Outside-the-Box Sushi Ideas

Purists might want to look away. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill sushi. I first came up with the idea of including, well, anything in sushi simply because I was broke. Blocks of sashimi-grade tuna and salmon are not exactly cheap or easy to come by.

So instead, I embarked to see exactly what I could include in sushi; what were winners and what didn’t work out so well.

Before we get into some roll ideas, I’ll give you some pointers on how to build your own:

Don’t use things that might have a significant amount of moisture
- When I moved to Germany, I celebrated by trying to make a “German sushi roll”. It was some sort of sausage/wurst, another cured meat, stone-ground sweet mustard, sauerkraut, and something else. Welll, the sauerkraut was a little too wet and the roll didn’t stay together. Even if it did, the taste was meh.

Try to make a roll that has some sort of dipping sauce that would go well with it. Traditional sushi uses a soy sauce/wasabi or tamari/wasabi mix. Sushi lends itself to dipping.
- For example, one of the rolls I’ve made was one of my favorite sandwiches converted into a roll. Smoked turkey, ham, tomato, spring mix, brie cheese, raspberry jam. For the dipping sauce, I took some raspberry jam and mixed it with yogurt to pour on top or for dipping.

So with that, I’ll go into a couple ideas. Several are in the above picture.

Thai-inspired Breakfast Sushi (First picture above)

Eggs, scrambled with minced onions and garlic.
- Let the eggs cook in one layer and don’t break them up – kind of like an omellete. Flip and cook the other side. When making the sushi, cut the egg mixture into strips for rolling.
Ham
Sundried tomatoes
Cucumber
Thai Basil

This roll goes well dipped in soy sauce. I’ve also tried it with a hot sauce such as Texas Pete and it goes well.

Sweet and Spicy Roast Beef, Goat Cheese, and Bacon Roll

London port roast beef
2-3 slices of bacon
Hot pepper jelly
Herbed goat cheese
A bit of spring mix
Tomatoes, with the liquid center stripped out.

When assembling the roll, put down the roast beef, bacon, and goat cheese first. Spread about 1.5-2 tbsp hot pepper jelly across the top of the ingredients; if you put it directly on the rice it can make the rice a bit too slippery to hold together. Finish by putting a very small handful of spring mix.

Italian Beef Carpaccio Roll

Raw, extremely thinly sliced carpaccio grade beef
Finely diced red onion
Freshly shredded Parmesan Reggiano
Fresh Italian basil
Nonpareil capers
Fresh parsley
Cucumber for crunch/texture
Extra virgin olive oil

Assemble the roll with all ingredients, except for the olive oil. After assembly, top with 1-2 capers per piece, a bit of extra parmesan on top, and drizzle with EVOO.

Balkan Cevapcici with Ajvar Roll

Cevapcici is a Balkan (Croatian I think?) casing-less, finger sausage with lots of garlic. You can look up a recipe online; they’re fairly easy to make. A simple recipe:

1/2lb beef and 1/2lb pork
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix everything together, and form into finger sausages. Put on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 6 minutes per side.

Ajvar is a Balkan red pepper spread, sometimes with eggplant as well. It can be purchased in any international market.

Now, for the roll:

A couple cevapcici
A small amount of vidalia onion (cut open and take the outside ring, break it, put it in the roll)
Roasted, salted eggplant slices
Fresh parsley
Ajvar spread on the ingredients.

For a dipping sauce, tzatziki works very well.

And there you have it! Really, the sky’s the limit when it comes to making your own creative sushi rolls. Enjoy!