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Home » Entrees » Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Rolls

May 25, 2017

Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Rolls

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Stay in and make sushi! These sweet potato tempura and avocado rolls with teriyaki glaze are a perfect way to enjoy crispy tempura-battered sweet potato, creamy avocado and salty-sweet teriyaki glaze. Grab a sushi mat and a beer and get rolling!

A top-down shot of sweet potato tempura and avocado vegan sushi rolls against a dark background. this Recipe

These sweet potato tempura and avocado rolls with teriyaki glaze are a perfect idea for your next vegan sushi night! Stay at home and make these maki-style sushi rolls that are packed with crispy sweet potato, creamy avocado, seasoned sushi rice and finished with a swipe of homemade teriyaki glaze. I always keep a batch of this teriyaki glaze as well as this gochujang glaze in my fridge at all times. They are great to have on hand, and can be used in a wide variety of dishes.

Table of Contents

  • Making vegan sushi at home
  • Vegan sushi … there are so many options!
  • More ideas for making vegan sushi night at home a fun tradition
  • Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Sushi Rolls with Teriyaki Glaze
    • Description
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Notes

Making vegan sushi at home

I love staying in and making vegan sushi. The beer is cheaper, I can wear stretchy pants and can put whatever I want into it. Sometimes the only vegan sushi options out are plain avocado or asparagus, which can be a little boring. These vegan sushi rolls are easy because they don’t have to be perfect and actually look better a little messy.

A top-down shot of sweet potato tempura and avocado vegan sushi rolls with pickled ginger against a dark background.

Vegan sushi … there are so many options!

I used sweet potato here, but you could use asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, kabocha squash or any kind of mushrooms. You can make your own vegan tempura batter (some tempura batter in restaurants can contain egg whites), batter in panko, simply roast your vegetables or use an air-fryer. Making your own sushi rice is easy, and if you have a rice cooker, making the perfect sushi rice is as easy as pushing a button and waiting for your sushi rice to cook!

More ideas for making vegan sushi night at home a fun tradition

Making vegan sushi at home is a fun idea for a family tradition or something fun to do with your partner or friends. Here are some more ideas for sushi night!

Lobster Mushroom Tempura Rolls

Silky Bell Pepper Sushi

Spicy Carrot Lox and Avocado Sushi

Faux-Roe Gunkanmaki with Pickled Daikon

Crispy + Spicy Enoki Mushroom Roll

Vegan Dynamite Rolls

Baked Oyster Mushrooms with Dynamite Sauce

Spicy Vegan Scallop Roll

Spicy Shiitake Mushroom Roll

A side shot of sweet potato tempura and avocado vegan sushi rolls on a wooden serving board.
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Sweet Potato Tempura Rolls

Sweet Potato Tempura and Avocado Sushi Rolls with Teriyaki Glaze


★★★★★

4.5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: erin wysocarski
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 rolls
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This sweet potato tempura and avocado sushi roll recipe is fun to make and a great idea for making with friends and family. Once rolled, these vegan sushi rolls are slathered with a teriyaki glaze and served with pickled ginger. Grab a beer and get rolling!


Ingredients

for the teriyaki glaze

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup mirin
  • 1/8 cup sake (omit if you like – you’ll get a thicker sauce once it cools)
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 TB toasted sesame oil
  • 1 TB minced ginger

for the sushi rice

  • 1 cup sushi rice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

for the sweet potato tempura

  • grapeseed, canola or vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and cut into long slices, about the size of your index finger
  • 1 TB VeganEgg (chill it beforehand)
  • 1 1/4 cup of ice-cold, fizzy water (plus more if needed to thin the batter out a bit)
  • 1 cup AP flour (chill it beforehand)
  • 1 tsp salt

to assemble and finish

  • 4 toasted nori sheets
  • 4 TB black and/or white sesame seeds
  • 1 ripe avocado, sliced
  • 2–4 TB Vegenaise (optional)
  • wasabi (optional)
  • pickled ginger (optional)

Instructions

for the teriyaki glaze

  1. Whisk the brown sugar, mirin, sake and soy sauce in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. Warm the toasted sesame oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add in the ginger, making sure it’s coated well with the oil. Saute for 1 minute only.
  3. Pour the contents of the bowl into the saucepan, whisking it initially to dissolve the sugar. Once it comes to a small boil, reduce the heat to its lowest setting. Allow to reduce for 30-35 minutes, whisking it occasionally, then remove from the heat.
  4. Chill the teriyaki sauce to allow it to thicken before using. If it becomes too thick (it will be thicker if you did not use sake), a few seconds in the microwave will loosen it up enough to pour.

for the sushi rice

  1. 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.

for the sweet potato tempura

  1. Place several inches of oil into a small, cast iron pot (I like this one). Bring it to 350 degrees over medium-high heat. The oil will be ready to use in 5-7 minutes. You can tell when it’s ready by inserting a dry chopstick into the hot oil so it touches the bottom of the pot. If bubbles form around it immediately, you are ready to fry.
  2. Combine the VeganEgg and cold fizzy water.
  3. Add in the flour and gently combine with chopsticks. Some lumps are okay. Don’t overmix or the tempura will become dense.
  4. Working in small batches, dunk the potato slices into the batter and place carefully into the oil. Fry until golden and transfer to paper towels to drain while you fry the rest. Sprinkle with some of the salt while the oil is still glistening.

to assemble and finish

  1. 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 a tablespoon of sesame seeds.
  2. With the exposed end away from you, place 2 or 3 pieces of sweet potato tempura in a line along the side closest to you. Add a couple slices of avocado and some mayo, if desired.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Place onto a serving plate, repeating the process to make 4 rolls.
  6. Slather the tops with the teriyaki glaze, serving with wasabi and pickled ginger, if desired.

Notes

For light and crisp tempura, the batter needs to be super cold and the oil needs to be hot, at a steady 350 degrees. Wait to make your batter until your oil is hot, but not too hot.

Don’t overcrowd the pot with battered vegetables. This will reduce the temp of the oil, making the tempura soggy.

Use a skimmer to remove any fried bits between batches so they don’t burn and give your tempura a bitter taste.

The oil can be cooled, strained and used one or two more times before being tossed out.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer, Dinner
  • Method: Deep Fried
  • Cuisine: Japanese, American

Keywords: sweet potato tempura, sweet potato tempura maki roll, vegan sushi roll, vegan tempura recipe

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @olivesfordinner on Instagram … we’d love to see it!

A top-down shot of sweet potato tempura and avocado vegan sushi rolls on a wooden serving board with chopsticks and pickled ginger.

You may also like:

Vegan Tuna Salad
15-Minute Quick and Easy Tofu
Carrot Lox
Mock Eel

Filed Under: Entrees, Plant-Based Dinners, Popular Posts Tagged With: avocado, sweet potato, vegan sushi

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shannon says

    May 25, 2017 at 2:11 pm

    Absolutely stunning! I haven’t had vegan sushi in a while and just the mere title of this recipe has sent my cravings into high alert. I’m curious, do you think the veganegg could be substituted with aquafaba or something along those lines?

    Reply
    • erinwyso says

      May 25, 2017 at 3:15 pm

      Thank you Shannon! I am not sure af would work in here, but if you try with good results, I’d love to know! I also think you could just leave the veganegg out and it would still likely work. Good luck! 🙂

      Reply
      • Dan says

        June 9, 2020 at 5:26 pm

        I used just egg, worked great!

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  2. Dalia says

    February 23, 2022 at 1:14 pm

    This recipe is awesome. Followed it to the T but used regular egg bc not vegan. It was an absolute star. Dinner guests thrilled!

    ★★★★

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Erin Wysocarski. Glad you’re here.

I create vegan recipes for those who love to cook and eat. My husband Jeff photographs them. We live in Boston with our rescue dog, Harper. More about Erin →

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