Grilled Mushroom Vegan Sushi

These Vegan Grilled Mushroom Sushi made with king trumpet mushrooms take your sushi repertoire to a whole new place! It’s a flavor experience you won’t forget any time soon. This sushi is perfect for those who follow different diets as it’s vegan, dairy-free, and soy-free. Plus, it’s super versatile and is delicious as a snack, as lunch, or as your evening meal.

Why this Recipe Works

For those who can’t eat raw fish for various reasons, vegan sushi is a delicious alternative and is easy to make. 

Making sushi with trumpet mushrooms instead of fish is an affordable yet flavorful way to enjoy sushi. The meatiness of the king trumpet mushrooms is a delicious texture for sushi.

The marinade for the mushrooms is fantastic. It infuses the mushroom with flavor and only develops further when you grill it over high heat.

The proper seasoning for your sushi rice is important to achieve incredible umami flavor. This recipe offers just that.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Sushi rice – Sushi rice is necessary for this recipe. I do not recommend any substitutions.

Rice vinegar – Rice vinegar is made from fermented rice and has a slightly sour and bitter taste. You can find this in the grocery store or at your local Asian market.

Coconut aminos – This is a fantastic vegan alternative to soy sauce. Coconut aminos are made from fermented coconut palm and sea salt. It is slightly sweeter than soy sauce and it adds that slightly salty element to the sushi. You can also use soy sauce.

Sugar – White, granulated sugar works best in sushi rice. I would not substitute with other sugars, except caster sugar.

Brown sugar – Light brown sugar or turbinado sugar both work well in this recipe.

Ginger – Use fresh ginger, not dried, for this recipe.

Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves, not dried, for this recipe.

Scallions – Scallions are part of the onion family, also known as green onions. You can also use shallots.

Nori seaweed – This is a type of edible seaweed from Japan. You can buy this in packets online or at the store.

How to Make this Recipe

First, make the sushi rice, then the mushroom sushi. The rice needs some time to cool to room temperature before handling.

Make your rice in advance! I like to make the sushi rice a good hour in advance so it has plenty of time to cool and you don’t feel rushed along.

Sushi Rice

Rinse the rice in water until it runs clear, which usually takes about 3 times. This is a very important step. Without washing the excess starch off the rice, it will become too chewy.

Place the rice and water in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer the rice, covered, for 15 minutes, then remove it from the heat, and let it stand for 10 more minutes.

In the meantime, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Mix until the sugar and salt are competely dissolved. You can use the microwave to help dissolve the sugar and salt by microwaving on high for 30 seconds.

When the rice is cooked, transfer to a bowl, add the vinegar and sugar mixture, and mix/fluff with a fork. Let it cool to room temperature before making the sushi.

The Mushrooms

Start by slicing the king trumpet mushrooms into 8 even strips, each about a 1/4 inch thick. Mix the marinade ingredients (everything except the mushrooms) together in a bowl.

Heat your grill or grill pan over medium heat. Lightly coat the surface of the pan with flavorless oil.

Cook the mushrooms while basting them with the marinade, until you get distinct grill marks and the mushrooms soften in texture. This should take about 3 minutes per side.

Mushroom Sushi

Split the rice into 8 equal parts. Wet your hands to prevent the rice from sticking to them and form them with your hands OR use this trick…

Rice forming trick: Take a rectangular/square plastic, glass, or metal container and line it with plastic wrap. With wet hands, press each part of the sushi into the side wall of a rectangular container as shown in the photo below. Pack it in firmly so it comes out as one uniform piece. You can even use an old takeout container in a pinch.

Repeat this process 7 more times. Always keep your hands very wet when working with cooked sushi rice. Rice will stick to dry hands, but not wet hands, so this helps make the process less messy.

Next, top each rice rectangle with one piece of grilled mushroom. Wrap each piece of sushi with one slice of the nori strips and you’re ready to enjoy your vegan sushi!

Nori strips: You can cut the nori sheets using a sharp kitchen knife.

Do not wrap the sushi with nori until just before serving. Wrapping them in advance will yield soggy seaweed.

Related Recipes

Craving more easy, scrumptious vegan recipes? Here are some of the most popular ones on the blog to get you started.

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