Cough cough.
My battle against carbs slipped into the background of my concerns since I fell sick early this week. An annoying cough and high temperature forced me to bed. The only good thing about being sick in bed is that angels in your life reveal themselves to take care of you and grant your wishes. I’ve been extremely weak and with very little appetite. At some point the only thing I would eat was sushi. Who knows why Sushi and only Sushi.
So I got to eat sushi in bed and I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Now call me picky and extremely fault finding but my sushi was good only until I tasted the sugars in it. Isn’t Sushi rice supposed to contain Mirin only? You can’t imagine what I found inside my sushi, instead. Sugar, Molasses, Honey, Maize Starch… the list of strange ingredients was surprisingly long.
As soon I felt better (at least able to get up) I visited my kitchen to make my own sushi. I did not have rice but Quinoa so I prepared these delicious (the feta cheese is sooo yummy), cute and healthier (Quinoa is really good for you) rolls. If you think that making Quinoa sushi is not a piece of cake, well, let me tell you you’re wrong. I made and shot these sushi rolls when my head was still spinning and my body still ached. And I got it right! No sugar for me, this time.
p.s. I had Quinoa spread all over me and my kitchen, in the end. The grains do stick like rice does, making the preparing process a bit messy. Be prepared to see a few grains escaping from the roll. It’s not a big deal, though, something that even a inpatient (and sick) cook like me can copy with.
Quinoa Sushi with Peppers, Shiitake Mushrooms and Feta Cheese
- 3 sheets of nori
- 170 g/half a cup of quinoa
- Half yellow pepper (sliced)
- 5 sticks of Feta cheese
- 6-7 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar (optional)
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- Soy sauce and wasabi
- Cook Quinoa in boiling water for 15 minutes, according to instructions. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes (to prevent Qunoa from melting the nori)
- Stir in 3 tbsp of the rice vinegar (optional).
- Prepare the fillings by slicing the pepper, feta and mushrooms.
- Lay the nori sheets on a rolling mat and spread a 3rd of the quinoa on them, leaving a 1 inch gap at the top.
- For the first roll, place a 3rd of the feta cheese, peppers and mushrooms in the middle of the Quinoa.
- Roll the sushi roll. Repeat for the other nori sheets.
What a fabulous idea! I love evrything about those sushis.
Cheers,
Rosa
Awh sorry to hear you haven’t been feeling well! Get better soon!
Also, yeah, it sucks that there’s so so much sugar in storebought sushi. Mostly because I’m helpless at rolling my own and I always have to buy the premade stuff whooops. However, I’d adore to try this version. Quinoa is a favorite of mine, and all things feta make my heart go wild – AAHHH LOVE THE STUFF <3
Who knew there was so much sugar in sushi? Hmm. I think your version looks much better. Especially because it includes shiitake mushrooms. They’re my favorite!!
Hopefully you start to feel better soon!
This looks divine! Love homemade sushi- using quinoa is an amazing idea! 🙂