I'm engaged, ya'll! It feels so great to finally share these news with you. Why I announce it with a sushi recipe? Because sushi has a special place in my heart. It was a gorgeous May afternoon, when my best friend and the love of my life got on one knee and asked me to marry him. After that, he brought us that incredible avocado sushi from a town near to us. The place is operated by friendly young women and a full set of sushi costs 3 euros (that is 3,5 dollars). We always get at least three sets, because it's so good. Sushi has been one of our favorite foods to celebrate something special (in addition to lasagna). It's especially great during these hot summer days. A perfect cold snack that is also festive.
But let's talk about this amazing homemade sushi! I've made it for several times now for different occasions. Every time it gets rave reviews. I love it so much, because it's super filling. That is always a plus for me. It contains hearty chickpea omelette and juicy pan-fried eggplant. All this together makes a divine combo. It's actually so filling, that you can serve it as a main dish in some cases.
When I'm making homemade sushi, I usually don't sweat about the details too much. If I don't have rice vinegar, I skip it or substitute it with apple cider vinegar instead. If I don't have sushi rice, I use regular white rice. It still works and it's still amazing, I promise. Sushi police may frown on it, but I don't really care. It's delicious! I truly hope you will try this sushi for your next special occasion or why not for a lovely weeknight meal? Have a beautiful and love-filled July!
Serves: 5 rolls, 45 - 50 pieces, 4 - 5 people
Time: about an hour
- 1 cup / 230 g sushi rice, porridge rice or regular white rice (uncooked)
- 3 ½ cup / 825 ml water
- 1 large eggplant
- one batch of this omelette batter (skip the potatoes)
- 5 nori sheets
- (couple of Tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
- oil, salt
For rolling the sushi: one sushi mat or a stronger kitchen towel covered with plastic wrap.
For serving: chopsticks, soy sauce or tamari, and if you want: marinated ginger and wasabi.
Rinse the rice carefully. Drain it and put it into a thick-bottomed pot along with cold water. Cover the pot with a lid and let the rice boil on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, until it's soft and there's no more water. No need to drain it. Cool the rice down. If you want, you can mix in a couple of tablespoons of rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Cut the eggplant into small cubes. Heat up a pan, add plenty of oil and half of the eggplant cubes. Sprinkle some salt on them and pan-fry them for a few minutes, until they are translucent and golden brown. Put the cubes on a plate covered with a paper towel, so it absorbs the extra oil. Pan-fry the remaining batch of eggplant cubes exactly the same way. Let them cool down.
Make the omelette batter using this recipe (just leave out the potatoes). Heat up a pan and pour some oil in it. Pour in the omelette batter and spread it out with a tablespoon. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Now flip the omelette and cook for a minute or two on the other side. Cool the omelette down.
When all the ingredients have cooled down, take a sushi mat or if you don't have it, use a stronger kitchen towel, but cover it with plastic wrap first. Also fill up a medium bowl with cold water (for making your hands wet). Now divide the rice into five equal balls (it's best to do it with wet hands). Put the nori sheet onto the sushi mat, so the glossy side will be on the bottom. Make your hands wet, take one rice ball and push it onto the center of the nori sheet. Press and spread it around the nori sheet with your wet hands, until it covers almost all the nori from side to side, leaving only the top horizontal half inch / 1 cm strip uncovered. Cut the omelette into strips. Add a couple of omelette strips and one to two tablespoons of eggplant cubes onto the rice, bottom side (as seen on the previous photo).
Now make the uncovered nori strip wet and roll the sushi into a tight roll, using your sushi mat or a kitchen towel. Squeeze it tightly in the end, so it will be firm. Set the roll aside and fill and roll the other nori sheets exactly the same way. Dip a bigger knife into a cold water and cut the sushi into rounds. One nori roll equals 8 - 10 pieces. You can put the not so pretty side pieces on a separate place, but serve the pretty ones on a large plate. Serve it right away with some soy sauce or tamari for dipping (and marinated ginger and wasabi, if you want) or cover the plate with a plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge.
