Christmas Sushi!

I have been watching the Christmas Cookies thread, and thinking those are cute and fun, but we just don't EAT stuff like that. Seems a waste to make them. Then I saw...
Christmas Sushi!!
Now THAT is an idea I can get behind!! I'll put some thought into it, I use no raw fish, just veggies, sometimes cooked fish, there's no sushi safe raw fish around here. Bet I can think up something fun!
Came up with some pictures off the net:

This one's not my thing, but might be others






And this just made me drool....  I'll see what I can do!



I always like pretty food, have a file on my computer of wonderful stuff I'd like to do, and I think I have a book (or two?) on how chefs cut veggies into odd shapes.
Hmmmmm.......      
:D

Stop, I'm drooling.

I really appreciate sushi bars that bring art into their craft. I've seen gorgeous pieces but never Christmas themed sushi!

One day I'll learn how to make sushi, this is pushing me closer haha.

Gad - I'm at my Sisters' for Christmas. I'll have *waaaayyyyyy* more time to play, but I don't think either of them are keen on sushi.

I have some friends here who do the sushi thing, but I don't think either of them are creative enough to tackle this concept, and this is sort of a party thing - I'm thinking you'd need a critical mass of 4-6 people and I can't think of that many sushi aficionados... except maybe 1 family.

With the exception to the bottom photo, John and I could polish off any one of those other ones, in a sitting... well... maybe not the tree. We do occasionally get sushi grade fish, but we have easy access to a shop that ships fish in from all over the world, weekly. It's not cheap, by any means, but that's why we only get it occasionally (As in, John will order monkfish & various shellfish for my birthday, for bouillabaisse, or for other special occasions). Sometimes, we will go there, grab some of their in-house-made clam chowder, or gumbo for lunch, and bring home something from their freezer or maybe the fresh offerings. With this weather, I could REALLY go for some of their soup, right now!

Tonight was round 1 of the Pearl vs Christmas Sushi battle. I lost horribly. Didn't take pictures of that mess. Tasted good, but wasn't cute at all.
I demand a rematch!!

That was just pathetic.....  

Those pictures are so pretty! I'm afraid sushi is far more trouble than I would normally take for food preparation - more like art than fuel. My food (I hope) is usually somewhere in between. Smoked salmon would be an alternative to raw raw fish if you don't mind mixing cultures.
I sent my mum some sushi making ingredients as part of her Christmas box last year; not that she's into sushi as such, but it's the sort of stuff she wouldn't buy herself. I gather she had fun with some of her grandchildren using some of the kit to make supper.

Carla & Pearl, sushi rolls with avocado, cucumber, carrot; teriyaki chicken; tinned tuna in mayo with finely chopped spring onions; crab sticks etc are common non fresh fish fillings in the chains of sushi restaurants that sell ready made sushi to go

https://stpierres.co.nz/menu

Look forward to photos of your next attempt Pearl😋

Megan Palmer wrote:Carla & Pearl, sushi rolls with avocado, cucumber, carrot; teriyaki chicken; tinned tuna in mayo with finely chopped spring onions; crab sticks etc are common non fresh fish fillings in the chains of sushi restaurants that sell ready made sushi to go

https://stpierres.co.nz/menu

Look forward to photos of your next attempt Pearl😋

Megan, you're making me hungry! John makes (cooked) bacon sushi that's SO yummy! He's classically trained in French cooking, but did his internship in Japanese cooking. His spicy tuna handrolls (the nori is shaped into a cone, making them great walking food!)are fast & easy to make, easy to eat, and one of my all-time faves!

So, for those enquiring minds who prefer to watch a video, John shared this, to explain the how-to, using half a nori sheet:  


And for those who prefer to read: https://thewoodenskillet.com/sushi-hand-roll/

The spicy tuna filing is simply chopped raw, previously frozen tuna mixed with mayo & sriracha combined to taste.

i think we will have to have some Christmas sushi as well! what an excellent idea.

And we don't use fish-- after living in Japan, I've become an insufferable fish snob, and we live in a place where we can only get frozen imported salmon (ugh) or local farmed tilapia (also ugh), so we have alternatives.

I'm also a big fan of the spicy tuna roll, as well as a few other nice and non-fishy fillings:
-lots and lots of chopped scallions mixed with miso (my favorite, always)
-carrots or green beans cooked in a sweet dashi or soy kind of sauce
-anything made of radishes of any kind
-a leafy mix made of perilla/shiso, chard, or whatever else I have, chopped fine and mixed with salt and sesame oil, maybe some sesame seeds too
-^^ that same thing with sauteed collard greens or cabbage or whatever is in the garden
- avocado, heavily dusted with Old Bay, lemon pepper, zattar, whatever tasty spice you've got
-cucumber, salted to drain out excess, with some miso optional
-any kind of vegetable, sliced thin, salted to drain excess moisture, squeezed and spiced with whatever salty/umami sounds good (Lao Gan Ma/chile crisp, marmite, soy sauce, aminos, gochujang, fish sauce, literally anything salty or umami
- any type of pickle I have laying around (drained)

Here in Brazil I've seen pretty much anything you could imagine put into sushi (lots of cream cheese, which to me is a non-starter), but in my family they are big on green beans, gobo, omelet, and maybe some pickled ginger.

I put all KINDS of veggies in mine. Mashed cooked sweet potato (spiced nicely!) is excellent. Slices of baked squash, raw cucumber, steamed rutabaga or turnip, fresh or pickled or quick pickled radishes... basically anything I can stuff in there works for me. If I want protein it it, I do mashed spiced beans. Think spring rolls, or burritos, to me anything that rolls up is all the same, just a different wrapper.