Tropical Crunch Uramaki (vegan sushi roll)

A delicious inside-out sushi roll filled with mango, smoked carrots, cucumber, avocado, panko crumbs, and chives, and topped with spicy mayo.

I absolutely love sushi! Especially inside-out sushi rolls or uramaki. I enjoy making all kinds and especially enjoy eating them. If you adore sushi as much as I do, you should check out some of my other posted several sushi roll recipes. Each has a unique and delicious variation, including my Vegan Philly Roll, Spicy Salmon rolls, and Green Veggie Maki.

All of my sushi roll recipes are very easy to make and are plant-based, gluten-free, and vegan. And if you don’t have a sushi mat but would like to try something fun, you should check out my Spicy Salmon Sushi Stack. All of these recipes are equally incredible, healthy, and fun to make!

This Tropical Crunch Uramaki is a vegan sushi roll stuffed with lots of tasty goodness, including fresh mango, avocado, cucumber, smoked carrot, chives, and panko bread crumbs. Then, you have the option to garnish the rolls with the typical sushi condiments, including low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, wasabi, and pickled ginger. Though, I do like to kick things up a notch by dropping a dollop of spicy mayo on each one. Yum!!

Also, while I prefer eating sushi rolls with the rice on the outside (uramaki), you can absolutely make these rolls with the rice on the inside (maki), along with all of these tasty components. It’s a matter of preference and completely up to you.

My personal preference is to place my seasoned sushi rice on the toasted seaweed or nori, then flip it over and place all of the ingredients on the inside, leaving the rice on the outside. There are a few really great reasons for this. For one thing, each sushi roll contains more seasoned sushi rice, which I love. Second, that sushi rice allows tasty and colorful toasted sesame seeds to adhere to the rice’s surface. And third, this seasoned sushi rice also soaks up a little more soy sauce and wasabi, which I enjoy eating – a lot.

Fourth, the texture is very different than a regular maki sushi roll . When you bite into it, you immediately taste and feel the rice and seeds. With a maki sushi roll, the nori is very smooth. But the fifth and most obvious reason is probably because I think the rice and sesame seeds look pretty – and I’m not ashamed to admit that I really do eat with my eyes. And I do think this Tropical Crunch Uramaki is very pretty.

So, lets first talk about all of the basic components of making sushi rolls. First, you need a sushi mat. You can get bamboo sushi mats in the ethnic foods aisle at your local grocery store for a few dollars. You can also buy them online. Although, plastic mats are becoming more popular since they are easier to clean. I like to wrap my bamboo sushi mats with plastic wrap since it makes them a breeze to clean.

The next important component is toasted seaweed or nori, which can also be purchased in sheets, typically in packs of ten. I like to cut my nori in half, though you can use a whole sheet. You’ll just use twice as much rice and end up with a fatter sushi roll when using the whole sheet of nori. It also allows you to add a bit more filling to your roll without making a mess. So there are some keen advantages. But typically, you’ll just use half a sheet of nori to make a standard sushi roll.

Next up is the seasoned sushi rice, which is super easy to make. It’s important to use short grain or medium grain sushi rice since it contains a lot more starch and will result in a stickier rice that adheres well to the nori. Many people recommend rinsing the rice in water until it runs clear. I used to do this; but when I forgot to rinse my rice once, it still turned out well. So I’ve been a little lazy in recent years and stopped rinsing the rice as much or not at all, depending on my mood (and laziness).

I like cooking my rice in my Instant Pot because it always turns out perfect. White rice takes four minutes on high pressure with a natural release. If you’re using brown or black rice, you’ll need to cook it for about twenty minutes on High Pressure with a natural release. Once the rice is cooked, simply remove the lid and add a little rice wine vinegar, agave syrup or sugar, and a dash of salt. I like keeping the seasoned sushi rice covered with a wet paper towel to keep it from drying out prematurely. See the Notes section below for full directions and ingredient quantities.

One of the fun features of this Tropical Crunch Uramaki are the different colored speckles that result from sprinkling black and white sesame seeds on the sushi rice before flipping it over. I think it adds a little flavor, texture, color, and beauty. You can use white and black sesame seeds, toasted sesame seeds, or none at all. It’s really up to you.

This uramaki contains lots of fresh ingredients, including fresh mango, avocado, cucumber, smoked carrot, chives, and panko bread crumbs. So, you probably already guessed that the fresh mango is what makes this a tropical uramaki in the first place. And you’re absolutely right. I love mango and incorporate it in my favorite foods whenever I can. And mango is just perfect in this Tropical Crunch Uramaki. It holds just the right flavor and sweetness, all while maintaining the perfect texture and color.

The crunch comes from the cucumber slices and panko crumbs. It’s important to slice the cucumber in long thin strips about the length of the nori, that way the cucumber strips don’t hang over the sides too much. And if you follow a gluten-free diet, you can either omit the panko bread crumbs or use gluten-free panko bread crumbs. All of the remaining filling ingredients are naturally gluten-free.

I like adding avocado because the colors and textures pair well with the mango and cucumber. Avocado adds a creamy texture that is simply exquisite in sushi. The greenish to yellow hues of the avocado blend right in with the cucumber and mango and contrast with the smoked carrots. It also complements the flavor composition of this uramaki perfectly.

And finally, smoked carrot strips star in this Tropical Crunch Uramaki. The smoked carrot strips are featured in my Vegan Philly Roll, Spicy Salmon rolls, as well as my Spicy Salmon Sushi Stack. Similar to my Plant-based Carrot Dogs, fresh carrots are cut, cooked, and marinated overnight. Once the flavors blend, the smoked carrots provide a flavorful and colorful plant-based and vegan alternative to using smoked salmon. And the results are surprisingly delicious.

And finally, I like adding one chive or slender sprig of green onion to the filling. It adds just a hint of onion flavor that adds one more dimension and really ties all the flavors together. I do not recommend using a regular green onion in your maki. It will be too large and may overwhelm the flavor balance. If you don’t have chives or slender tops of green onion, thinly slice or chop the green onion and sprinkle inside before rolling or use as a garnish on top of these plant-based sushi rolls.

And finally, these Tropical Crunch Uramaki are fantastic with the standard sushi fair, including pickled ginger, soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, and wasabi. But it’s also absolutely divine with a little spicy mayo. But really, it’s your choice!

I hope you enjoy this Tropical Crunch Uramaki as much as I do.  I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• 4 sheets of nori, broken or cut in half
• sushi rice* (recipe below)
• 1-2 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
• 1 cup smoked carrot “salmon” slices
• 1 mango, peeled and sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 half seedless cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• Chives (green tops of scallions or green onions)
• ¼ cup Panko crumbs (gluten-free, if needed)
• Spicy mayo** (optional – recipe below)
• Ginger, wasabi, soy sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Wrap a sushi mat or piece of cardstock with a long piece of saran wrap and fold the edges around to seal it nicely.
2. Lay one half sheet of nori shiny side down on the plastic-wrapped bamboo sushi mat.***
3. Set a small bowl with a wet paper towel and a little water next to your mat.
4. Wet your fingers on the paper towel and place about ½ cup of sushi rice in an even layer across the nori sheet. 
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.
6. Carefully flip the nori over so that the rice-sesame side is now facing down.

1. About half an inch from the edge, layer mango, avocado, carrot, cucumber, and chive in a line from end to end.  Don’t overfill!!  You need to be able to roll it up.
2. Sprinkle with 1 Tbsp panko crumbs.

1. Using the sushi mat and both hands, start rolling from the bottom of the roll, tucking the edge of the roll to fully enclose the filling.
2. Once you reach the end, use the mat to rotate the roll inside to make sure you have an even and consistent sushi roll.
3. Now use the wet paper towel to wipe the edge of a sharp knife.
4. Slice your sushi roll into 6 equal pieces – cut it in half first, then cut each half in thirds.  
5. Wipe the knife with your wet paper towel in between each cut; otherwise the rice sticks.
6. Place your sushi on a serving dish and enjoy with pickled ginger and wasabi.

Notes

* To make sushi rice, combine 1 cup of medium grain sushi rice and 1¼ cup water in an instant pot on high for 4 minutes.  After it naturally releases, add in 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp agave or maple syrup, and a dash of salt.  Keep covered with wet paper towel. 

** To make spicy mayo, combine 1 Tbsp vegan mayonnaise, 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (or siracha), 1 tsp fresh lime juice, ½ tsp sesame seed oil.

*** Sushi Golden Rule: the shiny side of nori is always placed on the outside of the sushi.

– This recipe makes about 6-8 half rolls, depending how much rice you use on each roll.  To make a full roll, spread about 1 cup of rice across a full nori sheet and proceed per instructions.

– If you don’t have sushi mat, you can try using a thick kitchen towel. Place a piece of saran wrap on top and place your nori shiny side down.  Proceed with the instructions.