I’ve cooked and burned rice on the stovetop exactly twice. After the second time, I bought a rice cooker and enjoy that babysitting or destroying rice is no longer a part of the process. $50 well spent! Rice cookers are especially great for making sushi rice because they cook the rice super-evenly for rice-challenged folks like me, help the lazy be who they are (dump rice in cooker, add water to cook, push button, wait, rest and fluff) or keep the sushi-making process low-key and minimally fussy as possible.
VEGAN DYNAMITE ROLLS
Cook
Total
Yield 4 rolls
Ingredients
FOR THE SUSHI RICE
- 1 cup sushi rice
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
FOR THE KING OYSTER MUSHROOM
- 2 cups diced king oyster mushrooms (slice into scallop-sized rounds, discard tops. Slice each round into 4 to 6 pieces), soaked in warm water for about 20 minutes
- 1/2 cup water, whisked with 1 TB Ener-G
- 1 cup cornstarch, plus more if needed
- plenty of canola, vegetable or grapeseed oil
FOR THE DYNAMITE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup vegan mayo (I use Vegenaise)
- 1 TB sriracha, to taste
TO ASSEMBLE
- 4 toasted nori sheets
- 4 TB black sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 avocado, sliced
- chopped scallions, to garnish
Instructions
- To make the sushi rice, place the rice and water into a rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer instructions. Once done, season with the rice vinegar, sugar and salt and set aside to cool.
- To make the mushrooms, place several inches of oil into a small, heavy dutch oven or cast iron pot (I use Lodge’s cast iron) over medium-high heat. It will take anywhere from 5-7 minutes for the oil to be ready. While you are waiting, throw a fourth of the chopped mushrooms into the Ener-G mixture and toss to coat. Shake off any excess moisture, then place into the cornstarch, gently tossing with your hands.
- Test the oil for readiness by throwing in a pinch of cornstarch. If it sizzles immediately, you are ready to fry. Shake off any excess cornstarch from the mushrooms and gently lower them into the oil using a skimmer and fry until golden brown, no more than 3 minutes. Transfer the fried mushrooms to a paper towel to drain while you repeat the process in batches with the rest of the mushrooms.
- To assemble the rolls, divide the cooled rice into 4 portions. Slide a sushi mat into a large Ziploc bag or cover with plastic wrap. Place one sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the mat. Moisten your fingers with some water to prevent rice from sticking to them, then spread the rice evenly over the nori sheet, leaving about an inch exposed at the top. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of the sesame seeds, if desired.
- Divide the fried mushrooms into 4 portions. Drizzle one portion with the dynamite sauce until evenly coated. With the exposed end away from you, form a thin line of some of the mushrooms along the side closest to you, adding a couple slices of avocado. Roll the sushi away from you, gripping the mat tightly but gently.
- Once rolled, seal the end with water or add a few grains of rice to the end to help seal. Now cut the sushi in half with a very sharp knife (I run the blade under scalding water for a cleaner cut), then each half into halves, then those halves into halves to make 8 pieces. Place onto a serving plate, spooning the leftover mushrooms over the top.
- Repeat this process to make 4 rolls. Finish with chopped scallions and extra sriracha, if desired.
I love sushi. I have not had a lot of WOW sushi since I've been vegan. I have go to try these!
Hello! I found your blog (highlighting this recipe) on Finding Vegan. The sushi looks delish, and I LOVE your blog w/o ads! I could scroll through and look and read w/o the page taking 5 minutes to load and then just to stall/freeze. This is the kind of blog I like to read, thank you!
Thank you, love to hear that! 🙂
I made this last night. It's the best sushi I've ever made!
awesome! So happy you liked. 🙂
This looks incredible!!! I’m about to take a vegan sushi class!! Hopefully, I’ll figure out how to make sushi look like sushi, & not a hot mess. ? A question about your recipe: Is there something I may use as a substitute for cornstarch(which is made out of GMO corn). ?
Thanks Lisa! Lucky for you, these rolls are meant to be a little messy, so it’s great practice 🙂
If you don’t want to use cornstarch, I would just suggest googling alternatives for it. Maybe rice flour can be used in its place? Good luck!
Kuzu root starch and arrow root starch are alternatives to corn starch. I don’t know if you would need to change the amount, though.
Thank you for the recipe!
You can buy organic cornstarch.
Thank you so much! ? I’m new to your gorgeous website, and either I found you on Instagram, or someone referred you via IG. The raw, vegan sushi class will be in about a week, & just as soon as it’s completed, I’ll be making your luscious looking sushi stat!! ??????
Thanks for your kind words, Lisa — i hope you enjoy the sushi! 🙂
This is so inspiring, I’m a 22 year vegetarian and have nothing like this in my repertoire. Can’t wait to put an evening aside and try two or three different rolls!
I made these last night, and I was seriously impressed. I’ve been making vegan sushi for a while, but I’ve always used tofu, carrots, avocado, and sometimes bell peppers as fillings. They’re okay, but not amazing. These were incredible!
Regina, I love to hear that, so happy you liked! Mushrooms are so amazing in sushi!
Hi Erin!
I desperately wanna eat this tonight, it looks so delicious.
But, what is Ener-g? I looked it up, but it seems like the brand sells multiple products. I have some egg replacer here, is that it? 🙂
no worries, found the answer on the enoki recipe! wish me luck tonight!
Hi Erin,
Mary’s test kitchen brought me here for your lox recipe which i will be making for Valentine’s day 😊 Im considering doing this recipe also but what is Ener-G?
Which product by Ener-G are you using for this recipe. It looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it.
Cindy, I used their egg replacer here. I hope you enjoy!
You say to throw a fourth of the chopped mushrooms into the Ener-G mixture and then toss in cornstarch. Should that portion of mushrooms be cooked separately? When is that portion combined with the rest of the mushrooms? Should the rest of the mushrooms be tossed in cornstarch before frying? And can you provide some guidance on what size cast iron pot/dutch oven is needed. Is a ramekin (approx. 7 ounce capacity) too small? Is a 2 qt pot/oven too big?
Hi Adam, The mushrooms should be fried in small batches and repeated (see last sentence in step 3). This prevents the temperature of the oil from dropping (which would result in soggy shrooms) as well as them sticking together).
I use this 2 qt. Lodge cast iron for all my frying, and found it to be the perfect size: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008GKDU/ref=twister_B00DNUANDS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I hope you enjoy!
Thanks so much! I’m going to try making this as soon as I get a chance. I’m still a little confused about how to fry the mushrooms. I assume all of the mushrooms should be coated in cornstarch. But it sounds like only a quarter of the mushrooms should be tossed in the Ener-G and then tossed in the cornstarch. And I guess when making the rolls the Ener-G coated mushrooms should be combined with the non-Ener-G coated mushrooms?
Adam, you are going to work in small batches here. Toss 1/4 of the mushrooms in Ener-G, coat in cornstarch. Fry. Repeat that process until all mushrooms are fried. Good luck!
I’m really excited to try this for a sushi date night in. I’m allergic to avocado though- can you recommend something to take its place? Will mango be too overpowering? Thank you!
Can I use any egg replacer !
Axl, I can’t say for sure without testing them out, but if you use a different egg replacer with good results, I’d love to know!