Healthy Hand Roll Sushi (Made the “Lazy Susan” Method)

These hand roll sushis have crispy nori, sweet teriyaki fish, gingery fish eggs, crisp cucumbers and tender avocado. They are very delicious, easy to make (as everyone makes their own), and full of nutrient dense ingredients!

My husband (who is a quarter Japanese-American) thought it very important to introduce me to the joys of sushi before we got married. I think that he was going to be a bit sad if I disliked it, but thankfully for both of us, I loved it! And now our children enjoy it as well. This is the method my mother-in-law used for making hand rolls and she called it “lazy Susan sushi” because everyone makes their own sushi! We like how the seaweed doesn’t soften at all, but stays crisp when made this way. Joel and I like that this method allows us to get dinner on the table much quicker than when we roll sushi.

Now, please note, that this isn’t “authentic” “traditional” sushi by any means. This is parent and child-friendly sushi. 😉 And I’m okay with that – especially in this season of life with three little people. But I’ve included a link for how to roll more authentic hand roll sushi too.

Easy Hand Rolls/Lazy Susan Method

This couldn’t be easier. You provide nori squares, sushi rice, and a bunch of sushi filling options, and everyone makes their own sushi at the table. It’s delicious and fun! Of course, if you had a large lazy Susan, this would be the meal to use it at!

I find that having the kids involved in making their own sushi also helps them feel confident in trying new foods (because it’s not forced on them). For example, I noticed my four-year-old heaping salmon roe on her sushi the other day! Because she made the choice to try them out, and I wasn’t forcing her to put them on, she was willing to try it, found that she liked it, and then helped herself to plenty of it.

The benefits of roe (fish eggs)

It can be expensive to by fish eggs, though you may be surprised at how reasonable some brands are, but it’s worth the buy when you can manage it. Fish eggs are a great source of several important nutrients, including omega 3’s, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, and selenium. Many studies have found a connection between a healthy brain and mood and omega 3’s and vitamin B12’s, and vitamin D and selenium with a healthy immune system. Even the FDA is blogging about the benefits of seafood, including roe, for babies and children!

I recommend roe from wild salmon for both taste and nutritive value. Both fish roe and seaweed were traditionally highly valued for their health-promoting attributes – especially for young children and pregnant and nursing women.

Why we try to eat seaweed weekly

My doctor recommend that I try to eat more seaweed for the iodine (read more about the benefits of eating seaweed here), and this method of making sushi, along with this Nori and Sesame Seed sprinkle, is a pain-free and delicious way to enjoy it. I started a short series on seaweed right before my daughter was born, and am finally getting back to it with this post! (Thanks for being so patient with me!). I am going to be aiming for eating seaweed three times a week according to my doctor’s direction, but you should probably consult your own doctor before chowing down almost every other day on seaweed since there can be some contradictions with certain thyroid disorders.

I know some of my readers have expressed concerns about radiation issues and seaweed and seafood. I have been attempting to find a brand of nori sheets that for sure wouldn’t be affected by the Japanese meltdown, but it’s been the hardest one for me to source. Some choices that may be good include, nori sheets from China such as this brand or this brand. (I’d love some reader insight here. If you look at at world map, you see that China is right by Japan. How I understand the current is that the water from Japan is being pushed towards us on the west side of the U.S., so I would assume it wouldn’t be going back towards China. But please correct me if wrong.) Iceland was looking into making nori sheet for sushi, which would be ideal! But I haven’t found it on the market yet. The only nori I’ve been able to source that’s not from the Pacific so far has been nori not in sheets such as this one. If anyone has a source, please let us know in the comments!

Should you eat raw fish?

You will notice that I didn’t include raw fish in the below sushi ingredients. I do enjoy raw fish occasionally, but the possible risks of parasites is a little unnerving, especially as a friend had a lot of health issues after becoming infected with a parasite from raw fish in sushi. To cut down on the risks, it had been recommended to freeze seafood for 2 weeks before consuming it raw, however newer recommendations state that home freezers may not reach cold enough temperatures, so only commercially frozen seafood would be considered safe. If you enjoy raw fish, you may want to keep some of these guidelines in mind and use very high-quality fish. It’s really lovely to enjoy thinly sliced raw fish in these hand rolls, so feel free to add it! 

A couple notes on the ingredients:

• Feel free to mix things up! We do. You can mix and match as many sushi filling ideas as you like!
• If you can’t have rice or grain, check out this grain-free cauliflower rice. But if you have a lot of delicious fillings, I even enjoy simply making nori wraps without any rice at all.

Hand Roll Sushi (Lazy Susan Method)

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• Teriyaki Fish (see recipe below)
• 1 jar of wild salmon roe (or fish eggs of choice)
• Fresh ginger
• Sushi rice (We often just salt our rice while it cooks instead of adding vinegar and a sweetener. Use sweetener of choice, if you do use.)
• Squares of nori (a sheet of nori is cut into 4 equal squares)
• Thin slices of peeled and seeded cucumber and avocado
• Soy sauce or tamari (for gluten free), and wasabi for serving.

Directions:

1. Make teriyaki fish, and then slice or shred into small pieces (make sure all bones are removed), and make sushi rice.

2. Place the cucumber and avocado in bowls. Place the roe in a small bowl, and flavor with finely grated fresh ginger to taste. Cut nori into squares (four squares per sheet) and place on a plate.

3. Put all ingredients on the table with serving spoons and allow everyone to serve ingredients onto their plates to make their own hand rolls. Hand rolls can be made like this, the “right” way, or simply folded over as pictured above.

Teriyaki Fish

This is the same simple teriyaki sauce as used in my teriyaki chicken. It’s so simple and delicious. I have been using Norwegian mackerel for this recipe, but you can use whatever fish you’d like. Salmon or black cod would be delicious too.

• ¼ cup of coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
• ½ cup organic tamari sauce (for gluten free) or organic soy sauce
• 1 pound of fish fillets of choice (see note above)

1. Mix the sweetener and tamari sauce together and pour over the fish fillets in an oven proof pan. Let marinate for 20 minutes to 2 hours (the longer you marinate, the more pronounced the teriyaki flavor will be.

2. Preheat the oven to 275F, and then cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the fish is done.

3. Skin, and thinly slice or shred for sushi.

Healthy Hand Roll Sushi (Made the “Lazy Susan” Method)

 

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Ingredients

• Teriyaki Fish (see recipe below)
• 1 jar of wild salmon roe (or fish eggs of choice)
• Fresh ginger
• Sushi rice (We often just salt our rice while it cooks instead of adding vinegar and a sweetener. Use sweetener of choice, if you do use.)
• Squares of nori (a sheet of nori is cut into 4 equal squares)
• Thin slices of peeled and seeded cucumber and avocado
• Soy sauce or tamari, and wasabi for serving.

Instructions

1. Make teriyaki fish, and then slice or shred into small pieces (make sure all bones are removed), and make sushi rice.
2. Place the cucumber and avocado in bowls. Place the roe in a small bowl, and flavor with finely grated fresh ginger to taste. Cut nori into squares (four squares per sheet) and place on a plate.
3. Put all ingredients on the table with serving spoons and allow everyone to serve ingredients onto their plates to make their own hand rolls.
4. Hand rolls can be made like this, the “right” way, or simply folded over as pictured above.

3.2.2925

Healthy Hand Roll Sushi (Made the “Lazy Susan” Method)

 

Print

 

This is the same simple teriyaki sauce as my teriyaki chicken. It’s so simple and delicious. I have been using Norwegian mackerel for this recipe, but you can use whatever fish you’d like. Salmon or black cod would be delicious too.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of coconut sugar or sweetener of choice
• ½ cup organic tamari sauce (for gluten free) or organic soy sauce
• 1 pound of fish fillets of choice (see note above)

Instructions

1. Mix the sweetener and tamari sauce together and pour over the fish filets in an oven proof pan. Let marinate for 20 minutes to 2 hours (the longer you marinate, the more pronounced the teriyaki flavor fill be. Preheat the oven to 275F, and then cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the fish is done.
2. Skin, and thinly slice or shred for sushi.

3.2.2925

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KimiHarris

I love beautiful and simple food that is nourishing to the body and the soul. I wrote Fresh: Nourishing Salads for All Seasons and Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons as another outlet of sharing this love of mine. I also love sharing practical tips on how to make a real food diet work on a real life budget. Find me online elsewhere by clicking on the icons below!

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