Fruit Sushi

As a result of my bento kick, I have started making sushi and onigiri on occasion, because they fit in a bento box so well, and of course, I love them. Anyway, somehow I got the idea in my head that I wanted to make some kind of dessert sushi. I searched around for recipes and I ended up finding one that sounded decent, but not 100% great, so I did a little tweaking and ended up with this recipe :

Fruit Sushi

For the Sweet Coconut Rice:
-1 cup Sushi Rice
-1 cup Water
-1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
-1 cup Sugar

For the Fruit Filling and Garnish/Condiments:
-1 Kiwi
-several Strawberries
-Peach Jam
-Dehydrated Unsweetened Coconut Shreds (optional)

Equipment: Very sharp knife, medium-sized heavy bottom pot with lid, sushi mat, heavy foil paper, 2 small bowls, cutting board or mat

1. To make the sweet coconut rice, put all the rice ingredients (sushi rice, water, coconut milk, and sugar) in a medium-sized pot with a heavy bottom, stir, and bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. Once the rice mixture is boiling, cover the pot and turn the heat down to low. Let the rice simmer for about 25 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. You may want to give the rice a quick stir every once in a while to make sure it’s not burning, since the coconut milk has a tendency to burn easily.

3. When rice is finished, remove pot from burner, but leave the cover on. Allow rice to cool completely before proceeding to the next step.

4. Once the rice has cooled, it is time to prepare the fruit filling and get set up for rolling the sushi. For the fruit filling, all you need to do is peel and slice the kiwi and hull and slice the strawberries into roughly lengthwise strips. Set fruit aside in one of the small bowls.

5. Prepare for sushi making by filling the other small bowl with water and cutting about 4 pieces of heavy foil to the length of your sushi mat.

6. To assemble the sushi, place on of the foil sheets on the sushi mat. Spread a thin layer of rice onto the foil to create a rectangle about 6”x 3”. Dip your hands in the bowl with water and press rice firmly to make sure it sticks together well. Reshape rectangle if necessary.

7. Place a thin line of kiwi strips, strawberry strips, and a little peach jam towards one end of the rice rectangle (as shown in the pic below), and roll towards the other end, using the sushi mat to help tighten the roll up (this takes a little practice). Roll sushi log up in its foil sheet and put in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm up.

8. Once rolls are firm, remove from foil. Roll in coconut shreds, if desired. To slice, wet a very sharp knife and cut rolls into ¾” pieces. Serve with peach jam for dipping.

Onigiri Variation: To make onigiri instead of sushi, fill an onigiri mold half way with packed sweet coconut rice. Make a very tiny well in the center of the rice and fill it with finely chopped kiwi and strawberry and a drop of peach jam. Fill the rest of the mold with rice and press to shape. Remove onigiri from mold and gently roll in coconut shreds, if desired. Serve with peach jam for dipping.

*If you don’t want to use strawberries or kiwi, you can substitute any other soft fruit or berry (example: bananas, mango, raspberries, etc.) in their place. Also, you may use any flavor of jam you like.


Finished Fruit Sushi:

Closeup of Fruit Sushi: