Sushi Salad - A Clean Eating Test Recipe

I have been enjoying the opportunity to test recipes for Clean Eating Magazine.  I'm excited each time I see a new e-mail full of recipes to try.  For the August/September issue (now on sale) one of our favorite testing recipes was Sushi Salad.  It made a large amount, allowing for lots of leftovers which is a huge win in my book. 

That is actually a very interesting statement - I never used to be big on leftovers.  So what has changed?  Using fresh ingredients and exploring with flavors, and in many cases looking for new lives for the leftovers including salads, stir-fries, and tacos to name a few. 

So what did we like about the Sushi Salad?  Well, first of all we love sushi - our favorite local restaurants include Wasabi and Seabar.  If you aren't sure about Sushi, I highly recommend Seabar as their menu is diverse and you can be introduced to sushi with non-fish sushi like their Beef on Weck sushi roll or stick with their 40 Hour Short Ribs for the non-adventurous. 

Secondly, I love wasabi (the condiment, not just the restaurant).  Adding the wasabi dressing to this dish made me feel like I had actually made sushi at home without the scary concept of actually making sushi at home.

I hope you enjoy this recipe too!  Enjoy many other delicious recipes in the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine!

Sushi Salad (From Clean Eating Magazine August/September 2011 edition)

Serves 4. Hands-on time: 20 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes.

Serving size: 1 cup spinach, 1½ heaping cups rice mixture, ¼ avocado

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup short grain brown rice
1 tbsp wasabi paste
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
⅔ cup rice wine vinegar
½ tsp honey (Raw, from Bob Colligan in East Aurora)
1 English cucumber, diced into ¼-inch chunks (from Duink Farms in Hamburg)
4 nori sheets, quartered and cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
8 oz crab meat (claw or jumbo lump) (We used Salmon from Simply Alaskan Goods in Eden)
1 avocado, sliced
4 cups baby spinach (we used kale, from the garden)

INSTRUCTIONS:

ONE: In a medium saucepot, boil 2 cups water. Stir in rice, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Spread rice on a baking sheet to cool.

TWO: In a small bowl, whisk wasabi paste, soy sauce, vinegar and honey. Set aside.

THREE: In a large mixing bowl, mix cooled rice, cucumber, nori and carrot. Drizzle with wasabi-honey mixture and stir to combine. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in crab.

FOUR: Divide spinach among serving bowls and top each with rice mixture and avocado.

TIP: If you can’t find prepared wasabi paste, make your own by whisking 1 tbsp all-natural wasabi powder with 1 tbsp water.