Sushi is easily one of my favorite food groups. While I love a straight-up salmon or tuna roll, the crazier the ingredients, the better. Dragon rolls. American Dream. Scorpion roll. I’ll try just about anything and have. Except, that is, for chicken sushi.
No, I’m not suddenly craving raw chicken or starting a some new fad diet. But if you can put cooked shrimp in a maki roll (tempura shrimp rolls are just too amazing), why can’t you put cooked chicken?
We’ve made homemade sushi many times before. It’s a bit involved but so worth it in the end. Especially with all the leftovers.
A few months ago, however, my oldest son Jason was diagnosed with EOE (eosinophilic esophagitis). He already has food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and seeds, but now it seems he has an additional allergy to something that’s causing more issues. To help diagnose it, he’s gone on a strict elimination diet. That means for now, he needs to avoid all major food allergens. No fish, soy, wheat, dairy or eggs.
So pretty much sushi is out of the question. And over the past few years, Jason has really come to love sushi, particularly salmon avocado rolls.
It’s been tough finding foods for him to eat lately. We were having chicken fajita rice bowls one night and then it hit me. He loves the chicken and avocado combination. Plus the rice. Well, at this point, we’re just one nori sheet away from sushi. So let’s forget the salmon and avocado rolls and instead, let’s mix chicken and avocado!
Prepping Chicken Sushi
Of course, nothing’s ever easy when you have food allergies. Even something simple like nori sheets could be tough since many could contain traces of soy or sesame seeds.
Luckily I found these Kimnori nori sheets on Amazon. Same with a few different types of sushi rice.
It’s actually not too hard to make your own sushi. At least the prepping part. The longest part is cooking the rice.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. The longest part is actually waiting for the rice to cool. I found the largest, widest bowl we owned to spread the rice out so it’d cool quicker.
Earlier in the day, I had grilled a few pounds of chicken. Besides cutting that into long slices, we also prepped the avocado. We wanted to try a few other types, so I suggested we mix in apple, strawberries and spinach.
Armed with sushi rice, nori sheets, grilled chicken and a few other fruits and veggies, we were ready to roll. Literally.
Rolling the Chicken Sushi
To roll out the sushi, you’ll need a bamboo roller. Then just put some rice on the sheet, add your ingredients and roll.
I know, it’s easier said than done. That’s why I let Allie and the boys do all of the rolling. I sit back and do the cutting.
We have a lot of fun making sushi as a family and it really is a great bonding activity.
Jason started on his own chicken sushi roll when we all realized something and started to laugh.
Yeah, after adding the chicken and avocado to his rice… Jason realized he completely forgot to put down a nori sheet first.
The Finished Product: Homemade Sushi
Yeah, we made a few rolls. And it’s just the four of us eating. But like I said, I love leftovers!
We probably used about 20 nori sheets or so to make a slew of all kinds of sushi rolls. Avocado and chicken sushi. Apple, strawberry, avocado and chicken. Apple and spinach. Strawberry and chicken. We probably made just about every permutation.
Allie and I loved just about all of them (strawberry for some reason goes so well with sushi), but I still think the avocado and chicken sushi roll was the best. The kids most definitely agreed.
Next time I’m thinking of shaking it up even more with some slices of steak. Or maybe even some ground beef. And don’t put it past me to try adding whatever I find in the fridge. Hot dog sushi, anyone?