Sushi salad, inspired by Giraffe

I must admit, I had fun naming this post. It may not be a title that makes sense at first glance. I am referring, you see, to Giraffe of the restaurant rather than animal variety.

Giraffe is an English restaurant chain that I had seen on many occasions but not eaten in until our latest trip. On looking into its origins, it seems that the first Giraffe store opened in Hampstead in 1998. By the end of 2011, the chain had grown to 45 restaurants and produced a Giraffe cookbook. They must be doing something right!

Our Giraffe visit was on our very last day in England, as we were exploring the town where Mr Bite spent his childhood years. I had always thought of him as growing up in a suburb of Birmingham, but in fact he lived in a separate town just outside of Birmingham. Solihull took me by surprise in this regard, and the town centre was as far removed from the hustle of Birmingham (which will get posted eventually...) as one could imagine. It was a beautiful town, well-equipped and scenic and with appealing architecture.

Solihull town centre

Giraffe was located in a fairly new shopping centre in the heart of the town. I was enticed by the soba noodle and edamame salad listed on their menu, and we agreed that the relaxed restaurant vibe was appropriate for our final lunch in England. The chain's motto is to provide "freshly cooked food for everyone served to the sound of great music — guaranteed to make you feel good!". The reference to music makes me feel badly for not noticing it while we were there, but I agree that the menu would be likely to have something for everyone. Main meal options include a range of burgers and focaccias, Mexican enchiladas  various meat and fish dishes, Asian-style noodles, risottos, and plenty  of salads.

Unfortunately, once we got inside the soba noodle salad had disappeared off the menu. This was a bit perplexing and it turns out that their menu had recently been updated, with the changes not yet made to the exterior version. The soba noodle salad had been replaced by a tabbouleh one, which looked nice but didn't appeal to me on the day.

Fortunately, my replacement order was good enough to make thoughts of noodles fade into the background. I asked for their 'California sushi rice salad with oak smoked salmon', but minus the salmon. I was delighted to have the waiter take time to ask if I was vegetarian, and if so, if I wanted something else instead of salmon (or to have the dish charged at a reduced cost). I opted to have edamame beans and it was a real pleasure to have the staff be so accommodating and genuinely happy to modify the dish for me.

The sushi salad came with mango and a wasabi lime dressing, plenty of broccoli, and sheets of seaweed underneath. It was wonderful. Mr Bite had a vegetarian focaccia that was reportedly good but not stellar, but I don't think I would have changed any aspect of my meal. The edamame beans, on the side, were a lovely addition and were flavoured with chilli and sea salt.

Over the weekend, I got around to creating my own version of sushi salad. It is only loosely based on the above dish - I added strawberries instead of mango, used different flavourings, and tweaked the vegetables. It was equally good. Sushi is such a versatile dish and salad versions of it are the same - easy to modify to taste and circumstance and convenience.

Sushi salad

This makes 2 main-meal serves, but can easily be adapted

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup sushi (short-grain) rice, rinsed in cold water 

1.5 – 2 cups water 

2 tbsp rice vinegar 

4 sheets dried seaweed (available in most supermarkets) 

1 bunch bok choi or pak choi, rinsed and chopped 

½ - 1 cup broccoli florets 

½ cup shelled edamame beans (available in Asian supermarkets) 

3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (or any other Asian sauce of choice) 

Pickled ginger and strawberries, to serve 

Method

In a medium saucepan, add the sushi rice to the water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 12 – 14 minutes or according to packet instructions. Allow to stand for 5 – 10 minutes, then transfer to a bowl and mix in the rice vinegar. 

While the rice is cooling, steam your bok choi / pak choi and broccoli for 5 minutes, or until just cooked but still crisp. In a separate saucepan, cook the edamame beans in boiling water for 5 minutes. 

When the rice has cooled, line two large bowls with 2 sheets of seaweed each. Add half of the rice to each bowl along with half of the vegetables (bok choi / pak choi, broccoli, edamame beans) and half of the sauce. Top with pickled ginger and strawberries and serve.

Beautifully simple. Not quite as well-located as the version I ate in Solihull, but beautiful nonetheless!

For another take on sushi salad, check out Johanna's post on Green Gourmet Giraffe last week.
Are you a fan on this twist on regular sushi?

This post is part of my Vegan Month of Food contributions for October 2012. 

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