I’ve never been a normal person when it comes to lunches. I don’t just settle for a sandwich. During my youthful meat eating days I remember making oven fried chicken instead of sandwiches. There is nothing depressing to me about having leftovers for lunchtime. Since I have such an open view of lunch, my definition gets muddled. What makes a meal for lunch over dinner?
To me it has to do with portability. Some people that means it can’t be heated up, or needs to be eaten with the hands. This can get tricky with vegan foods. Sure there are vegan sandwich options, but let’s face it, they can get messy since veggies aren’t perfectly square shaped. So what does a vegan do?
Faux sushi wraps does the trick! You will be surprised what will stay wrapped up happily in nori. The structural stability of sushi has less to do with sticky rice and more about tension and properly sealed nori. The end result is a leak-free lunch that is packed with veggies. Oh and gluten-free, if that is your thing. These wraps are fairly fast to make, and the longest step is cutting the carrots. You can swap out the carrots for any other veggie like bell pepper, cucumber, or even beets!
The tofu, avocado, sprouts and sauce are what you want to keep for sure. The tofu offers a nice chewy texture, the avocado a creamy burst, and the sprouts a slight crunchy texture. The tahini-tamarind sauce gives most of the flavor, and helps soften the nori wraps.
This recipe serves one and makes two rolls to cut up. It is pretty low calorie, so you will want to have both rolls for yourself. It is pretty easy to double, triple, or quadruple the recipe. But I would recommend not wrapping until the day of since the nori will get soggy and gross overtime.
Another super tip, quickly press the tofu while you get all the components together. Prep the tofu, then start chopping, maybe get other chores done in the morning like dishes, making breakfast, etc. That way you don’t need to wait too long. You only need about 15-20 minutes of pressing.
- 1/4 block tofu
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
- 1/2 tsp sambal
- 2 cups alfafa sprouts
- 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots julianned or shredded
- 1/4 avocado cut into logs
- 2 nori sheets
1 Wrap the tofu in a towel and put some books or bowls on top. Let the tofu press for 15-20 minutes.2 While the tofu presses mix together tahini, tamarind, and sambal in a small bowl.3 Once the paste is made, veggies cut, and tofu is pressed, cut the tofu into logs, about a quart of an inch in height and width.4 Now you can assemble the wraps. Place the nori sheet on a dry, clean surface. Smear half of the paste on the middle of nori, creating a thin strip spanning ends to end of the nori.5 Take a cup of the sprouts and place over the paste. The nori can cover most of the wrap, but leave about an inch on the top and bottom of the nori sheet. Place half of the tofu, avocado, and carrots in a rows spanning end to end of the nori wrap.6 To roll the wrap I use my bare hands. Take the end closest to you and roll over the sprouts, tofu, etc that you laid out. As you roll, squish down on the sprouts, compressing them. Keep this tension as you roll.7 Run water over your fingers or dip them in a bowl of water. Wet the end of the nori to seal the wrap.8 Use a very sharpe knife, and run it under water. Slice the roll into the desired size and place into your travel container.9 Repeat steps 4 to 8 with the remaining ingredients.
TIP Having trouble visualizing the rolling? This video on Quinoa Nori wraps has a great visual. The difference is that she just cuts it in half, I cut my wraps into little bit sized pieces.
