Our oldest son used to say "I don't know how you do it Mom, but when you make the most delicious gourmet meals when there is 'NOTHING TO EAT' in the house!" lol
I think it has something to do with how I enjoy a challenge, how I always wanted to provide good and tasty meals for my family, and just fully understanding while necessity is the mother of invention - IMAGINATION is the mother of creativity!
But today - no one was home. Everyone was working and I was sick with a migraine for hours. My medicine always knocks me out but when I finally regain consciousness (😄), I need to eat and drink something - or else the migraine will return.
So... lots of "stuff" to cook, but I didn't want anything time-consuming. There was a bowl of watermelon?? but I needed something more substantial.
I could always make rice in about 10 minutes in the pressure cooker?? but that's just rice.
Oh yeah! I forgot I had prepared some tofu to pan fry the other day, and left it in the fridge with a cornstarch coating - ready to go. hmmmm, well at least it's a meal??
but meh. sounds boring. I guess it will have to do! After all, I'm just making it for myself. I might as well just get something into my stomach that will keep the migraine from lurking!
Off to the kitchen I went to make my bland, boring little meal.
But then...
I started to realize that I had all these random little ingredients in the house that added up to something that I had wanted to try!!! I love sushi - but I never make it at home with raw fish. I'm too scared hahaha I just do veggie sushi, or that pre-cooked "krab" stuff. lol
But I had seen something online about turning watermelon into a substitute for raw tuna for vegan sushi. I knew there was a clever way of marinating and then dehydrating slightly in the oven - but nope. I wanted fast and easy. So here was my quick and dirty vegan tuna sushi bites!!!
Threw one serving of rice in the rice cooker (I love my rice cooker - you just put it in and walk away. One serving takes about 10 minutes?)
Fried up that tofu. (If you dont' have some already prepped, obviously this will take longer. I press my tofu, season, and then toss it in cornstarch to give that nice crispy coating when fried)
Cubed my watermelon into little bite-sized pieces. Tossed into a bowl with soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil. This marinade will start to seep into the watermelon, while pulling water out. It's fine! Let it do the magic! When the rice and tofu are done (both in about 10 minutes), scoop the watermelon out with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towel. You don't want it to be soaking wet. The flavor is INSIDE the watermelon!
Now... I was GOING to do a type of poke bowl - but THEN I remembered I had nori sheets, and even some snack sized seaweed. You do you, Boo! Whatever you have, use! The snack-sized seaweed had a bit more flavor, but I love the taste of plain nori sheets too. So? I used both! hahaha
For the sauce, simply mix up some Sriracha and vegan mayo. (If you're not vegan - use regular mayo if you don't have the vegan kind) Mix this to your own liking. I like mine a bit spicier, so I used more Sriracha!
Then - you're ready to go! Just layer it however you like!
Thankfully, I had fresh scallions in the garden! and I always have some sesame seeds on hand. You can also use that "Everything but the Bagel" seasoning for a topping! It's SO tasty and has sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic, dried onion... so yum! WHATEVER you like - use!
Oh and then I saw some of little fried onion strips that I have in the cupboard too. I picked them up from the Oriental market. No breading on them - just crispy onion bits - so yum!
I layered mine with nori on the bottom and sesame on top, like this:
sesame seeds
crispy onion bits
green onions
spicy mayo
watermelon "tuna"
fried tofu pieces
rice
nori sheet
This was seriously INSANELY delicious. The flavor profile was on point!!! There was a slight sweet-tart remaining in the watermelon, but there was that beautiful salty-savory from the soy and seaweed! The textures complemented each other perfectly as well. Since I didn't cook the watermelon, it still had a very gentle bite to it, it was LOVELY! The crunchy texture surrounding the soft, "meaty" tofu was perfection! The scallions added that crisp freshness, and the texture of the rice and seaweed is that familiar combo that all sushi-lovers enjoy!
If you have always thought that sushi looked colorful and interesting, but have been too nervous to try raw fish??? THIS is your gateway to delicious vegan sushi. And I can tell you right now - I've HAD raw fish before... I'd actually prefer THIS any time!
DELICIOUS!!!
You know I want to make this for you now, right @samsmith1971?? hahahah
Here you go! Here's your plate!
All pictures mine! 😋
thinking gif from giphy.com
Rice with watermelon? Looks new to me....
Have you tried drinking coffee when you have a migraine? They said it works..
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I'm really glad you fixed something you would love, instead of plain rice :)
Hopefully one day there will be a cure for migraines!
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Seems a little miracle. Tuna out of a bowl of melon. It's definitely a must try. The dish looks delicious and elegant!
Hope your migraine stays away 😁
Hi @dreemsteem!
This is great, and certainly very flavorful. I've never liked sushi, not even when I wasn't vegan, I got to try it half way once and it grossed me out, I really don't know how people eat raw fish sushi, I don't understand it.
But your recipe is great. Your son is right, because this is an improvised gourmet recipe, which you put together with few ingredients.
I welcome you to the community, and I invite you to read our community rules. Greetings.
Oh wow that definitely looks delicious! Being creative in the kitchen is the best thing ever. We get to taste and eat things others normally don't get to experience. Hehe.
I found this post via @dreemport
you're gonna get it via @dreemsteem!!!! lol