Tempura Shishito Pepper & Salmon Sushi w/ Sriracha-Lime Cream Cheese
Let’s face it, we all need more sushi in our lives. But, unless you buy the questionable grocery store stuff, it can be so EXPENSIVE! In the past, I have always been underwhelmed by the sushi I’ve made at home. It was OK, but nothing like those crazy rolls that you can get at the nice sushi places! This time, I was on a mission to make a restaurant-quality roll, that is easy to make at home.
This roll was inspired by one of Ben and my favorite rolls at our local sushi restaurant, Kemosabe. Their roll is called the Curtis-C roll and has a tempura Anaheim pepper, cream cheese and Yellowtail tuna. We LOVE shishito peppers, so why not make a tempura shishito pepper? This roll is definitely in the Top 3 for my all-time favorite sushi rolls, restaurant or not! Plus, it is so beautiful that you guests will hardly believe you made it at home.
I chose to leave out the Nori in my rolls, since I couldn’t find one that Ben wasn’t allergic to, but the Nori will make it easier for you to keep your rolls together.
You can get the recipe for the sushi rice from my other post here.
Tempura Shishito Pepper & Salmon Sushi w/ Sriracha-Lime Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- For Tempura Shishitos:
- 8 shishito peppers
- 1/2 c white flour
- 3/4 c seltzer water or club soda
- 1/2 T cornstarch
- 1 t salt
- 1 c canola oil or other high-heat oil
- For Sriracha-Lime Cream Cheese:
- 3 T cream cheese
- 1 T Sriracha
- 1/2 T lime juice
- For Rolls:
- 2 c cooked sushi rice see post for recipe
- 4 sheets Nori optional
- 1/2 lb sushi grade Salmon cut into .25" rectangular strips
- 2 avocados halved then very thinly sliced into half-moon strips
- 1/4 c soy sauce or Tamari
- 1/2 T cornstarch
Instructions
- For the tempura shishitos, combine the flour, seltzer water, cornstarch and salt. Mix to combine, but do not over mix or carbonation will all evaporate.
- Heat 1 c canola oil in a small pot, over medium-high heat.
- Once oil is hot, dip one shishito into the batter and fry on both sides until crisp, but not soggy. Lay to drain on a paper towel.
- Repeat for all shishitos.
- Combine all ingredients for the Sriracha-Lime cream cheese and set aside to soften at room temperature.
- For the rolls, tightly wrap a sushi mat in plastic wrap.
- Thinly spread 1/2 cup sushi rice over the mat, in the shape and size of the nori sheets.
- Place a sheet of nori over the rice.
- Spread 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture across the Nori, lengthwise.
- Layer 2oz of the salmon across the cream cheese.
- Finish layering lengthwise with two shishito peppers (stems removed).
- Tightly roll up the map, pressing the edge of the roll to seal.
- Carefully shingle one of the sliced avocado halves across the top of the roll.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and press the avocado tightly onto the roll.
- Repeat for 3 more rolls. Then slice each roll into 1/2" pieces.
- For garnish, heat soy sauce in a small saucepan over high heat. whisk in the cornstarch until sauce has thickened.
- Drizzle over each roll to serve.
