Vegan sushi is one of my favorite meals. It might sound like an oxymoron since sushi is basically synonymous with fish, but a veggie roll with avocado and rice in some nori is basically the perfect plant-based meal. Recently I started thinking about how to make a vegan version of the classic California roll with cucumber, avocado, and crab.
The interesting thing is, many California rolls are made with Surimi, or imitation crab, which is basically a paste of various mystery meats (eew). But that actually makes our job of creating a vegan version easier because we can create a paste from plant-based ingredients. I had high hopes for my imitation crab, but this recipe really exceeded them all. The textures and flavors are spot on.
The secrets to this concoction are all below – it’s a blend of chickpeas for the meatiness, nori for the seafood flavor, some shredded cabbage for texture, and blended cashews for some creaminess and body. It’s sooooo good and (as far as I can remember from a decade ago) tastes a lot like crab. It’s the perfect filling for sushi rolls.
Prep: Soak the 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces for at least an hour to soften before blending.
Step One
After soaking, blend the cashews with about 1/2 cup of water until you have a smooth cream and set aside. This will add a ton of creaminess to the crab mixture in the next step.
Step Two
In a food processor (yes, I know, a food processor and a blender in the same recipe, but it’s really important), combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, cabbage, carrots, about 2/3 a sheet of nori (broken into pieces) and some salt and pepper. Pulse just a few times. Then drizzle in the cashew cream and pulse just a few more times. It should be perfect after a few pulses – you don’t want mush! But feel free to give it a taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or lemon juice as needed. This can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated, but it’s best made just before preparing the rolls.
Step Three
Make a bunch of sushi rice according to package instructions. About 2 cups of dry rice and 2 1/2 cups of water should be about right. When it’s done, allow to cool then fold in 2-3 tablespoons of rice vinegar and a dash of salt.
Step Four
Now, you’re ready to make the rolls. A typical California roll will look like the photos, with the rice on the outside of the nori and the ingredients on the inside. this is about 3.5 times more difficult and less convenient to eat than just putting the rice and ingredients on the inside, but it doesn’t look as impressive. It’s fine to do it either way.
No matter how you’re doing it, start with a sheet of nori and add a layer of rice and use wet hands to smooth the surface. If you’re doing the rice on the outside, add plastic wrap on top and flip it all over, then add some cucumber and avocado slices along with the chickpea crab meat. Then, slowly roll the whole thing up and (ideally) use one of those bamboo mats to shape into the perfect roll. Slowly slice with a wet knife into 1/2 or 3/4-inch rounds.
Repeat until you run out of ingredients and serve the slices with a garnish of sesame seeds and soy sauce for dipping.
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Hi! Do you have a printer friendly version of this?
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Yes below the final picture in the recipe text you should see a grey “print this” button
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Looking forward to making this. I bought my cashews and ready to go. Thanks!
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Awesome, I hope it works well for you 🙂
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This was amazing! I added a little sugar to the chickpea mix because I like a sweet/salty taste. I will only use this from now on! Didn’t break the bank and I could find everything easily. So yummy! Thank you!
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Oh I like the idea of adding a little sugar to balance out the sweet/salty flavors. I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
You could replace the crab with salmon, tuna, cooked shrimp, really whatever you want. Or make it completely vegetarian by adding more veggies to the bowl and drizzling everything with that mayo/sriracha/soy sauce combo.
Often times when I order California rolls at various sushi restaurants, they include kanikama, or “kani” for short, an imitation of crab meat instead of real crab. Kani is made up of white fish (typically Alaskan pollock), crab flavoring, egg whites, and cornstarch to bind them into crab-like sticks.
A California roll is a fresh take on traditional Japanese rice rolls. Filled with avocado, crab, and cucumber, it's fresh and crunchy and makes a filling meal. You can use real or imitation crab.
Unlike traditional sushi rolls, the California roll does not use raw fish as its main ingredient. Instead, it features avocado, imitation crab (also called kani), cucumber, and sushi rice, all wrapped in a sheet of nori (seaweed).
If fresh crab is not available then frozen crab would be the best alternative and there are several companies selling frozen crab on-line. Imitation crab, also known as crab sticks or seafood sticks, is made from white fish (such as pollock) that is flavoured to taste like crab.
Imitation crab is made from surimi, which is fish flesh that has been deboned, washed to remove fat and unwanted bits, then minced into a paste. This paste is blended with other ingredients before being heated and pressed into shapes that mimic crab meat ( 1 ).
Manufacturers add in some artificial flavoring and sometimes ingredients like starch, sodium, and MSG to the paste, then shape it to mimic the flesh of a crab. So imitation crab is considered pescatarian, but it is not vegetarian or vegan. It's often used in place of crab because of its affordability.
In short, imitation crab is not actually crab at all. It is a mock or faux-crab that relies on ingredients to mimic the texture and taste of authentic crab. Imitation crab is predominantly made with surimi, which is basically a fish paste.
Surimi is a white fish paste that is typically made from demersal fish (fish that live near the seafloor) like wild Alaska pollock, Atlantic cod, haddock, hake, and others. The fish is first deboned and washed, then minced into a paste.
The main wrapped ingredients are the avocado and imitation crab (surimi sticks); these are all typically wrapped with seaweed, although soy paper can be used. Premium versions may use real crab, as in the original recipe. The cucumber may have been used since the beginning, or added later, depending on the account.
Tobiko is the tiny, orange, pearl-like stuff you find on sushi rolls. It's actually flying fish roe, which technically makes it a caviar (albeit less expensive than its sturgeon cousin). Tobiko adds crunchy texture and salty taste to the dish, not to mention artistic flair.
What ingredients are in P.F. Chang's California Roll? White rice, nori (dried seaweed), kani kama, cucumber, avocado, sesame seeds, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Each roll is served with wasabi and pickled ginger on the side.
can be found in just about any Japanese restaurant in the United States. Because it is often prepared with cooked imitation crab, it is regarded as a starter roll for people new to sushi who are not ready for raw fish.
A California roll is a type of sushi roll that typically contains imitation crab meat, avocado, and cucumber wrapped in nori and sushi rice. The roll is often made with the rice on the outside and may be sprinkled with sesame seeds or tobiko (flying fish roe).
Just like the name implies, imitation crab contains no crabmeat. Fish is, however, one of the main ingredients. It is made using surimi, which is a paste made of fish and a few other ingredients. Surimi is often made with pollock, which is also used to make fish sticks and breaded fish products.
The main wrapped ingredients are the avocado and imitation crab (surimi sticks); these are all typically wrapped with seaweed, although soy paper can be used. Premium versions may use real crab, as in the original recipe. The cucumber may have been used since the beginning, or added later, depending on the account.
Since crab sticks are perishable and salmon is expensive, the canned tuna is a great alternative to these seafood toppings. Plus, it's a no-cook substitute that can taste just as delicious!
It's surimi, a deboned amalgamation of different fish meats that has been ground into a paste, flavored with added ingredients, and reshaped to resemble real crab meat. The main ingredient is typically Alaskan pollock, but other white fish like tilapia or cod are commonly used as well.
Shrimp. Shrimp offers a sweet and salty flavor that's well-known amongst fish lovers. So you'll be glad to know that shrimp is a healthy alternative to imitation crab cakes on keto. A three-ounce serving of shrimp has just 0.2 grams of net carbs and 20 grams of protein.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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