Temaki, or hand rolls, are a quick and easy way to serve sushi for a group, because they don’t require plates or chopsticks, says Secrets of Sushi’s Bryan Sekine. The sushi chef and YouTube instructor likes to brighten up these vegan and vegetarian hand rolls, which are featured in his new cookbook, “Vegetarian & Vegan Sushi Cookbook for Beginners” (Rockridge Press, $15), by hitting the sushi rice with beet juice. It adds both flavor and a gorgeous pink color. (Psst, you’ll need a bamboo rolling mat to make these rolls.)
Sakura Hand Roll
Makes 6 hand rolls
INGREDIENTS
2 cups seasoned sushi rice, still warm
Unsweetened beet juice
6 half sheets nori
1 avocado sliced
1 cucumber sliced
1 large carrot sliced
6 to 10 asparagus stalks, blanched
Sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS
After the sushi rice has been seasoned, but before it has cooled, sprinkle it with 1 teaspoon of beet juice at a time, making sure to fold it into the rice as you sprinkle, until the rice reaches your desired shade of pink.
Place a bamboo mat on the countertop and set a bowl of water beside it. Place a half sheet of nori on the mat, with the smooth side of the nori face-down and the longest edge parallel to the cotton strings of the mat.
Dip one hand into the water and rub your hands together. Your hands should be glossy wet but not dripping. Place 1/3 cup of sushi rice on the nori and slowly spread it out to create the shape of a kite. The layer of rice should be two to three grains thick.
Place one-sixth of the avocado, cucumber, carrot and asparagus along the center line of the kite. If you find that you are running out of space at the bottom, you can fan the fillings out at the top of the kite.
Gently slide the roll into your nondominant hand, keeping the top of the kite pointing away from you. Wrap the nori around the kite and use a few grains of rice as rice paste to seal the fillings inside. The finished roll should look something like an ice cream cone.
Repeat to make five more hand rolls.
— From “Vegan & Vegetarian Sushi Cookbook for Beginners” by Bryan Sekine, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2022 by Callisto Media, Inc.
