I could eat veggie sushi anytime, anywhere, any day. Really. No lie. I love it. At home, I like to make it with avocado, cucumber and carrots. I think the whole process is fun. Making the sushi rice and spreading it out on a sheet tray. Rolling the nori and fillings on a sushi mat. Mixing wasabi and pickled ginger with soy sauce. And eating my creation with chop sticks.

But the other day, I started to think about putting all that good stuff in a big bowl. It makes a great light lunch or you could whip up some miso soup and have asian soup and salad night for dinner.

As you would with sushi, start by making the rice. When it is cooked, spread it on a sheet tray and season with rice vinegar mixed with agave and sea salt.

 

While the rice is cooking, prepare the veggies. Feel free to get a little crazy here. Originally, I was going to keep this simple, highlighting only a few vegetables. Well, I started going through my fridge and I was like, this would be good and this would be good. So I added all kinds of happy veggies. Feel free to improvise here.

I made a homemade teriyaki sauce and sauteed some of the veggies in a wok and left some raw.

Then I mixed the rice, cooked veggies, raw veggies, nori strips and a simple dressing together in a big bowl.  Topped it off with avocado, scallions, sesame seeds and sliced raw almonds. Crazy. Happy. Good.

Crazy Happy Veggie Sushi Bowl

Serves 4

3 cups cooked sushi rice

1/4 cup rice vinegar, unseasoned

1 Tbsp agave

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 small onion, sliced

1 large portobello mushroom, sliced

1 cup small broccoli florets

2 spears asparagus, cut on bias

1/2 cup carrots, cut into small matchsticks

1/2 cucumber, seeded, cut into matchsticks

1/2 cup cooked, shelled edamame

1 large scallion, sliced

1/2 avocado, diced

1 toasted nori sheet, cut into strips

7 Tbsp teriyaki sauce, divided (purchased or homemade recipe follows)

Wasabi dressing (recipe follows)

Sesame seeds

Sliced almonds

Wonton strips

Cook sushi rice according to package directions. Remove from heat and spread on a sheet pan. Combine rice vinegar, agave and sea salt. Drizzle over rice and carefully fold the rice over until combined.

Heat coconut oil in wok over high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms shrink in size and onions soften, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and asparagus and saute briefly until broccoli turns bright green, about 1 minute. Add 3 Tbsp teriyaki sauce and take off heat.

Transfer room temperature sushi rice to a large bowl. Add veggies from the wok, carrots, cucumber, edamame and nori strips. Add wasabi dressing and toss to coat. Salt to taste. Top with scallions, avocado, sesame seeds, almonds and wonton strips.

Teriyaki Sauce

Adapted from Chloe’s Kitchen

3/4 cup water

3 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and heat over medium high heat. Whisk frequently until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and whisk until thick and syrupy.

Wasabi Dressing

4 Tbsp teriyaki

1/2 tsp prepared wasabi

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.