I love Asian food and have recreated many of their dishes, but I have never really been a big fan of Sushi. My husband on the other hand loves sushi and he is a loyal customer of the Sushi bar. Last week, while watching him eat a dragon roll sushi, the adventurous voice in my head started whispering ideas to me again, hmm… Jollof rice Sushi? Coconut rice Sushi? Efo riro? Plantain? Grilled Fish? Snail? Which would it be? The options were numerous and when I finally tried out some ideas, I was amazed at the results. It was surprisingly easy to make and the taste was lovely.

Here is my take on Nigerian-Japanese sushi fusion:

You will need:

1 Bamboo mat.

Nori (sea weed sheets)

Plastic wrap (optional)

1 cup of boiled Jasmine rice (sushi rice, quinoa, brown rice or any sticky short grain rice would do just fine)

1 cup of cooked Jasmine Jollof rice

Grilled Fish, beef or shrimp

Efo riro. (I used Kale, but Collard greens and Spinach are also great substitutes)

Bell Peppers (seasoned and sautéed in butter)

Plantain, Avocado or any other toppings of your choice.For the Jollof Sushi: I used grilled beef, plantain, kale and peppers.

For the Plain Sushi, I used stewed grilled fish, veggies and bell peppers.

Please Feel free to experiment and add whatever  suits your taste, there is really no laid down rules for this.

Steps:

• Wrap the bamboo mat in a plastic wrap and place a sheet of nori on top (the shiny part of the nori should be placed downwards).  
• Spread your rice evenly over the nori, (about 3/8 inch thick) and cover all the edges except the 2 inch strip along the edge farthest from you as shown in the picture.
• Lay your first choice of toppings in a row at the near edge and add your garnishes very close to each other: if you have too much garnishes, you can pile them on top of each other, (eg: The peppers can be placed on top of the grilled beef.)
• Use the bamboo mat to roll the sushi, squeezing firmly after each roll (as seen in the pictures). **squeezing the sushi roll, enables all the ingredients to come together and prevents the roll from falling apart when you cut it**
• Remove the Sushi mat and Cut your Sushi roll with a sharp knife into 8 pieces. **if you have too much garnishes, you would need to clean out the knife after each cut in other to get a clean cut**

Voilà! You have your very own custom made sushi rolls. Lol.  Enjoy with stew, pepper sauce or any Japanese sauce of your sauce.

Ps: If you are making the inside out rolls, with the rice on the outside, just use the same method, but place your rice on the bamboo mat first and then lay your garnishes, directly on the sushi.

I have an order to make some appetizers for a valentine ball next month so I would be experimenting with different toppings and home sauces. Stay tuned for more ideas.