the shoyu and vinegar. Return to a gentle boil and cook another 1 or 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the zests.


When the rice is done, stir in 1/3 cup of the dressing and add more to taste. Scoop the rice into individual bowls and top with the toasted nori, green onions, tofu, avocado slices, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.


Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks Blog.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I loooove the 101cookbooks blog. And these are definitely going onto my "to cook" list.