No Sushi Rice? No Problem! Try This Ingredient Instead

Making homemade sushi can be a bit intimidating for a novice chef, because there's actually a surprising amount of work that goes into crafting even the simplest rolls. Not only do you need to ensure your fish is high quality enough to consume raw (turns out, "sushi-grade" fish is a bit of a myth and, ultimately, you just need to trust your supplier), you also have to carefully slice all of your vegetables and proteins, mix up any sauces you want to incorporate, and prepare a batch of sushi rice that's not too dry, not too damp, and perfectly seasoned with vinegar and sugar.

In fact, using the wrong kind of rice is actually a common mistake when making sushi at home. Whether you just can't find the right kind of rice, you've never quite been able to master the sushi rice-making technique, or you're just looking to try something new, we have an ingredient swap you might want to consider.

Put aside the sushi rice and instead whip up a batch of cauliflower rice. This swap is especially useful if you have any dietary restrictions or preferences, like if you're trying to eat lower-carb foods or simply incorporate more vegetables. To make it the best possible swap, though, you may want to take certain steps to help cauliflower rice attain that sushi-worthy taste and mouthfeel.

Before you tailor your cauliflower rice for sushi-making, you want to ensure you're starting with a decent product. To avoid a mushy outcome, try out chef and TV personality Alex Guarnaschelli's trick of cooking your cauliflower rice in an almost dry pan for a very short amount of time; just a few minutes and a few drops of oil should suffice.

In order to truly mimic sushi rice, you'll want to get closer to its flavor profile, so make sure to season your cauliflower rice with a bit of sugar and rice wine vinegar just as you would with the sushi variety. And to achieve enough stickiness for the roll to stay together, some recipes call for a bit of cream cheese or gelatin, both of which help to transform your rice into something that'll hold its shape more easily.

You may have to play around with the quantity of all the extras you incorporate into your cauliflower rice before you find something you're truly happy with. Once you have it mastered, though, you'll be able to whip up veggie-forward sushi rolls any time you want.