spirialized sushi bowl + carrot ginger dressing

I'll always remember the first time I turned a zucchini into "pasta" and covered it in pesto. That was the summer where I never thought I would eat pasta again because the zucchini noodle made my gluten-free, veggie loving, pasta substitution dreams come true.  Let's be honest, I have eaten lots of pasta since, but I am happy to say that on days when I want something lighter and healthier, there is the zucchini noodle. 

At that time, I never even thought to spirialize anything else. Zucchini is plentiful, easy to find, and the perfect size and shape for perfect veggie noodles. The zucchini still reins pretty high in terms of veggies I like to turn into noodles, but thanks to Ali Malfucci .... I have spirilized so many other fruits and veggies. In case you're not familiar, Ali is the brilliant woman behind the blog inspirizalized, and she has so smartly expanded her blog into a full blown brand all by turning fruits and veggies into noodles. She even created her own branded spiralizer, which is what I use to make my veggie noodles. Her recipes are so creative, and she has gotten so many people to eat healthier and to think outside of the box when it comes to spirializing. 

Ali's second book, Inspiralize Everything, is packed with more of the same easy-to-make, creative, healthy recipes for veggie noodles that she is known for. There are obviously so many recipes from this book that I will be making, but since it's August and the weather is still hot and balmy around here, this light and refreshing spirialized sushi bowl immedately caught my attention.

If you're as much of a sushi lover and a ginger dressing lover as I am, this version, which even subs out white rice for a "riced" daikon radish, will be something you will want to make over and over again. There used to be a time when I was afraid to handle raw fish at home, and really only wanted to leave it to the sushi restaurants and delivery places. If that is the case for you, you can always make this with a cooked crab meat such as a lump crab, or a kani (which is what Ali suggests in the book). Since I am a huge fan of wild salmon I decided to get over my fear, because unless you're going to a super high-end sushi place, pretty much all of the salmon you get when you order a salmon avocado roll (unless it says specifies wild), is farmed salmon. Sorry to break the news. Therefore, I would rather pick up my own wild salmon and make it at home. Also, who better to trust to handle your food than yourself? All you need to do is make sure the fish stays refrigerated when you're not prepping it or eating it, and wash your hands well before and after handling.  

Maybe you're an expert with raw fish, or maybe you haven't tried preparing it at home yet  .... once you've done it, it's hard to go back to the farmed salmon sushi. Oh, and of course you can leave out the seafood all together and it would make one tasty, filling spirialized/riced noodle bowl with the most delicious ginger dressing. Make sure to pick up a copy of Ali's book for so many more healthy, inspiring recipes! 

spirialized sushi bowl + carrot ginger dressing

This recipe is from Inspiralize Everything, by Ali Maffucci (pg. 126). I made very little changes, and the changes I made were mostly based off of what I had on hand, and what's available in my area, which is why I subbed wild salmon for crab. I ran out of vinegar while making this recipe so I used some lime juice which worked really well, so I added it to the ingredients. 

SERVES
4

INGREDIENTS

for the dressing:
2 tablespoons of canola or grapeseed oil
2 teaspoons of grated ginger
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
the juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tablespoon of tamari (or low sodium soy sauce)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 carrot, peeled and grated

for the sushi bowl:
8 oz of SUSHI GRADE salmon OR 12oz of kani or lump crabmeat
a splash of tamari/low sodium soy sauce

1 large daikon radish, peeled, spirialized
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, spiraled
1 sheet of nori, cut into thin strips
1 avocado, thinly sliced
a couple of teaspoons of sesame seeds
a few torn leaves of basil (optional)

METHOD

Make the dressing:

• Place all of the ingredients for the dressing into a food processor and run until the you have a smooth dressing. 
• Transfer the dressing to a a small bowl and clean out the food processor (to use it to make the daikon rice). 

Make the daikon rice:

• Place the spirialized daikon into the food processor and pulse just a few times until you have a rice-like size and consistency. Be careful not to over-process or else you will end up with mush. Just a few pulses are necessary to get the right consistency.
• Transfer the rice into a medium mixing bowl, add the vinegar and scallions and toss to combine. 

Prepare the fish:

• If you're using salmon or another kind of sturdy fish, use a very sharp knife to remove the skin (if there is skin) and slice into cubes. Splash a small amount of tamari (about 1 teaspoon) over top and toss to coat.  Place back in the fridge if you're not assembling right after. 
• If you're using crab, flake the crab apart using your fingers or a fork and splash a small amount of tamari over top and toss to coat. 

Assemble the bowls:

• Divide the daikon rice amongst four bowls and top each with an equal amount of cucumber noodles, nori, salmon (or crab), avocado, sesame seeds, and basil (if using). Drizzle the dressing over top and serve.