Magical Maki Rolls with Cauliflower Rice – Healthy Sushi!

Remember when sushi swept into the Western world around the start of the new Sushi Millennium and became the new black?

Exotic and fancy, it quickly became a favorite takeaway choice and is now considered a healthy type of fast food. And while I love sushi and all the different variations, I can’t help but feel a bit ambivalent towards the fact that it’s considered healthy. Sure, consuming raw, fresh, and fatty fish and seaweed is great for you, but for every little bite of fish, you’re also getting a triple amount of plain white rice. Unless you’re an athlete or bodybuilder, you probably don’t need that much rice.

I’ve seen healthier options for sushi where white rice is replaced with other types of whole grains like quinoa and buckwheat, but in my opinion, your main meals should mainly consist of vegetables and not starchy carbohydrates. So, how do we resolve the issue of wanting to eat sushi once a week without overdosing on grains? Well, my favorite substitute solution is cauliflower!

Cauliflower rice is something I’ve made quite a few times before and it’s great, but in order to use it as sushi rice, we need to add a little something to get the right flavor and texture. So, I added cream cheese to give it that sticky texture we know from sushi rice and added rice vinegar and a little bit of sugar to get the taste right. I swear, once you wrap it inside that beautiful black nori, you almost don’t notice the magical swap you’ve made.

In the recipe, I went with some of my favorite ingredients for the filling, but you can vary it as much as you please, with different vegetables, spreads, and fish. And I made the recipe fit 8 Maki rolls, enough for 4 hungry people, including sides. Still, we normally make around 6 Maki rolls and use the rest of the cauliflower sushi rice to make nigiri (rice with a piece of fish on top) or small rice-stuffed fried tofu bags (these tofu bags can be bought in Asian stores). The recipe is versatile and can be adapted and used in any way you, please.

If you haven’t tried making sushi before, now is the time! Grab a bamboo mat, and some nori, and get going. It’s a fun and delicious way to enjoy sushi while also cutting down on grains. Let me know how it turns out, and happy sushi-making!

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Magical Maki Rolls with Cauliflower Rice – Very Healthy Sushi!

Course Main Course
Servings 8 maki rolls
Calories 100kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 medium/large Cauliflower heads
  • 200 g cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sugar or another type granulated sweetener
  • 8 sheets Nori Seaweed
  • 225 g raw sushi fish fresh, (salmon, tuna or white fish)
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 2 large avoado
  • 1/2 ripe mango
  • 2 tbsp Chili mayo make your own, by mixing chili paste into mayo

To serve

  • Soya
  • Wasabi paste
  • Pickled ginger
  • Wakame, marinated seaweed salad
  • Edamame beans in pods, steamed and sprinkled with salt and lime juice

Instructions

  • Grate the cauliflower on a grater or use a food processor. Boil cauliflower rice in a pot for 5 min. Pour cauliflower rice into a strainer, pour cold water onto it until it seems cooler, let excess water drain. Now wrap all the cauliflower rice in a dishtowel (I divide into two portions) and squeeze all the water out of the cauliflower, so youll end up with dry cauliflower rice. In a bowl mix cauliflower rice with cream cheese, rice vinegar and sugar.
  • Cut fish, vegetables and mango into suiting long and slim pieces. Grab your little bamboo mat and place a piece of nori with the rough side facing upwards. Add 4-5 tbsp of cauliflower rice, divide it evenly onto the nori sheet, leaving only 0,5 inch/1-1,5 cm free in the top (see picture). In the bottom part of the nori sheet you place your filling in a straight slim line (see picture). I use all ingredients into each roll.
  • Then you use the bamboo mat and your hands to tuck in the filling, rolling up around half of the roll, and gently press it firm. Keep using the bamboo mat to gently roll up the rest of the maki roll and ‘close’ it by adding a little water on the free tip of nori weed and roll it all the way up. It is important that you keep rolling it tight in order for the roll to be firm and keep together.Store your maki rolls in fridge until dinner time. When read to eat, you cut them into pieces of around 2,5 cm/1 inch and serve them along with your preferred sushi accessories!

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 33mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 336IU | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.03mg