Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas food ideas 2012: Brown rice mango sushi


It is possible that this food idea will be better suited to those of you in southern hemisphere climates than northern hemisphere ones. Sushi for Christmas is a bit of an outlandish idea in its own right. If it is snowing outside, adding fresh mango to the mix may seem bizarre as well as impractical.

If you are somewhere cold, this may be one occasion when tinned mango could stand in. Otherwise, a pumpkin and tahini filling was a serious alternate contender for this, and I am pretty sure pumpkin will be easy to come by if it's winter where you are. (If anyone does try pumpkin and tahini, please let me know how it goes!)

In the form I made it, this easy dish has mango, carrot and tofu as the sushi fillings. I used brown rice instead of sushi rice and the result was a meal (or snack) I could happily eat every day. It's not traditional Christmas fare, but mango and Christmas go together in an Australian kind of way, and this would be perfect for any pre-Christmas events when finger food is required.


I actually used pre-flavoured tofu for this. I rarely buy those packets (on account of the cost), but when they're on sale I tend to stock up. This was a Thai flavoured block, which paired perfectly with the mango. If you were using plain tofu, a simple marinade of soy sauce, fresh grated ginger and chilli would work well. That had been my plan prior to finding the flavoured tofu, and I would stir-fry the tofu ahead of time so it can be cooled before the sushi rolling stage.


Really, though, you can modify this dish to suit whatever you have to hand. It is more of a concept than a recipe. You may want to use cucumber instead of carrot (I don't like cucumber), put avocado in (I don't like that either), or even skip the tofu altogether. Sushi is flexible like that.


Brown rice mango sushi
Easy, festive, and perfect for summer (or for dreaming of summer)
Makes about 20 sushi pieces
Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
2 tbsp mirin or rice vinegar
3 sheets nori
1 large mango, cut into thin slices (you can use tinned if necessary)
1 large carrot, cut into thin slices
200g marinated and cooked tofu, cut into thin slices


Method
Ahead of time, cook the brown rice in the 2 cups of water using the absorption method (cover, bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer for 15-20 minutes). Allow the rice to cool. Stir the mirin through the rice and refrigerate until needed.

Take one sheet of nori and spoon cooled rice into a strip, approximately 2 inches in from one end. Top the rice with sliced mango, carrot, and tofu. Roll in from the near end and use water to seal the other end after rolling.

Repeat for the other sheets of nori.

Allow the sushi to chill in the refrigerator before slicing with a sharp knife.


I am not sure if this will feature on our Christmas day, but it will definitely be appearing again either before Christmas, or as a staple of my summer lunches.

I am submitting this to Healthy Vegan Friday #21, hosted by Gabby, Shelby and Carrie.

Other 2012 Christmas food ideas: Chocolate, almond and goji berry truffle balls, and bejewelled couscous salad.
My 2011 Christmas food posts can be found here

How do you feel about non-traditional Christmas foods at Christmas time?

25 comments:

  1. My family is always non tradition with Christmas dinner!! This meal looks delicious!!

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    1. Thanks Brittany! And I imagine that non-traditional would make the whole day much easier going :-)

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  2. YUM! I love mango in savoury dishes.... I will definitely make this, but I may HAVE to add avocado & pickled ginger, as I am obsessed with those 2 things in sushi :)

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    1. Ooh, I wish I had added pickled ginger! I even have some in the fridge but I forgot about it :P

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  3. Since our family is so tiny most of our holiday meals are non traditional. Soups for Christmas day and little appetizers for Xmas Eve, of which these mango sushi's would be perfect!!!
    I absolutely adore mango, and these look divine!
    Happy weekend to you!!!

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    1. Thank you Teri! These would definitely go in the little appetizers category so I'm glad they appeal :-)

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  4. Given my intense adoration of sushi, sushi for Christmas sounds perfect to me!

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    1. I think I'd have it any day of the year too :-)

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  5. Teehee, little flat squishy sushi rolls! They look like the kind I make. One day I'll master the art of rolling. Actually, no, no I won't. But I bet you will! My mum would love this with he mango :)

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    1. Mr Bite laughs at my sushi too. I'm pretty sure mine will remain this way forever because I can never be bothered using a rolling mat thingy and my knife skills don't seem up to the task of cutting it neatly.

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  6. Yum! I would of never thought to put mango into sushi but it looks delicious! I'm definitely going to try this! :-) Great summer time recipe!

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  7. I am totally making this. The other day I was making mango rice paper rolls and thinking "I wonder if mango would go well in sushi"? Now you've confirmed it, I'm going to use some of our ridiculous amount of mangoes to try myself :)

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    1. Oh, I'm so pleased to have posted this at the right time! I hope you enjoy it if you do try it - and mango rice paper rolls are something I will now have to try!

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  8. i am in LOVE with sushi and always wanted to make it! :)

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    1. If you can cope with it being a bit messy (as per mine!), it's really easy to make!

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  9. I've never ever tried to make sushi before but it's one the of the foods I've really fallen in love with this year. I always get it when I'm out at a Japanese restaurant. My favorite fillings are avocado and blanched asparagus. Hubby likes lettuce, Japanese pickle, avocado and cucumber in his, it makes for one large roll that is just too messy for me to eat.

    Great colors in your sushi, looks delicious to eat!

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    1. The lettuce, pickle, avocado and cucumber mix does sound very messy! I have never thought to try it with asparagus but that is a great idea - thanks :)

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  10. Love this! I had sushi last week and opted for brown rice. makes me feel better about eating 3 rolls :P Yours look amazing. Well done!

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  11. I would happily east this sushi anytime. I adore mangoes in almost anything.

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  12. I love sushi and would be interested in a pumpkin and tahini version but have never managed to appreciate mango - makes me feel very unaustralian - and for christmas day, I am quite happy with the traditional christmas menu (though perhaps the real traditionalists would scoff at my "traditional" vegetarian dinner)

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    1. You do do traditional very well, so I think sticking with that makes sense :-) And if you ever do make a pumpkin and tahini version for a non-Christmas event, I would love to hear how you find it!

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  13. Looks delicious Kari! I love the idea of mango in sushi, I've never tried it but I love the combo of sweet and salty, so I'm sure I'd enjoy it :) You're inspiring me to go whip up some sushi of my own!

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