No doubt whole grains are super good for you, but I eat a lot of bread, y’all. Dare I say, I eat way too much bread. I can turn an otherwise healthy meal into a caloric, water weight disaster by literally eating an entire baguette along with it. That’s dedication. Anyway, I’m always on the hunt for sandwich recipes that don’t rely so much on bread. I’ve made some pretty delish lettuce rolls. You know the ones. You just take all your regular sandwich fixin’s and roll them up in lettuce. Voila! No bread, but sometimes it feels like I’m just eating a salad without a fork. Then I found Onigirazu.
So this is really a thing. Onigirazu. Sushi sandwiches. What?!! There’s really never a wrong time for sushi. I thought I had ventured into some pretty unique recipes before what with grain bowls for breakfast and savory yogurt, but this one right here is just the end all. I mean imagine a sandwich meets sushi, falls in love, has a baby, and names it Onigirazu. Word. It’s kinda like that. You must try this!!!
Onigirazu (Sushi Sandwich)
Ingredients
- 4 nori sheets
- about 4 cups of cooked sushi rice
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 oz baby spinach
- red cabbage, shredded and pickled (optional, see below)
- homemade sriracha, get the recipe here
TOFU KATSU VERSION
- 1 package firm tofu, pressed
- tamari or soy sauce
- beaten eggs, for coating the tofu
- 1-2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 2 cups frying oil (for fried version only)
SWEET POTATO VERSION
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 tbsp tamari (GF) or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp neutral (flavorless) cooking oil like avocado oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
QUICK PICKLED RED CABBAGE (optional)
- a wedge of red cabbage, sliced thinly
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar or maple syrup
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed with the side of a knife
Directions
FILLINGS
TOFU KATSU VERSION
- BAKED – Set the oven to 200° C / 390° F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Toast panko breadcrumbs in a small pan until golden (they will gain more color in the oven). Cut each tofu block into two 50% thinner blocks. Sprinkle tofu with some soy sauce (or tamari) or you can season the flour with plenty of salt instead. Drag tofu in flour making sure that the entire surface area has been coated. Dip the tofu in beaten egg and finally drag it in the pre-toasted breadcrumbs. Brush a bit of oil on the baking paper underneath the tofu and bake for about 30 minutes (until crisp and dry) flipping the pieces to the other side half way through.
- FRIED – Fill a small pot with 2 cups of frying oil and set on the stove. Cut each tofu block into two 50% thinner blocks. Sprinkle tofu with some soy sauce (or tamari) or you can season the flour with plenty of salt instead. Drag tofu in flour making sure that the entire surface area has been coated. Dip tofu in beaten egg and finally drag it in breadcrumbs. Carefully lower the tofu, one piece at the time, into hot oil and let it fry for about 3 minutes on each side. Once ready, place fried tofu on a piece of kitchen towel to get rid of the excess oil.
SWEET POTATO VERSION
- BAKED – Set the oven to 220° C / 425° F and line a baking tray with baking paper. Mix all the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl. Cut the middle (widest) section of your sweet potato, peel it and slice into 0.2″ slices. Brush each slice with the marinade and place the slices on the prepared baking tray. Bake for about 20 min (until soft), flipping the slices to the other side halfway through.
Assembly
- Cut a square of cling film slightly larger than your nori sheet. Place it on the table, place the nori sheet on top with the shiny side down and rotated 45° in relation to the cling film (SEE PHOTOS above).
- Wet your hands (keep a small bowl of water handy to wet your hands) and grab a handful of rice. Place it in the middle of the sheet and using your hands form it into a compacted square (about 3.5 ” by 3.5 “). Try to make that layer as even and compacted as possible. Season well with salt.
- Place remaining ingredients on top. For the tofu onigirazu, layer spinach, avocado slices, Sriracha and tofu katsu. For the sweet potato onigirazu, layer pickled cabbage, avocado slices, Sriracha, and a sweet potato disc. At this point cover all the ingredients with another layer of compacted rice. You can get a special onigirazu maker that makes this process a little easier.
- Once you are done with your stack, seal all four corners of the nori sheet on top of the filling. Fold the right corner over the stack, wet the end of the nori sheet with a wet finger and fold the left corner over the stack and ‘glue’ it to the right corner. Repeat the same thing with bottom and top corners until you get a small packet.
- Finally gather all the cling film over the stack and tie on the top. Put something moderately heavy (like a breadboard) on the onigirazu and set it aside to let the seaweed soften a little. Cut in half with a sharp knife.
QUICK PICKLED RED CABBAGE (optional)
- Place shredded cabbage in a sterilized, medium size jar.
- Put the remaining ingredients and ½ cup water in a small pot. Bring to a gentle boil, over low heat.
- Once they come to the boil (make sure the sugar has dissolved), pour the mixture over the cabbage and stir well. Make sure that the pickling liquid covers all of the cabbage. Set aside for 6-8 hours and consume.
Source: Lazy Cat Kitchen