Sushi Salad

About a year ago, the university where I teach added a sushi counter to their meager selection of lunch options. Huzzah, thought I, finally some food worth eating! It took about 2 weeks for it to be all the rage on campus, which, naturally, equaled really expensive sushi. But still people bought it, myself included. I thought about making some myself at home, but knowing I'd have to roll it up and manage to make it look moderately attractive seemed like a daunting task.

And then I found this recipe on the back of my rice bag- no rolling required. Perf. I felt a little pang of guilt for lack of authenticity eating "sushi" as a salad instead of a slices from a roll, but the lack of effort made it totally worth it.

Now the day I made this I did a very stupid thing involving a large blob of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) on a very inexperienced tongue. I've eaten a fair amount of wasabi in my day, but seldom purchased it. As this salad definitely requires some good strong horseradish, I went to the store and bought the first tube I could find, opened it up, squeezed out a bit onto my finger, and stuck it in my mouth. Begin fire in the mouth. It started with a burning sensation on my tongue and in my mouth, flowed back down my throat, and then swooshed back up through my mouth and into my sinuses. I nearly exploded. And then, just like that, the burning was gone. Truth be told, it was a pretty awesome experience, but not one I intend to repeat any time in the near future. It will be small dots of wasabi from now on- if you've never had wasabi, I really recommend trying it out. Just do so with caution.

Sushi Salad
Recipe adapted from Nishiki Rice
Pictures by Kelly

3 cups cooked sushi rice
1/2 pound cooked shrimp*
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small chunks (optional)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
salt, to taste
1 avocado, cut into slices
lettuce, roughly chopped

1. Combine rice, celery, shrimp, green onions, carrot, cucumber (optional) and vinegar. Refrigerate until read to serve.
2. To serve, arrange lettuce on plates. Top with about 3/4 cup rice mixture. Place a few slices of avocado on each plate. Serve with wasabi, if desired.  

*Use small shrimp or medium/large shrimp that have been cut into pieces