Wednesday 3 September 2014

Strawberry sushi with chocolate sauce

Surely if you read ancient books of Japanese wisdom it would be written somewhere that when your sushi isn't sweet enough, chocolate sauce will solve the problem.  Well maybe not.  And the traditionalists might not even appreciate the humour of sweet sushi that looks a little like salmon sushi.  I suspect I made these more to amuse myself but I did enjoy the fresh strawberry against the slightly sweet rice.

Ancient Japanese wisdom might be more likely to tell me to just follow the recipe.  Yet I was in a moment where I was determined to use up the coconut nectar on the bench.  I substituted it for sugar and used lime instead of lemon.  I really like lime and strawberries but the rice was slightly too dry and not quite sweet enough.  (Actually I should have made the rice as I usually do rather than following that bit of the recipe - perhaps Ancient Japanese wisdom might also say to follow your instinct.  I have amended this in the recipe.)  A little tweaking is required.

While it is a fun recipe, it is not one to make in large amounts.  Wrapping each piece in clingfilm is a little fiddly.  Possibly there is a sushi mould that could be used instead.  But only a few would be needed on a dessert platter at a dinner party.  Wouldn't it be a great conversation starter!  Then you could see if guests could use chopsticks to dip their sushi in chocolate sauce.

Oh yes the chocolate sauce!  When I was thinking that the sushi wasn't quite right, I decided it would be so much better with a chocolate or caramel sauce.  And then nothing seemed simpler to whip up.  The sauce really took the sushi to another level.  Sadly I either failed in wrapping the sushi tightly enough or in manoeuvring my chopsticks.  As soon as I tried to pick up the sushi that way it fell to pieces.  No elegant photos of my sushi being dipped in the chocolate sauce!

I thought this strawberry sushi would be Sylvia's idea of heaven.  She loves sushi and sweet food and strawberries.  She surprised me.  "Take off the strawberries."  Then I have to remind myself that she doesn't need encouragement to eat fruit.  (Hence when a woman selling chocolate and caramel covered apples told me this is a great way to get kids to eat apples, I decided it was better to just eat the chopped apple in our bag.)  However I wonder if I can get the sweetness right if she might just fall in love with the idea.

I am sending these cookies to Healthy Vegan Fridays #11, hosted by Kimmy of Rock my Vegan Socks and Robin of Vegan Dollhouse.

Other sushi recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Snowman sushi 
Sushi stack with carrot, tofu omelet and avocado 
Sushi with sticky walnuts and edamame 
Sushi rice salad

Strawberry sushi with chocolate dipping sauce
Adapted from Thyme Bombe
Makes about 10

1/2 cup short grain rice (sushi rice)
1 cup water
the zest of one lime
2 tsp. lime juice
2 tsp. coconut nectar or other sweetener
5 or 6 medium-sized strawberries, sliced
black sesame seeds (or cocoa nibs) for garnish if desired

Chocolate sauce:
60g chocolate, broken into chunks
4 tbsp soy milk
2 tsp maple syrup

Place rice in a small saucepan with water, cover and bring to the boil.  Gently simmer for 20 minutes.  Mix hot rice with lime zest, lime juice and coconut nectar.  Cool briefly.

Cut clingwrap into squares (about 20cm square).  Place a slice of strawberry in the middle of the clingwrap.  Make small balls and place on strawberry slice.  Bring edges together and twist to make a tight ball of rice.  Repeat with remaining rice.

Chill in fridge.  Serve with warm chocolate sauce (see below).

To make chocolate sauce mix chocolate, soy milk and maple syrup.  Melt in microwave or on stovetop.  Serve warm.

*NOTE: Coconut nectar was not terribly sweet, as is its nature.  If you used sugar, I suspect it would be a lot sweeter.  You can try any sweetener of choice: sucanat, agave syrup, maple syrup, coconut sugar etc.  You will need to adjust sweetness by tasting the rice.

On the Stereo:
Trans Europe Express: Kraftwerk

This post is part of Vegan Month of Food September 2014.  This year for Vegan MoFo my theme is The Letter S.  Today is Surprising Wednesday.  Go to my Vegan MoFo list for more of my 2014 Vegan MoFo posts. 

25 comments:

  1. Cute! Mine would probably fall apart too :)

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  2. These look delicious. I love the stickiness of sushi rice. Now I can eat it for dessert too! Love the simple decoration

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  3. Sylvia might not be convinced, but I am! I'd be quite happy to dip my sushi in the chocolate with a spoon too - no way would I miss out because of chopstick challenges :D

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  4. Very cute idea! Looks like this would be really fun for kids, too.

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  5. SUCH a cute idea, I love it! Great for parties I bet!

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  6. How adorable! Wonder if my Sylvia would go for this .... I expect she would with the chocolate sauce!

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  7. Such a cute idea! Bookmarking for the next time I need a small but impressive dessert.

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  8. These are too cute! LOVE them! And everything looks so fresh! Awesome!!!!! Happy Vegan MoFo, btw!

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  9. As a bit of a sushi fanatic I can give my full approval (as well as drooling). Sushi doesn't always have to be so dead serious. :)

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  10. I really like making and eating vegan sushi, but its been a long long time since I have made them at home, in fact don't think I have made them since I moved back to Wales. What I do know for sure though, is that I have never had a sweet sushi. I must say your Sweet Strawberry Sushi are not only beautifully presented, but photographed too.

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  11. AW!!!! As soon as I saw this, I was thinking "this looks exactly like what I made with Alayna last year!" AND THEN THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE INSPIRED BY!!!

    I miss Alayna. You should try the kinako cookies we made next ;)

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    1. Yes Hannah - I first saw this idea on your blog - so many many thanks for sharing the brilliant idea. Will definitely have to check out more of Alayna's recipes.

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  12. I LOVE this! I so am making this soon, thanks for sharing.

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  13. Oooh this is just adorable! And your pictures are amazing as well!

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  14. These are just the cutest thing ever! Had to share on facebook with my followers :D

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  15. Soooooooo cute!!!! Totally worth the fiddliness! Fiddlyness? Fiddleyness? Hmmm...weird that spellcheck doesn't know it's a word. Haha.

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  16. What a great idea! Japanese restaurants should put these on their dessert menus. How funny that Sylvia asked you to remove the strawberries! xx

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  17. This is amazing! So beautiful and clever!

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  18. so cute! i love the lil balls and how the strawberry adds to the cute factor!

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  19. Wow, that looks so elegant!

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  20. How adorable…hahahaha! I <3 this sweet twist on the sushi!

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  21. This is SO SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! How clever are you! :-) And your pictures look so so pretty too.
    Can't wait to give this a try!

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  22. These are adorable!!! What a unique idea - love it =)

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