Asparagus Sushi Salad – V and GF

This asparagus sushi salad combines all the flavors of veggie sushi rolls in a bowl. It makes a great side dish or a filling meal!

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As the title implies, asparagus sushi inspired this salad recipe. Like my approach to tacos, I figured why spend time assembling sushi rolls when you can achieve the same textures and flavors in a salad? (My apologies to sushi purists.)

Asparagus

Asparagus used to intimidate me. I wasn’t sure how to prep or cook it. I wasn’t even sure if I liked it. However, I knew it was good for me, so I became more familiar with this stalky veggie. Healthline.com shares some great information about its health benefits. My research also taught me the following:

• You should eat asparagus within 48 hours of purchase because it spoils faster than other veggies.
• White asparagus is grown underground.
• You don’t usually need to peel thin asparagus at the base of the stem. However, the best way to avoid a tough stalk is to snap off the bottom where the stem naturally breaks.
• Some folks may notice, ahem, that their pee smells different after eating asparagus. This phenomenon has no known health risks.

One of the benefits of following a plant-based diet is that your tastes adjust, and you develop a greater appreciation for healthy foods like asparagus.

Asparagus Sushi Salad

This asparagus sushi salad combines the clean, earthy flavor of asparagus with:

• Brown rice
• Carrots
• Onion
• Dark leafy greens
• Cucumber
• Nori (If you would like to know more about nori, check out the What Is Nori? section of my Veggie Quinoa Sushi Rolls recipe.)
• Almonds
• Avocado

The salad makes a great side dish or a tasty and filling meal on its own.

What’s Needed?

The following small appliances make following this recipe a breeze:

• Rice cooker or Instant Pot – Both options are great for perfectly cooked rice. But I prefer the results I get with my Instant Pot.
• Food processor – A food processor makes it easy to mince ingredients for a better melding of flavors.

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Asparagus Sushi Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain brown rice uncooked
• 2½ cups water
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 cup baby carrots
• 1 small sweet onion about ⅓ cup chopped
• 6-8 leaves dark leafy greens (kale, collard greens and/or chard)
• 1 English cucumber
• ½ cup Teriyaki sauce – see recipe
• 2 nori sheets
• ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)
• 1 avocado peeled, pitted

Instructions

• Rinse brown rice and combine with water in a rice cooker. Cook on brown rice setting. (If available.)
• Rinse and prep asparagus. (Peel bottoms if necessary.)
• After rice has been cooking for at least 30 minutes, add asparagus to steamer basket and place in rice cooker for 8-10 minutes. (Try to place and remove steamer basket quickly. Use oven mitts and avoid coming into contact with hot steam.)
• Immediately rinse steamed asparagus with cool water.
• Chop asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces and add to a large mixing bowl.
• Add carrots to a food processor fitted with an S blade and pulse until finely chopped. Scrape carrots into the mixing bowl.
• Add onion to food processor, pulse to finely chop and add to mixing bowl.
• Wash dark leafy greens, pat dry, strip stems and discard. Add leaves to food processor, pulse to finely chop and add to mixing bowl.
• Wash cucumber, chop into ½ inch cubes and add to mixing bowl. (Leave skin on.)
• Stir to mix ingredients. When rice is done, add to mixing bowl (1/3 at a time) and stir to mix thoroughly.
• Add teriyaki and stir until mixed.
• Tear nori sheets into strips, and then tear a couple of strips into 1-inch pieces and sprinkle over ingredients in mixing bowl. Stir to mix and then repeat until all of the nori has been added and mixed.
• Add almonds and stir to mix.
• Serve salad cool or at room temperature topped with fresh diced avocado.

Notes

Cooking the rice and asparagus ahead of time significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to prepare this salad. It could be ready in less than 15 minutes!

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate for special dietary needs. I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.

Nutrition

Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 697mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4765IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 4mg

I’ve made similar sushi salads with sweet potatoes and other favorite ingredients. What’s your favorite kind of veggie sushi? Can it be made into a salad?

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