Super Soy Sushi Bowl

If a genie appeared from a bottle and offer me three wishes, one of them would likely be to somehow get unlimited, on-demand sushi for the rest of my life.  Sushi is my fave, and I truly could eat it most nights of the week if we won the lottery.  I love the clean flavors, fresh proteins, and light satiety it provides, not to mention the fact that it is one of the few great indulgences in life that is actually good for you.  Since I haven't run into too many genies or winning lottery tickets lately, I'm looking for creative ways to bring Japanese food into our cooking rotation.  We have tatami mats and everything else you'd need to make home sushi, but that is way too much of a production for a weeknight, and better saved for a fun theme party with friends and a variety of cold sakes. For homemade Japanese on a Monday, I'm looking for streamlined recipes with lots of nutrient bang for the buck, and minimal prep work.  A tall order, to be sure, but I was recently inspired by ValSoCal's recipe for a California Roll in a Bowl.

Photo from ValSoCal

Look how pretty!  This would a perfect recipe for company, with big bowls of edamame to start, Kirin Ichiban with dinner, and mochi ice cream to finish.  But since our Monday menu did not include fresh crab (and imitation crab kind of gives me the willies) and I was out of sesame seeds and forgot to get them at the store on Saturday, I made my own little SMJ version.

Ladies and Gents, I give you...
SMJ's Super Soy Sushi Bowl
Serves 4
Ingredients
Like so many great weeknight recipes, this one is component-based.  You can add and subtract based on your mood and the contents of your fridge and pantry.  Consider this recipe a jumping off point...
2 cups sushi or short grain rice
2 cups water, plus more for rinsing rice
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 avocado, sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
2 scallions, finely chopped
8 slices Baked Tofu (either use my recipe here, or for an even quicker weeknight fix, buy prepared baked tofu at your local health food store -- there are so many fantastic flavors available, you really can't go wrong)
Sesame seeds for garnish (Val also suggests sliced nori sheets, which would be yummy, we just didn't happen to have these in house either)

Directions
1) Rinse and prepare the rice according to package instructions in a rice cooker or saucepan.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Thoroughly mix in the vinegar, sugar and salt.
2) Assemble your bowls!  I created a buffet so that we could each take as much as we wanted of each ingredient.  Each person should get a good base of rice in their bowl, as well as a good handful of each veggie and 2 slices of tofu.  Done.

This was such a fresh and delicious dinner, I can't wait to use the concept as a base for more sushi bowl recipes.  Chopped nori and sesame seeds would really take it to the next level, and I plan to grab those on my next grocery run.  Seared tuna, lightly grilled salmon, or shredded teriyaki chicken or beef would all make great protein components, and shelled edamame and pickled ginger would be great additions as well.  The only limit is your imagination...

Have a happy, healthy Tuesday!