A vibrant and healthy Avocado Cucumber Beet Mango Sushi Roll to add to your list of must-try sushi recipes.
Vegan sushi lovers and those who don't like raw seafood, will enjoy this inside out sushi roll.
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Created with Momoko our Japanese food expert, this Mango, Avocado, Cucumber, and Beet Sushi Roll recipe is part of our extensive modern Japanese food series.
Momoko runs a Japanese sushi restaurant in Goa, and she has been making delicious sushi rolls from scratch for years.
Add our other sushi roll recipes to your platter:
- Rainbow Sushi Roll
- Dragon Sushi Roll
- Spicy Salmon Roll
- Philadelphia Roll
- Tobiko Boston Roll
- Classic California Roll
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📕 What is this Sushi Roll?
We wanted to create a Vegan Sushi Roll, a sushi recipe that anybody could eat, and that's how we came up with this Avocado, Cucumber, Beet, and Mango Sushi Roll.
This roll is an inside out uramaki roll. That means that there is seasoned Japanese rice on the inside and on the outside of the nori seaweed.
Inside out sushi rolls are some of our favorite sushi and each modern version is based on the classic California sushi roll.
That said, traditionally, sushi rolls are not prepared that way in Japan. You get maki (just rice on the inside) rolls in Japan but inside out have also picked up on popularity over the years in Japanese cities.
This healthier sushi roll is prepared completely plant-based, meatless and without raw seafoods.
🍣 Ingredients
Here is an overview of what you need to get to make this vegetable mango sushi roll.
All US and metric measurements can be found with details in the recipe card further below.
- Japanese Seasoned Sushi Rice – Please, follow our instructions to make the best sushi rice from scratch.
- Nori Seaweed
- Avocado – will be used as a topping
- Cucumber, fresh
- Beet, cooked or pickled – cook your beets or buy cooked beets OR use pickled beets.
- Ripe Mango, fresh
Avocado, cucumber, beet, and mango make for a wholesome nutritious combo. The flavors compliment each other and the colors literally pop!
🥢 Topping Ideas
Toppings are very optional but add to the aesthetics and presentation of your homemade Veggie mango sushi roll.
We used pickled shredded daikon radish as a topping in the pictures. This pickled Japanese radish is also known as Takuan but Momoko came up with a shredded version, and we intend to share a recipe in the coming months.
Vegan topping Ideas:
- Sesame Seeds – white or black or both
- Fresh Herbs – as in cilantro and shiso.
- Chopped Green Onion stalks
- Seaweed Pearls
Seafood topping ideas:
- Fish Roe – as in Tobiko roe or Salmon roe.
- Surimi Imitation Crab
🧰 Equipment
You will require to get a proper bamboo sushi mat wrapped in clear cling film (aka plastic wrap), so that the outer rice layer doesn't get stuck on the bamboo mat.
The cling film simplifies the process, and it will be much easier for you to roll a tight firm roll. Another option is to use a silicone sushi mat.
I also recommend cutting the sushi roll with a large 8 or 10 inch Chef knife. Here it's important to cut through each slice with a sharp quick motion.
After cutting each slice, wipe your knife on a clean damp kitchen towel to remove excess stickiness. Cutting through the slices will be much easier that way.
🔪 How to make it?
I show you in a nutshell here how this sushi roll comes together so that you get a quick overview.
Please watch our video in the recipe card and read through the detailed instructions in the recipe card much further below.
Step 1
Prepare your ingredients.
Cut nori sheet into two
Peel and slice the mango, peel and cut the cucumber into quarters lengthwise and remove the seed core, peel and cut the Avocado into slices.
Keep cooked or pickled cut beet and seasoned sushi rice ready.
Step 2
Place and stick cooked rice on the full side of the nori sheet. This is your outer sushi side.
Turn around the same sheet and stick the remaining rice on the nori by keeping a 1 inch or about 2 centimeter strip without rice at the top. This is your inner sushi filling side.
Step 3
Place the beet, mango, cucumber lengthwise in a line over the rice. This will be your filling.
Step 4
Carefully roll the mat in to shape a tight and firm sushi roll.
Step 5
Place avocado slices over the sushi roll and keep a clean wrap over that. With the sushi mat, press gently down to shape the avocado over the roll. The avocado should stick on the roll.
Step 6
Place the roll over a cutting board and cut into 8 (9 or 10) equal large sizes.
Serve up with or without a topping of your choice.
💡 Tips
- Use only cooked prepared Sushi rice. Japanese sushi rice is a short-grain variety that is cooked and seasoned with a rice vinegar sugar blend.
- Wrap cling film around your sushi mat. The bamboo mat is called a makisu.
- Stick a thin layer of rice over your nori sheet. Spread out the rice, it shouldn't be thicker than a bamboo mat (as a thickness reference) but an even layer.
- Place the filling in such a way so that everything fits as per the thickness and length of your vegetables and mango.
- Slowly roll in holding tight down with both your hands. The roll should be tight and not loose.
- Get a large knife to cut easily through the sushi roll
- Keep a small bowl of water at the side. Dip and clean your knife after cutting every sushi slice with the water and a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
🍴 Serving Ideas
The best way to enjoy sushi rolls, in my opinion at least, is with regular thin soy sauce mixed with wasabi paste.
An unconventional ingredient, but equally tasty, instead of soy sauce, is a citrus ponzu sauce.
Sushi is always served with pickled ginger slices, which help clean the palate.
You may also choose to serve your modern sushi roll with western-style preferred sauces, such as a Japanese Kewpie style Mayonnaise and Spicy Sriracha Mayonnaise.
As a suitable side dish, I can recommend a napa cabbage salad or a kani crab stick salad.
🍱 Storing
It's best to consume the sushi on the same day and avoid keeping it in the fridge for too long, as the rice tends to harden and the rolls may turn dull.
Sushi rolls don't maintain their freshness well and should be consumed right after preparation.
That said, you can prep your mango and vegetable-filled sushi roll a night ahead to take to your office as your lunch the next day.
The recipe doesn't include raw seafood ingredients and remains good for much longer compared to other sushi rolls.
Just place the cut cucumber, beet, and mango filled and avocado topped sushi slices into a rectangular glass container. The glass containers with bamboo lids look great, and I recommend the IKEA ones if you can get them.
Add to the sushi some pickled ginger and soy sauce which can be filled in small fish shaped soy sauce containers (these are my favorites).
💭 FAQs
You will need ½ cup packed cooked and seasoned sushi rice or about 80 grams.
We cut the nori sheet in half because the filling is large and there is an avocado topping. So, cutting the sheet helps in keeping the sushi roll size in check.
Roll the sushi slowly, using both hands to press down gently and evenly. This pressure will help the ingredients stick together, as the sticky rice acts as a natural adhesive. Continue rolling and applying pressure until you achieve a tightly formed roll. Practice makes a master!
Inside-out sushi rolls have sticky rice on the outside and inside. Adding a plastic layer to the mat makes it easier to roll these sushi variations smoothly. Without it, the outer ingredients stick to the mat, making it challenging to create a tightly rolled and well-packed sushi.
No, this kind of sushi roll requires a sushi mat. If you are looking for a sushi variety which doesn't need a sushi mat or a rolling motion, look out for a temaki sushi hand rolls.
Yes, this sushi doesn't contain animal ingredients and as long as your ingredients are safe for consumption, you are good to eat this sushi when pregnant. Yet, I recommend consulting your physician because everybody has different needs.
📖 Recipe
Avocado Cucumber Beet Mango Sushi Roll Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Sushi Rice cooked, packed
- ½ Sheet Nori Seaweed
- 1 Quarter Cucumber *see Notes
- 3 Pieces Mango fresh, ripe, *see Notes
- 4 Sticks Beet cooked or pickled, *see Notes
- ½ Avocado *see Notes
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Cut your seaweed nori sheet into two. Keep aside, you will need one half for 1 sushi roll.½ Sheet Nori Seaweed
- Cut off one side of the mango, close to the seed core. Peel that side and cut the mango fruit flesh into equal sized sticks/pieces (about ½ inch or 1 centimeter thick). Keep aside.3 Pieces Mango
- Peel the cucumber, cut off the ends and quarter your cucumber. Cut out the seed core. Keep aside.1 Quarter Cucumber
- Cut the avocado into two. Peel the avocado and cut from the width into thin slices.½ Avocado
- Keep cooked or pickled beet ready. Cut into ½ inch or 1 centimeter thick sticks if possible. If they are small pieces, keep them as is, as long as you can place them in as a filling and roll your sushi.4 Sticks Beet
- Make sure that you have your sushi rice cooked and seasoned as per our Japanese sushi rice instructions.½ Cup Sushi Rice
Filling
- Place your nori seaweed half on a bamboo mat wrapped in cling film wrap.½ Sheet Nori Seaweed
- Take ⅔ of your cooked and seasoned sushi rice and stick and spread it on the nori sheet in front of you. Make sure it's spread out equally in an even thin layer. Every spot should be filled with sticky rice. This is your outer sushi roll side.½ Cup Sushi Rice
- Turn around your nori sheet and place and stick the remaining rice on the nori sheet by keeping an inch or 2 ½ centimeter at the top rice-free. Make sure that it's an even layer sticking on the nori. This will be your inner sushi roll side.
- Fit a line of beet sticks next to each, more or less centered on the rice area. You can cut a piece of beet to fit it there if needed.4 Sticks Beet
- Place a layer of mango pieces next to the beets. Fit them properly, and you can cut a mango piece to get the line right.3 Pieces Mango
- Move on with the cucumber by placing a quarter of a cucumber piece stick over the beet line. If needed, cut another piece from a cucumber and fit it in.1 Quarter Cucumber
Rolling
- Take the sushi mat with sushi roll ingredients close to your body and with both hands start rolling in while holding the filling ingredients in place. Then place your sushi mat over the ingredients, rolling and holding tight, so that the sushi won't fall apart later. Please watch my video further on top to see this in action.
- When the sushi mat is over the sushi roll, hold tight down so that the rice and filling ingredients stick together. The sushi will be shaped into a beautiful roll. This is important or else your roll will fall apart when you cut or eat it. A good sushi roll should be tight!
Topping
- Place the sushi roll on a cutting board.
- Take the avocado slices in your hand and spread them out between each slice. Place the avocado slices on the sushi roll over the outer rice layer on top. Keep some distance and make sure that each slice is fitting over another. The avocado topping should cover the sushi roll on top completely.½ Avocado
- Place a cling wrap rectangular piece over the sushi roll, which is 3 times the size by sushi width but the same length as the sushi in length. Keep the sushi mat over that and press and shape your sushi roll so that the avocado slices stick to the topping and take the shape of the sushi roll.
Serving
- Cut the sushi roll into 8 (or 9 or 10) slices. Wet your finger and knife after every cut and wipe off residues from your knife with a kitchen towel, that way you will get some beautiful clean sushi roll slices.
- Place on a serving platter and serve up with your favorite topping and sauces. (Please, see post for topping and serving ideas)
Notes
- Get for the filling each 1 mango, 1 avocado and 1 cucumber. These are then cut into half inch or about 1 cm thick sticks. The sticks need to be aligned to form the filling, so the quantity can vary. The measurements mentioned in the recipe are approximate for the cucumber, avocado, and mango.
- Get a mango variety that doesn't have strings. Commercially available mangoes in the west are usually without strings, so no danger there. Tropical southern places might sell mangoes with strings.
- The beet needs to be either cooked or pickled. If it's cooked, cut them into ½ inch or bout 1 centimeter thick sticks. Depending on the length, align and use about 3-5 such sticks. If you use pickled beets, cut or use them in such a way that they fit into the sushi roll as a filling (as per video instructions).
- The Avocado shouldn't be too soft and over ripe. Pick a variety that is flexible and not completely ripe yet so that the slices can wrap around the sushi roll as a topping without breaking apart.
- Spread out the rice and use about ⅔ for the outer sushi side and ½ for the inner sushi filling.
- Make sure the layer of rice is sticking on the nori sheet and that it is an even layer.
- Place the filling ingredients so that each is a line from end A to end B. Cut ingredients to fit them in if required.
- When rolling, make sure to hold the filling ingredients first with your fingers. Hold the roll tight with both hands and roll in while pressing down gently. Shape the roll into a round roll. Watch my the video and the more practice you have the better you will get at rolling in.
- Keep a bowl of water at the side and dip your fingers in it to help you roll or remove sticky food residues.
- When cutting your sushi, clean your knife with some water and a kitchen towel between every cut. This can be helpful if you struggle getting clean sushi slices.
- Serve up as per my recommendations (see post for topping and serving ideas).
Equipment
- 1 Sushi Bamboo Mat
- Cling Wrap
- 1 8" Chef Knife
- 1 Reusable Paper Towels or Paper Towel
- 1 Small Bowl of Water to wet fingers and clean knife
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