Hello from the land of the living, finally! Although I did say that before and ended up having to return to bed for another week…After nearly 4 weeks since I first started experiencing symptoms I am finally on the mend, although my energy levels still leave a lot to be desired. I do not remember the last time an illness ravaged my body so much, whatever this spiky thing is it certainly is very persistent. Apart from a day or two, my symptoms were actually really mild but the fatigue and energy loss were real. I’m grateful to be finally feeling better but I am also careful not to throw myself into things too quickly as the balance is still very delicate.
Although my head is jammed with cake and sweet treat ideas – is that a known side effect of a lockdown? – I’ve decided to go for something savoury today as a woman cannot live by baked goods alone 😉 . As soon as all my local shops had a panic-buying induced shortage of rice (and pasta), I visited my local Asian store and stocked up on sushi rice instead. I hope you have some in your cupboard too as, let’s face it, for most people, making sushi is one of these projects that you do once and are left with a bunch of ingredients you never look at for ages. This is the time to dig them out. Failing that, you can also make sushi with brown rice, red rice, any rice really. Just make sure to cook it in a way that does not render the grains dry and separate. The filling is also customisable. I used tofu, but tempeh or eggplant strips would also work well. I coated the tofu in a sticky peanut butter glaze with a hit of five spice and teamed it up with cucumber, quick pickled radishes, thin strips of spring onions and a smattering of toasted peanuts for crunch. This is by no means a traditional filling, but circumstances are exceptional so we make do. The result is delicious, sweet, sour, crunchy and fresh. I hope you’ll enjoy this wilder take on plant-based sushi. Stay well.
10 radishes, pickled (see METHOD) or raw 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (plus 60 ml / ¼ cup if pickling radishes) or lime juice ½ tsp fine sea salt 2 tbsp maple syrup (plus 2 tbsp if pickling radishes) 200 g / 7 oz firm tofu, pressed 3 tbsp tamari (for GF version) or soy sauce, plus more to serve 60 g / ¼ cup 100% natural* peanut butter (smooth or crunchy) 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (optional) a small garlic clove, finely grated ½-1 tsp Chinese five spice, adjust to taste 1 long cucumber, cored and julienned 1-2 spring onions / scallions, cut into thin strips lengthwise 30 g / ¼ cup toasted peanuts, chopped roughly (optional)
PEANUT TOFU ASSEMBLY
