Rice Paper Sushi without Seaweed

Large black round plate with a lot of white sushi rolls with colorful filling sprinkled with tiny black sesame seeds. Condiment bowls are around it.

Rice Paper Sushi without Seaweed

Nori sheets give the umami flavor to sushi. However, if you don't like the taste of seaweed, this rice paper sushi recipe will be perfect for you. They are filled with mango, avocado, and roasted red pepper slices, drizzled with creamy wasabi mayonnaise and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword rice paper sushi, sushi without fish, sushi without seaweed, vegan sushi

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings maki sushi

Calories 63kcal

Author Nandor Barta

Equipment

Ingredients

Sushi rice

1 cup Sushi rice
1 + ⅓ cup Water
1 + ½ Tbsp Rice vinegar
¾ Tbsp Salt

To assemble the sushi

½ Avocado sliced as fries
½ Mango sliced as fries
½ jar Roasted red pepper sliced as fries
12 Rice paper sheets
½ tsp Wasabi optional (to taste)
3 Tbsp Mayo
Black sesame seeds

Optional condiments

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking sushi rice

Rinse rice under cold water using a fine mesh sieve.
Take a pot and pour in fresh cold water and rice vinegar. Add rinsed rice and salt.
Bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat low. Simmer until the water disappears, then remove from heat and cover with a lid. It should stay covered for 5 minutes. Now, you have cooked sushi rice.

Rolling sushi

Gently submerge 2 rice papers with a diameter of 6 inches (approx. 16 cm) in lukewarm water. Not at the same time but one by one. Or use two large bowls. (See the top tips section on how to know the duration right below the step photos.)
Once submerged, transfer them to a dry and smooth surface partly covering each other. (I wipe my surface more or less dry after each roll.) Don't use a bamboo sushi mat or saran wrap as the soaked sheets will ultimately stick to them.
Scoop cooked rice in the middle but leave the edges free.
Place a couple of slices of roasted red pepper, mango, and avocado in the middle on top of the rice.
Fold the sides towards to middle.
Now, roll them up from the bottom to the top as tight as you can. (photo #6) The sushi rolls will fall apart after cutting if it is too loose.
Drizzle them with wasabi mayo and sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top. Cut into 5-6 rolls with a sharp knife, and enjoy!
Repeat with all 6 pairs of rice paper sheets. You should have approx. 30 sushi rolls.

Video

Notes

Top tip to use rice paper wrappers

Use dry hands -> Always dry your hands before taking a rice paper from the package. Wet hands will activate them and they will stick together.
Damp towel or submerging in water? -> The short answer is “it depends on the tapioca starch content of your rice paper”. You would think rice paper is just rice. But that is not always true. If you check your packaging, you will see that there is tapioca starch. The ratio of tapioca dictates how you need to handle your rice paper. If you see tapioca starch only (it can happen), a damp towel is enough to get them soft. If you see rice flour only (it can also happen), you need to submerge it in water to get them soft. The larger the ratio of the tapioca (means the thinner your rice paper), the less time you need to submerge it. In short, keep it shorter and double up if needed.
How to test how much time you need to submerge the rice papers? -> The rice paper you see in the video is 100% rice flour. I submerge this type for 7-8 seconds. If you have rice paper with tapioca starch, you might need less time. So how do I test it? I submerge the rice paper and gently pet it with my hands in the water. I take it out while I still feel it hard. I usually start with 3-4 seconds. I place it on the surface I want to work on and wait for 2-3 seconds and gently pet it again and see whether it becomes soft or not. If yes, I add the filling. If not, I submerge it again for 2-3 seconds.

Nutrition