Tofu cubes are soaked in a savory ginger-sesame marinade and baked until crisp, then served over a bed of rice and veggies topped with wasabi seasoned tahini dressing in these delicious and healthy vegan sushi bowls.
Have you ever had some favorite thing that you do, and then one day you realize you stopped doing that thing without realizing it? That's how things went with me and sushi this year. It's been quite a while since I posted a sushi recipe.
Looking back at my post history, it seems 2014 was the year of the veggie roll around here, and then in 2015 I forgot sushi existed. Interestingly, about the same time my sushi posts dropped off, we also stopped ordering sushi takeout in my house, which we used to do all the time. So weird! I definitely didn't get tired of sushi...just forgot about it. I'm good and ready to get back in the habit.
Some might say I just got tired of rolling sushi, and I can see how they would think that. I don't mind rolling sushi. I probably would've just started ordering takeout more frequently if that was the issue.
I do like to change things up once in a while, and that's where bowls come in. So while stuffing a hand roll seems like no more a chore at this point than constructing a burrito or filling a sandwich, throwing the ingredients in a bowl seems like a fun way to shake things up. The fact that it's a tad bit easier than making traditional sushi is just a bonus.
These sushi bowls satisfied my sushi hankering completely. I didn't know if they'd really taste like sushi without the ingredients being tightly packed into nori sheets, but they did!
While we ate these for dinner I repeatedly stopped to announce my excitement to my husband. "They really taste like sushi! All the flavors and textures are there! Rock!" He agreed, and thought they were delicious, though maybe was a little less fascinated by the whole thing. In any event, a good meal was had by all.
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Baked Tofu Sushi Bowls with Wasabi Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
For the Baked Tofu
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. agave
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- ½ tsp. powdered ginger
- ½ lb. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed for at least 30 minutes and cut into 1 inch cubes
For the Wasabi Tahini Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- ½ tbsp. agave
- 1-2 tsp. wasabi powder, or to taste
- 2-3 tbsp. water
For Serving
- 2 cups cooked rice. sushi rice works great, but I just used short grain brown rice
- ½ avocado, sliced
- 8-10 cucumber slices
- 1 carrot, julienned
- ½ cup baby spinach
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1-2 tsp. sesame seeds
Instructions
Make the Baked Tofu
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Stir soy sauce or tamari, rice vinegar, agave, sesame oil and ginger together in small bowl. Add tofu and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, tossing every so often to recoat.
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Preheat oven to 400º and line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange tofu cubes in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Make the Wasabi Tahini Dressing
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Stir all ingredients together in small bowl. Thin with water as needed.
Make the Bowls and Serve
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Divide rice among bowls and top with tofu, avocado, cucumber slices, carrot, baby spinach and scallions. Dress with wasabi tahini dressing and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
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Serve.
You had me at tofu :) Such a healthy, easy meal.
That's pretty much how I feel about tofu too. :)
I used to make sushi bowls all the time, but totally forgot about them! Thanks for the reminder! I love to do them with some nori crumbled over the top to get that bit of umami seaweedy flavour. Loving the looks of that baked tofu as well. Yum!
This was actually my first time making a sushi bowl. I absolutely loved it and will definitely be making them again with some nori. :)
This recipe is both delicious and easy to make. Totally does the trick when I get my weekly sushi craving. Thank you!!
Yay! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!! Thanks Jennie. :)
This was really easy and delicious! We added red bell pepper and used wasabi paste because we couldn’t find powder.
Thank you for the recipe!