Fresh, tasty and light – vegan tofu sushi bowl recipe

The inspiration for this dish was a sushi bowl recipe I saw and wanted to try, but without the raw fish. It brings together the clean flavours from Japan, so it has a light, fresh, summery feel to the recipe. Many of the ingredients are on our top 12 list for oxygenating your body (tofu, broccoli, water, carrots), so we are sure our recipe this month will help your body to breathe!

The recipe is quite simple to make, even though the ingredient list looks long. However, you do need to allow time to allow the tofu to marinade. We prefer to cook the tofu, as we think it makes it easier to digest, although some people choose to eat it uncooked.

You can change the vegetable ingredients, adding in some beanspouts, or bamboo shoots if you like some extra crunch, or use veggies that are in season in the markets. I love adding the sesame oil into the dressing, as it brings an added depth of flavour and nuttiness, but if you have an allergy to sesame seeds then swap this for olive oil or even water.

RECIPE TIP: Adding some nori seaweed will bring a lovely flavour and boost the nutrutional value of the dish even further. You can usually find this in health food shops. Many mainstream supermarkets now stock it in their “exotic” isle.

Vegan tofu sushi bowl recipe

Serves: 8
Calories: 959 total, 120 per serving

Allergens: soya, celery, sesame

Ingredients

Marinade
Zest and juice from 1 lime
Juice from 1 lemon
10 tbsp water
1 tbsp rice syrup or other liquid sweetener
4 tbsp tamari (or soya) sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
4cm chunk fresh ginger, cut into small pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Large handful fresh parsley, loosely chopped

For the veggie bowl ingredients
1 pack (275g) organic tofu, diced into chunks
20 radish, sliced
8 spring onions, sliced diagonally (use green stem as well as onion bulb)
½ cucumber, peeled, sliced and slices cut into quarters
3 carrots, peels and grated
1 stick celery, finely cut
2 heads raw broccoli, cut into small florets (leaving some of stem on)
Handful of fresh parsley

Dressing
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp tamari sauce
Zest from 1 lime

To serve: top with a handful of toasted sesame seeds and sprigs of parsley

Directions

Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a blender. Add more water if needed. Put a little bit of the marinade to one side for use later.

Put the diced tofu in a bowl. Pour over the marinade and stir so that all the tofu is covered. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of one hour, preferably three to marinade.

Remove the tofu and marinade from the fridge and place into a large flat-bottomed frying pan. Cook for 15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring often so that all sides of the tofu are cooked. Add more water or spare marinade as necessary to prevent sticking. You want the tofu to be cooked through. Remove from the heat and place to once side. Allow to cool.

Make the dressing by combining all the dressing ingredients together in a blender.

Put all the vegetables into a bowl and add the cold tofu.

Pour the dressing over the tofu and vegetables, toss well so that all the veggies are coated. Serve at room temperature, topped with some toasted sesame seeds and sprigs of parsley.

Plant-based food in a health and wellbeing retreat

Here at La Crisalida we serve plant-based (vegan) food. For us, eating this way is about delivering foods that support us on our health and wellbeing journey. Plant-based food is about eating lots of vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, nuts and seeds and minimizing the foods that bring more stress to the body (for example dairy and meat). Read more about the food that we serve here.

If you have enjoyed this recipe, you can find more on our blog (click on “food recipe” category). We also have a great e-book that you can download, called Summer Food.

We hope you enjoy this recipe – do let us know how you get on!