Sushi Modoki: The Japanese Art and Craft of Vegan Sushi

by Iina

Overview

Modoki: a Japanese word that means “to mimic”
Sushi Modoki: Authentic vegan sushi that tastes—and looks—just like the real thing!

No food is more iconically Japanese than sushi. But as any vegan or vegetarian knows, there’s only so many cucumber rolls a person can eat! Enter Sushi Modoki—amazing, all-vegan re-creations of classic sushi rolls and bites. At the hands of vegan innovator iina, a cooking instructor in her native Japan, tomatoes transform into “fatty tuna,” mushrooms into “scallops,” and carrots into “salmon”—with mind-boggling results. Clear, step-by-step instructions show you how to make five different styles of sushi with all-natural, whole ingredients—and assemble elegant plates bursting with color and crunch:

• Nigiri: “fish” over rice
• Maki: sushi rolls
• Chirashi: scattered sushi bowls
• Inari: fried tofu stuffed with “fish” and rice
• Oshi: pressed sushi

Plus, you’ll find the full range of traditional sides: salads, soups, sauces, pickled vegetables, and hot and cold drinks. Sushi Modoki is the ultimate guide to becoming a vegan sushi master—with over 50 recipes to “wow” vegans and sushi-lovers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781615196081
Publisher:	The Experiment
Publication date:	11/01/2019
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	670,098
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

iina creates unique and inventive vegan foods that value the natural shapes and colors of vegetables. Her recipes exclude meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and processed white sugar and never use any artificial seasoning or coloring. She is a graduate of L’ecole Vantan culinary school in Tokyo. In 2008, she lived on Brown’s Field, an organic farm in Isumi, Japan. On the farm, while learning to produce and preserve organic foods, she became the chef at Rice Terrace Café. In 2010, she moved to Tokyo and began her career as a vegan chef.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2019

In this concise manual, iina, who hosts cooking classes in Tokyo, instructs readers in the craft of vegan sushi, leaning on various vegetable preparations to visually evoke a variety of sliced fish. Skinned boiled pepper stands in for rich tuna, while steamed, seasoned eggplant takes the place of eel. Her recipes are clever, but often the sleight of hand falters: konnyaku, a firm, flavorless jelly, plays the roles of both squid and shrimp to ill effect. A wan impression of uni, the roe of sea urchin, reveals the limits of pure imitation, as a mixture of kabocha squash, carrot, and sake lees (the leftover from sake fermentation) can deceive the eyes but not the palate. While iina finds her footing in commonplace vegan recipes like inarizushi, bundles of rice in a sweet fried tofu skin, she often stumbles when she strays too far from tradition. One recipe needlessly replaces rice with cauliflower, and another marries kiwi, asparagus, and tofu cream cheese in a rice paper wrap. Beyond the delight of visually appealing dishes, home cooks will likely find little satisfaction here. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The [vegan sushi] results are worth the time and patience they require; alas they’ll be consumed in a flash."

Florence Fabricant

"Sushi Surprise. Tokyo-based chef iina creates edible vegan art for an adventurous vegetable-loving palate."

Spirituality and Health

The [vegan sushi] results are worth the time and patience they require; alas they’ll be consumed in a flash.”—Florence Fabricant,The New York Times

“A delightful book that is built on the concept of modoki, or mimicry. . . . A welcome title for those with even a passing interest in plant-based culinary options.”—Library Journal

“Sushi Surprise. Tokyo-based chef iina creates edible vegan art for an adventurous vegetable-loving palate.”—Spirituality and Health

“Clever.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

Most people think of raw fish when thinking about sushi, but sushi is about the rice, and there are many options for adorning it beyond seafood. Chef and author Iina offers a delightful book that is built on the concept of modoki, or mimicry. Using carrot to create the look of salmon, amaranth to emulate roe, or tomato to trick the eye into seeing a piece of fatty tuna, she conjures up an array of sushi treats that will at least look familiar to many. The catch is that every recipe is vegan. Not everything in the book is meant to mimic non-vegan fare either: readers will encounter outright celebrations of vegetables as in the cauliflower roll or the green vegetable chirashi. Still, with vegetable products standing in for abalone or eel or omelet, the book offers a range of surprises for all cooks to have fun with and explore. VERDICT A welcome title for those with even a passing interest in plant-based culinary options.—Peter Hepburn, Coll. of the Canyons Lib., Santa Clarita, CA

Library Journal