Colorful, sweet, and savory, these vegetable hand rolls are the perfect light fare for parties or for lunch!
Take your hand.
Make it into a fist.
Move it in a circular motion from the wrist.
You’ve just made yourself a hand roll!
Now, your turn to tell me a joke!
I know, you didn’t come here for me to tickle your funny bone. You came here to make hand rolls you can eat, so let’s roll up our sleeves!
With our minds locked on the big Thanksgiving feast, let’s take a moment to step away from the turkey, potatoes, and butter. The turkey will be fine, I promise.
Whenever I think about party bites, I usually see visions of cheeses, chips, guacamole, and buttery cookies. Food-centric gatherings (like Thanksgiving) are my excuse to sample a wide range of indulgent foods, and I know I’m not alone in thinking this. We all need a bit of wiggle room in our healthy lifestyles sometimes.
I was flipping through an issue of Vegetarian Times looking for party appetizer ideas, when I landed on a Mini Sesame-Cucumber Hand Rolls recipe. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this, but hand rolls are quite spectacular for parties. They’re:
- Simple
- Healthy
- Versatile
- Portable
- Elegant
Want to make them fancy? Add some roe. Want to make them vegan? Use vegetables only. The taste, glitz, and glamour of the hand rolls are entirely up to YOU. So play around and find your favorite flavor combinations!
The directions to fold a hand roll are a bit difficult to describe without photos, so I did my best to visualize the process. Start from the bottom right, and work your way to the left!
PrintVegetable Hand Rolls (Temaki)
Makes 20 Hand Rolls.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Category: appetizer
Ingredients
- 1 cup (180g) uncooked sushi rice
- 3 TBS sushi seasoning
- 10 sheets toasted sushi nori (seaweed)
- 1/2 English cucumber or 2 Persian cucumbers
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 6 oz (170g) preserved daikon
- 2 medium fuyu persimmons (optional)
- 2 small avocados, pitted and sliced
- furikake for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the sushi rice according to package instructions. When it is done cooking, scoop the cooked rice into a large bowl and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Mix in the sushi seasoning.
- While the rice is cooking, prepare the vegetables by cutting them into matchstick-size. If you want to add persimmons in the hand rolls, peel the persimmons, and cut it into matchsticks.
- Cut the nori sheets in half. Place one half of the nori sheet on a board, shiny side down. Spoon some rice onto the nori (about 2 to 3 tablespoons). Spread the rice so that you fill one half of the nori. Top the nori with a few slices of cucumber, red pepper, daikon, and persimmon. Top with one slice of avocado, and shake some furikake on top.
- Starting with the lower right-hand corner, roll the nori towards the left, until you reach the end. Seal the hand roll with a few grains of rice. Repeat with all the other nori sheets.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
1. You want to serve these immediately because the seaweed loses its crunch very quickly.[br][br]2. Feel free to customize your hand rolls by adding your favorite ingredients![br][br]3. The rice will get sticky, so I like having a bowl of water on the side for me to rinse off my hands.[br][br]4. I like eating these hand rolls as is. You can serve it with soy sauce if you like.
Looking for more appetizer ideas? Try these!
Spinach Thyme & Pork Potstickers
Joanne says
These are so fun!! I love sushi as appetizers at parties, so why not veggie hand rolls!
Lisa says
Yea! I was quite surprised by how flavorful these turned out! I couldn’t stop eating them!
Maggie says
Love those rolls! They look colorful and full of flavor. Really great for a party appetizer. Do you need to serve the rolls with soy sauce or the furikake is enough?
Lisa says
Personally, I don’t think soy sauce is necessary at all–it will just overpower all the other flavors. Definitely just stick to the furikake.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
First the dumplings, now these! Major skills 😉
Lisa says
Aw, you’re too sweet, Rebecca! Thanks!!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
These look like little cornucopia, so I think they are perfect for Thanksgiving! Great tutorial, Lisa!
Lisa says
You’re so right! They do look like cornucopias!
Sarah | Broma Bakery says
Cue me at my computer rolling my fist like an idiot. Now I’m just sort of doing it because it feels good, like a wrist stretch.
Lisa says
Haha, got you! You’re right, it is a great wrist stretch. More bloggers should do this, too!
GiGi Eats says
I make these all the time, minus the rice, add the salmon! 😉
★★★★★
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Hand rolls are like one of my fave things to eat!!! love love love them for all the reasons you listed above! these look fabulous! and love the “how to make a hand roll” image!
Lisa says
Thanks, Alice! Next time, I might add some roe in here. I love the added crunch!
Amrita says
These look absolutely beautiful!!!! love how there is no rice in them, so you can eat as many as you want without feeling weighed down. Love the colors of all the food you make too, I’ll definitely be pinning this one =D
★★★★★
Lisa says
Thanks, Amrita! Let me know if you ever make it!