The Sushi Burrito. A poster child for west coast fusion that hardly needs explaining - seaweed, rice, fillings, burrito shape…you get the idea. These strange and delightful creations have popped up for sale all around the coastal US, filling social media pages with images of the brightly colored, over-stuffed love child of poké, sushi, and Tex-Mex. After years of seeing the bright photos and drooling, I finally wondered what it would take to make a sushi burrito at home. As someone with respectable-yet-basic sushi and burrito rolling skills, I was cautiously optimistic they would translate well into the art of sushi burrito rolling.
Turns out, basic skills are all that was needed to create a couple of beautiful, maybe a little overstuffed, sushi burritos. I even found a way to make a double-wide seaweed sheet, to give them that classic burrito heft- I didn’t want anyone mistaking this for a sushi roll. After scarfing down several and recovering from my food coma, I delightedly got started on a more polished recipe to share. When it came time to nail down the main filling, I knew there was only one option.
Growing in Hawaii - where you’re never far from the ocean - seafood was a regular occurrence at the dinner table. What I remember most were the thick, red slabs of ahi tuna - purchased fresh down at the harbor, or perhaps dropped off by a generous neighbor with a fishing boat. The one dish we always asked for more of was mom’s spicy tuna poke. Generous chunks of raw tuna tossed in a spicy mayo sauce, with tons of scallions and sesame seeds. Usually, we’d eat it with a steaming bowl of fluffy white rice, and some dry seaweed sheets to make mini “tacos” with seaweed, rice, and fish.
It was the memory of these little “sushi tacos” that cemented the decision for me. Now that I had my star of the show, I needed to figure out what else to add. Crunchy cucumber, crisp red onion, creamy avocado, and fresh cilantro were the winning combo, complimenting the spicy, silky fish perfectly.
With the help of a sushi mat, some basic rolling skills, and warm, seasoned rice, these burritos will not only blow your mind, they open up a door of endless filling possibilities - Salmon poke burrito? California roll burrito? All your favorite sushi combos are on the table. Plus, if you have a rice cooker, you won’t even need to turn on the stove - always a plus in my book.
