Sushi is a very fascinating, colorful and yummy dish. Here we propose sushi in a vegetarian and… really surprising version. Indeed, we’ll prepare nigiri, that are rice balls covered by an ingredient, that can be raw fish in the original version or, like in our recipe, vegetables and wakame seaweed decorated with berries of red currant. Wakame seaweed is a very healthy food since it is antioxidant, purifying and able to accelerate the metabolism by counteracting the excess of fat, especially on the waist line. Don’t forget also the vegetables, sources of vitamins and mineral salts, while the used rice is whole grain and able to protect from the dangerous blood sugar spikes. Finally, the pickled ginger, that goes perfectly with the sushi, is digestive and is like a lemon sorbet, it prepares the mouth for the next nigiri!
Ingredients for about 16 nigiri
200 grams of whole grain basmati rice
Nori seaweed
1 strip of dry wakame seaweed
Strips of mixed vegetables (carrot, pepper, zucchini)
Red currant berries
3 tablespoons of rice vinegar (in alternative apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
A pinch of salt
Ingredients for pickled ginger
250 grams of ginger
120 grams of apple cider vinegar
100 grams of water
40 grams of brown sugar
Tamari sauce
Preparation of nigiri
Soak the wakame seaweed in water for about 20 minutes, then cook it for a couple of minutes in boiling water then put it under cold running water, this treatment will make the seaweed of a light green color and with a crunchy texture. Cut the seaweed into little strips and keep apart. Rinse the rice under running water and cook it in slightly salt water in accordance with the timing reported on the pack. Drain the rice, rinse it under running water and put in a bowl. In another bowl mix the vinegar, the sugar and the salt. Pour this dressing on the rice and stir gently. Place a little rice in your hand and give it the form of an elongated ball, the typical form of nigiri, but don’t press too much. Place the rice ball on the plate and put on it the wakame seaweed, decorate with a red currant berry. Another nigiri may be prepared by placing on the rice a strip of pepper, cut then a little strip of nori seaweed and wrap it around the rice and the vegetable, use some rice grains as a glue on a seaweed’s ending part. Go on in this way until you finish the ingredients, you can alternate, as a covering for the rice, wakame seaweed, pepper, carrot or zucchini according to your taste.
Preparation of the pickled ginger
peel the ginger and cut it into long strips with a mandolin slicer. Soak the ginger in cold water for 15 minutes, then drain it. Bring to the boil a liter of water, add the ginger and cook it for 2 minutes. Drain and save the ginger. In a pot mix the water, the sugar and stir, place on the heat until the sugar will melt. Remove from the heat, add a teaspoon of tamari sauce, the vinegar and the ginger, pay attention that the marinade should completely cover the ginger. Keep in the fridge for some hours. Serve the pickled ginger with the nigiri.
