A fresh sushi roll prepared without seafood. Instead, this sushi roll is made with colorful ingredients such as earthen beet, sweet mango, crunchy fresh cucumber and creamy avocado.
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.
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)
Video
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).