Great as a salad or sushi stuffing, this savoury, sweet and slightly spiced recipe is absolutely amazing!
This recipe is always a crowd pleasure and it's actually very easy and versatile. It makes an incredible salad base and I used this recipe yesterday for one of my sushi flavours at a Women's Networking Event I attended called Ignite Your Purpose hosted by my friend Rebecca Nobrega and Kathryne Mejias. It was a great event and so many inspiring women attended, if you are a femmepreneur or aspire to be one, I recommend you follow them on instagram, they are a movement in the making.
My daughter loves this in her sushi! – Diane Matyas
Yesterday I prepared two sushi flavours and they were both a hit. One flavour was a tropical mango sushi and the other was watermelon wakami, which people were a little unsure of at first, but once they tried it they were hooked. I'm including both recipe here and you can prepare them as they are or turn them into sushi like I did.
Watermelon Wakami
Ingredients:
You can use more or less watermelon. This amount of watermelon makes about two salads and about 10 sushi rolls (the long rolls, not the pieces— so that's a lot! Use what you need, the marinade is usually the same amount either way.
1/2 (1 small) watermelon
3/4 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp GF tamari (or use soya sauce)
1-2 tbsp maple syrup, to desired sweetness
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Sriracha (optional - add more or omit based on spice preferences)
5 roasted seaweed sheets, cut up into tiny slivered pieces
Directions:
Prepare all ingredients and let the watermelon marinade to soak up all the rich flavour.
Clean and cut the watermelon. For sushi, cut into long strips about 1.5cm thick and the length of the watermelon. For salad, cut into cubes about 2 inches thick.
Chop garlic, ginger, and add dry spices and liquids into a mixing bowl to make the marinade.
Pour the marinade over the watermelon and make sure it is evenly coated.
Cut the dry roasted seaweed over the watermelon and let the watermelon marinate for at least two minutes. It can stay marinating over night if you would like to prepare ahead.
Enjoy this watermelon recipe a variety of ways!
As a salad, just add some fresh, baby spinach, chopped candied nuts, black sesame seeds and vegan feta cheese. The colours are vibrant and it's so delicious.
As a sushi stuffing, use your nori sheets, add rice to the textured side (leave about an inch of space from the top of the bottom of the nori sheet. Add your watermelon and whatever other items you would like such as sliced peppers, green onions, sriracha mayo, etc. and roll. Use water to seal and then cut into little round wheels. I offer vegan sushi making classes if you want to join me and make sushi like a pro!
As a grilled item - weird, right? I know. But it's so good, and the watermelon texture completely transforms, This is amazing in a poke bowl, or even grilled and used in sushi too. Just add it to the grill but be careful, it only needs a little heat and grill marks. Remove it quickly and enjoy. If you do try it, please let me know how you like it!
Sweet & Spicy Mango
Ingredients:
You can use more or less watermelon. This amount of watermelon makes about two salads and about 10 sushi rolls (the long rolls, not the pieces— so that's a lot! Use what you need, the marinade is usually the same amount either way.
1 ripe mango
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp Sriracha
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2- 1 tbsp maple syrup, to desired sweetness or if mango is tart
1 pinch of salt
Directions:
Cut the mango in half, lengthwise and avoid hitting the seed. Cut lengthwise strips down the flesh of the mango but don't pierce through the peel. Take a spoon or knife and cut the strips out. You may want to cut them in half again (lengthwise).
As a sushi stuffing, add sliced peppers, cucumber, avocado, green onions, whatever! If you don't have a sushi roller, no problem. I actually use a piece of parchment paper often and find it works way better. Lay the nori sheet down (rough side up so it sticks to the rice) on your bamboo mat or parchment paper, and add the sushi rice (be sure to add rice vinegar to it before you add it to the sushi). Add the rice to the nori sheet, leaving about an inch on the top and bottom so that it can stick together properly. I will do a video demo on how to roll in my next sushi post but it's actually very easy, just roll the paper and pull it away so that it doesn't get rolled into the rice. Continue until it's a long sushi roll. Use a sharp knife and slice into rings. You should get about 8-10 pieces per roll. I added a bit of sauce to balance out the flavours, I like to add little dollops to the sushi, for the spicy mango I used a little hoisin sauce, added in some garlic powder and a little sriracha and mixed it.
You can also eat this as a salad. You might want to add more child to make it hotter or lime juice. You can add chopped nuts, cilantro or pepper.