How-To Order Vegan Sushi

Sushi?? That's raw fish! Eeew. Yuck.
Erm, no. The term sushi means "sour-tasting" and actually refers to the vinegared rice. It can be combined with any number of ingredients. There's no reason not to enjoy a variety of vegan sushi!

Unless you are lucky enough to live near a vegan sushi restaurant--yes, they do exist: Superfood Sushi in Sydney, Shizen in San Francisco, and Beyond Sushi in New York City--you just need to know what and how to order. You can, of course, learn to make your own sushi, which is heaps of fun but takes practice. I will definitely be vlogging more about making various types of vegan sushi (even completely raw sushi) once the video portion of this blog commences!

Even at the most traditional sushi establishments in Japan, you can find vegan options. I ate a lot of kappa maki (cucumber rolls) and edamame when I visited Tokyo. Various sprouts, mushrooms, and pickled vegetables can all be included if you know what to ask for.

Last summer, I reviewed one of my favorite Boston sushi establishments, Oishii (which means "delicious" in Japanese). Check it out and you will see not only why Citysearch dubbed it "the best sushi restaurant in America," but how eclectic the vegan options can be at the right restaurant.

What will you find at the average sushi place that is suitable for vegans? Plenty!

Ingredients most folks will recognize may include:

• Kappa (cucumber)
• Avocado
• Oshinko (the Japanese term for pickle, usually you will see pickled daikon radish dyed yellow)
• Kanpyo or kampyo (pickled sweet gourd strips)
• Sweet potato (if it is tempura battered and deep fried, ask if the batter contains egg white)
• Asparagus
  
• Scallion
• Burdock root (pickled and often dyed orange)
• Spinach
• Shiitake mushrooms
• Kaiware (radish sprouts)
• Inari (fried sweet tofu pockets)

Other ingredients you might encounter:

• Shiso leaf
• Ume plum paste
• Yuba (tofu skin, skimmed off the top when boiling soymilk)
• Enoki or Enokitake (thin, white mushrooms)
• Natto (slimy, smelly very fermented soybeans)
• Menegi (scallion shoots)
• Tonburi ("mountain caviar," the dried seed of the summer cypress)

Sushi trains where you can choose pre-made tiny plates of sushi and sides are tons of fun, especially for kids! Don't be shy. Ask about any ingredients you're not sure about. At Wasabi, I was surprised to learn the cilantro pesto garnish was vegan. 

What do you need to avoid? There is very little dairy used in Asian cuisine, but there are other things to look out for. 

Ask about:

• Egg white in tempura batter
• Dashi (fish) stock in miso soup, seaweed salad, or oshitashi (blanched spinach)
• Bonito (dried fish flakes) in soups or used as a garnish. 
• Natto made with fish.
• Sake make with isinglass.
• Mayonnaise! In Australia, I noticed it was frequently used to compliment vegetable maki, spread inside and easy to miss. 

Are you new to sushi and unsure about all the little side dishes? Pickled ginger is a delicious condiment, mildly spicy, that is used to cleanse the palate. Wasabi is the green paste similar to horseradish that delivers a real nasal kick. Soy sauce/shoyu/tamari is meant to be used sparingly (do NOT dunk your food in it or soak your maki in it 'til it's dripping). 

Sushi can be as diverse as your culinary imagination. Vegan sushi おいしいです !