There’s a sushi place near my house that’s All You Can Eat everyday. It’s actually the best restaurant in the area and not just because you can stuff your face with sushi, sashimi and all the accompaniments (seaweed salad and edamame, please) but because everything is fresh, beautiful and absolutely delicious.
The only thing about eating there is that you have to be hungry enough to make it worth it. While reasonably priced for lots of special rolls, it’s not exactly cheap for an all-the-time kind of thing. Also, the magical experience doesn’t happen if you don’t eat a few appetizers, eat a few rolls, then maybe decide you’re feelin’ some more miso soup.
I was craving sushi the other day but didn’t have anyone to dine with at the time and I wasn’t quite hungry enough anyway. My practical side also reminded me that I had prepped chicken for the week and I needed to save money and eat it.
This isn’t so much a recipe as it is a “throw everything together” kind of thing but it works, and it’s delicious so it’s happening.
Chicken Salad Sushi (makes 2 sushi rolls):
1 piece grilled/baked chicken (this week, I prepped my chicken by rubbing it with a tiny bit of mayonnaise, seasoned with Mrs. Dash salt free seasoning and baked in the oven for about 25 minutes)
1 stalk celery
1/2 slice onion
1 tsp. mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s Canola Mayonnaise)
1/2 TBL. Franks Hot Sauce Ketchup*
1/4 of a cucumber, sliced into thin sticks
1/2 cup baby spinach
2 sheets nori
Small bowl of water
Begin by cutting chicken, onion and celery into small chunks. Place in food processor with mayo and ketchup and process until ground and sticking together (add more mayo/ketchup to taste/consistency if needed).
On one sheet of nori, arrange spinach leaves across the sheet about 1 inch from the bottom. Using your fingers or a fork, gently spread chicken salad on top of spinach.
Place cucumber sticks on top of chicken salad and press down lightly.
Beginning from the bottom, tightly roll nori over the filling and wipe across the sheet with a little water on your finger tip.
Continue rolling to the top and seal with a bit of water.
Repeat with second sheet of nori.
Slice using a sharp, wet knife.
*If you cannot find/don’t have hot sauce ketchup, you could probably use a little more mayonnaise and regular hot sauce.