Sushi Spaghetti

Sushi Spaghetti

People are always surprised to hear that I love sushi.  “But you’re vegan, what do you eat?”  There are so many great options for vegans in sushi restaurants…Oshinko Rolls, Kappa Maki, Sesame Noodles, and on and on.  My son LOVES sushi, and eats as much as I do when we go.  This starts to add up, so I looked for a way to bring the same great sushi flavors we enjoy to our family dinner table.  Enter Sushi Spaghetti.  Using Japanese soba noodles, and a wasabi lime dressing, this pasta salad is sure to be a hit with your whole family!

We paired our Sushi Spaghetti with Open Faced Sushi from One Happy Table.  Delicious and easy to put together…I had to go make a second round because we ate them so quickly!

All plated up and ready to eat!

Sushi Spaghetti

1-2 tsp wasabi (I used 2 tsp. and my son gobbled it up…but taste it and make to your spice level)
2 T Bragg’s Aminos
1T rice vinegar
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp maple syrup or other sweetener (agave, honey)
1/4 cup arame seaweed
1 T black sesame seeds
½ English cucumber
1-2 carrots
2 scallions
1 c shelled edamame (green peas would be a great substitute here)
1 9 ½ oz. package of soba noodles (any kind of pasta works, and short pasta is great because it is really kid friendly, but I stuck with soba noodles this time to keep with the Japanese sushi theme)

ingredients

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  While you wait, begin to prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Arame is a type of seaweed that comes in a bag, cut into tiny strips and dehydrated.  Rehydrate arame in cold water in a small bowl.  Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix dressing ingredients: wasabi, Bragg’s Aminos, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and maple syrup.  Add sesame seeds.

Using a box grater, grate cucumber.  Holding it horizontally, you can grate one side until you get down to the seeds, then turn over and grate the other side.  Discard the seeds.  Squeeze the grated cucumber gently to remove excess water.  Add to bowl.  Grate carrot, slice scallions, and add both to bowl.  Drain and rinse arame…it will smell like the ocean! Add to bowl and toss all ingredients together.

veggie goodness!

(Note: I made this during nap time and realized I was out of edamame!  I had to go to the store later, so I went ahead with the rest of the dish, and added the edamame later.  Sorry that it didn’t make the pictures until the end!)

By now your water should be boiling.  Add salt the same way you would for traditional pasta.  Before you put the soba noodles into the water, remove it from the package.  You may notice that the noodles are held together with small bands of paper.  Clip paper bands off of soba noodles before adding to the pot of water.  I missed this once and had some sticky noodles!

Don’t forget to clip the paper bands!

Add to pot of salted boiling water and cook for 4 minutes.  Drain, rinse to cool slightly and add to bowl.  Toss gently and serve immediately or cover and put in fridge.  I think the flavors intensify as it sits, so this is a great one to prepare during nap time and pull out a few hours later at dinner!

Toddler portion…round 1!

Yum…baby approved!