Photo by Pete Nielson

Vegetarian Sushi

By Pete Nielson
Food Editor

Sundays have got to be my favorite day of the week. The past few Sundays have been an opportunity to have dinner with one of my favorite people and foodies. This Sunday I was feeling like something light and fresh. The heat has finally arrived so my little non-air conditioned apartment doesn’t allow for any sort of high temperature cooking. That is quite ok by me. We can make sushi. I decided that vegetarian sushi was the way to go for this meal. The ease and variations of ingredients made for a light dinner and great work snack for my over night shift.

I decided that we would make a variation of a couple of rolls that you can find at your sushi shops here in the Fargo area. The Peanut Avocado roll (thank you Kobe’s) and a Carrot Ginger roll topped with mango (I think I made this one up). Just a quick disclaimer, I am not a vegetarian but I would say that I am a vegetable advocate. With the help of Heather, my favorite foodie, I have placed meats on the back burner. That and finding sushi grade fish in this town for a reasonable price is next to impossible.
       
I know most people associate fish with sushi and you would not be too far off the mark. The beginnings of sushi were a combination of fermented fish and cooked rice. This took place as the meats were prohibited as Buddhism spread throughout Japan during the 9th century.

Modern sushi’s roots were planted. Rice vinegar was added to the rice, which in turn shortened the fermentation process of fish. This process was still time consuming. Instead of the 6 months plus for the fermentation process to complete it was just a mere 24 hours. This is still too long and not the sushi we know and love. The use of a layer of vinegared rice below filleted fish started in the 1700s. This is truly modern sushi. The variations that sushi has undertaken since are as many as there are places to find sushi.

The lack of quality ingredients in the local area made it necessary to turn to vegetable rolls. This follows in step with sushi and Japanese thoughts about food. Use what is in season and fresh. So off to the market I went finding ripe avocados and mangos. A little creativity and we have a peanut roll with avocado and a mango, ginger and carrot roll.

I could fill pages and pages about technique and recipes so I purposely left these things out. I want sushi to be a process of discovery and creativity as it has been for me.

Eat well; your body will appreciate it.

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