In Japanese calendar, February 3rd is called “Setsubun”. On Setsubun, Japanese prays for inviting “Fuku no Kami” the god of fortune, and driving out “Oni” the evil spirit from the house, by doing several cultural practices such as throwing soy beans and decorating holly leaves by the gate.
Eating “Eho Maki” (one kind of roll Sushi) is also one of those cultural practices.
The custom of eating Eho Maki was originally practiced only in Kansai (Western part of Japan mainly around Osaka), but it’s getting popular as just one of annual fun events all over Japan.
If you look around, you’ll see so many Sushi rolls are sold at neighbor supermarket. But in most cases, those rolls contain seafood products and eggs, so they can’t be vegetarian’s choice.
So, I tried to roll my own “Vegetarian Eho Maki”. Actually, I’ve been making this veg. roll since I came back in Japan, and getting quite good feedbacks, so I share the recipe.
＜Vegetarian Eho Maki Roll＞
（About ８〜９ rolls）
Ingredients：
“Sumeshi” (vinegar rice)
- Rice（4.5cup）
- Rice vinegar（5〜6TBS）
- Sesame seeds (proper quantity)
Ingredients
- “Nori” (laver) for roll（8-9sheets）
- Avocado 1
- Cucumber 1
- Carrot 1（Boiled）
- “Kanpyo” (dried gourd)
- Any “Tsukemono” (Japanese pickles)（As you like）
- “Umeboshi” (Dried plum pickles) （As you like）
- Kimchi（As you like）
How to make：
Nothing is specially difficult except for vinegar rice.
- Spread the cooked rice on the large dish then add vinegar on it.
- Mix both rice and vinegar well.
- At the same time, fan the vinegar rice to decrease it’s heat and moisture.
- Spread sesame seeds and mix again.
Slice Sushi ingredients into long, thin size.
Since I wanted to make them “vegan”, I chose pickles and Kimchi that do not use fish broth. If you check carefully, you can choose vegan even in Japan.
This is “Ume-boshi Eho Maki”. Ume-boshi is my original which I make by myself every year.
Now, it’s done.
When you try for the first time, you may feel it’s troublesome to prepare vinegar rice and slicing ingredients, it’ll be peaceful dining time for both vegetarians and non vegetarians by putting and rolling the ingredients they like.
When you bite, make sure to face “Eho” (the good direction). In 2015, face WSW.
Bon Appetite!!!
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