15-Minute Deconstructed Sushi Bowl Recipe

Have you ever had a sushi craving that you wanted to satisfy right now? Yeah, good luck with that. Ok, if you're in the grocery store, you might be able to pick up some pre-made sushi, but if you're in a sushi restaurant where they make it fresh, it's going to take a little time. This goes double if you're ordering delivery, since the only thing worse than the wait time is the shockingly high fee the delivery service is bound to tack on.

But you could always try making your own sushi bowl at home. Not the kind of sushi that's made with raw fish, though, as you don't want to cut any corners with that stuff for food safety reasons. Recipe developer Kristen Carli's version, however, is made with nothing but veggies. As she tells us, "This is a balanced nutrient-dense meal with plenty of colorful veggies. I always try to include a wide variety of colors in my meals in order to consume the many phytonutrients that are present in produce." 

Not only is this dish super healthy (Carli is a registered dietitian, after all), but it goes together in a flash. Well, an almost-flash –- Carli estimates it will take about 5 minutes in all to assemble this bowl, since you can chop the veggies as you cook the rice. If you really want fish Carli says "You could easily add ahi tuna, smoked salmon or other fish" (cooked fish would, of course, be the safest option).

Carli builds her deconstructed sushi bowl on top of a package of Trader Joe's microwaveable brown rice. She tops her rice with steamed edamame, cucumbers (she uses the mini ones), some healthy carrots, red cabbage, and fried onions. To tie it all together she likes a spicy sriracha mayonnaise dressing. If you prefer, you can use wasabi mayo instead for an even more sushi-like flavor. As a final touch, she sprinkles on some soy sauce.

If you like, you could also add some sliced green onions, either in addition to the fried onions or as a replacement for these if you want to avoid the extra fat and calories that come with fried anything. You could also adorn this veggie sushi bowl with a few strips of pickled ginger if you can find it. It should be readily available in any Asian grocery store if it's not already on the shelves of your local supermarket.

If you're using the microwaveable frozen rice as Carli does, she says it takes "usually about 3 minutes" to heat. The package she uses contains about 2 cups of cooked rice, which should be enough for at least hearty servings.

If you're the plan-ahead type or want to earn a few frugal brownie points, you might want to skip the microwaveable rice to make a big pot of your own brown rice. You can then freeze the rice in single-serving portions. Yes, brown rice does take longer than white rice to cook, though you're welcome to use white rice for your sushi bowl instead. 

Feeling guilty about eating white rice since it's not as healthy as the brown kind? Don't beat yourself up about it. White rice may have fewer nutrients but may be a somewhat safer choice since brown rice is more likely to contain contaminants from the groundwater where it was harvested.

With the edamame, you're going to want to buy the pre-cooked, shelled kind. That is, unless you want to cook and shell your own beans, though that can get pretty tedious in a short amount of time. Carli says "I bought already steamed edamame in order to help the 15 minute timeline. If cooking from frozen, I like to boil in water for 4 minutes then drain."

Slice up the mini cucumbers, then shred the cabbage and the carrots. You may want to peel the carrots first, though, since carrot peel can have a bitter, earthy taste that you might not enjoy in your sushi bowl. At least you won't have to chop and fry your own onions unless you really want to, since Carli recommends using the kind of crispy fried onions you can buy in the store.

Veggies and rice all set to go? Good, now it's time to build your bowl. Yes, we're already nearly at the end of this process. Told you it would be easy. First step: get a bowl, or rather, two bowls since this recipe makes two servings.  

Fill said bowls with the rice, then top the rice with all those veggies you've just prepared. That would be the edamame, the carrots, and the cabbage. Sprinkle the fried onions on top, as well. 

Looking good, isn't it? Well, it's about to get even better when you top it with the spicy mayo. As a final touch for your easy and quick deconstructed sushi bowl, Carli says you can "serve it with soy sauce if desired." Now your delicious dinner-in-a-hurry — which is also packed full of healthy and colorful veggies — is ready to eat!