Ingredients

1 head of red (purple) cabbage - For purple coloring, OPTIONAL
1 sweet potato
2 Tbsp. Sriracha
Hoisin sauce - You can think of this as Chinese barbecue sauce, it is sweet and salty. Find it in the international isle in the grocery store.
1 Avocado
1/2 cup flour (half whole wheat, half all purpose)
1/2 cup of almond milk, more or less
Panko bread crumbs, for sprinkling
1 cup sushi rice
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Water
4 Nori sheets

Additional Sushi Toppings

Pickled ginger (optional)
Sweet chili sauce (optional)

Directions

Coloring the sushi rice purple is completely optional. This step takes about an hour, but the batch of water that you create can be frozen and make multiple batches of colored rice if you wish. The cabbage does add flavor, but is not essential. If you do not wish to color your rice skip ahead past the cabbage steps.

PURPLE FOOD COLORING

1. Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and chop into medium sized chunks.

2. Add enough water to cover the cabbage and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes.

3. Remove most of the cabbage from the pot with a strainer. Then, when there is not much cabbage remaining in the pot, pour the contents of the pot through the strainer to remove all of the cabbage.

4. This is a good time to preheat your oven to 450F in preparation for later steps.

5. Boil, uncovered until you have 3 cups of liquid remaining. If you end up boiling too long and you have less than 3 cups, do not panic just add water until the volume equals three cups. - To color the rice, you're going to cook it with this liquid.

COOK THE RICE

1. If you haven't yet, preheat your oven to 450F in preparation for the later steps.

2. At this stage you are going to want to cook your sushi rice in exactly half (1 and a half cups) of the cabbage water. Follow the instructions on the package for cooking your rice. If the directions call for you to use 2 cups water, dilute the portion of cabbage rice that you have set aside for this batch to two cups. I think the rice turns out the best when cooked in a rice cooker or instant pot automatic pressure cooker. If using a rice cooker, simply follow the instructions that came with the cooker.

Note: You can use less cabbage water if you want a lighter color!

3. After the rice is finished remove it from the heat. Add 2 tbsp. of rice vinegar to the rice and fan it while fluffing it to get the perfect texture. The end result should be sticky rice that is soft but not mushy. - If you are using the cabbage juice you will notice the color shift from purple to pink/purple! Cabbage juice changes colors when you add acid! Magical.

Store extra cabbage juice for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Freeze for long term storage.

CRISPY ASIAN SWEET POTATO

1. Add the flours, almond milk, ad Sriracha to a bowl and whisk. You want the batter to be saturated but a little on the thicker side, so that when you dip your wedges into it the batter sticks to them.

2. Dip each wedge into the batter and lay onto a greased baking pan. Feel free to use aluminum foil, parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat to make your clean up easier.

3. Sprinkle the tops of the strips with panko bread crumbs.

3. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes. If they are not done, continue baking and check them every 5 minutes. When they are done they should have a crispy top and a soft interior.

ROLLING THE SUSHI

1. Lay out your sushi mat.

2. Each nori sheet should have two sides, one will be noticeably rougher than the other. Place your nori sheet rough side up in the middle of the mat as shown below, be sure that the bottom edge lines up with the bottom of the mat.

3. With wet fingers, spread your sushi rice on top of your nori sheet, leaving about an inch of space from the top.

4. Slightly dampen the top of the nori sheet with a bit of water, I like to do this with my thumb. - This ensures that the sheet will stick to itself after it is rolled.