So to celebrate this decadent classic on it’s national food holiday, I made Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Sushi.
It was fun to get creative, and I made two different varieties; battleship and nigiri.

I use pound cake as my base, and as battleship has the same shape as nigiri I cut all of my pieces the same size.
I then take the pieces that will be used for my battleship strawberry shortake sushi and wrap them with fruit roll-up.
Sliced and diced strawberries fill half of the top, and the other half is filled with whipped cream.

For the nigiri I simply top my rectangularly cut pound cake with sliced strawberries laid out flat, and then take a strip of my fruit roll-up and wrap it around the middle.
For the fun of it, I also add some whipped cream to the top of my nigiri pieces as well, though I’m sure you could serve some on the side in a little sauce bowl for dipping and it’d be just as fun.

I hope you enjoy National Strawberry Shortcake Day as much as I [and my family] did and try out this simple and fun dessert sushi recipe.

Please head over today and check out my recipe for Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Sushi.

The great thing about chicken salad is that you can really load it up, or make it with minimal ingredients and it still tastes great. It’s great as a sandwich, on crackers, and I’ve even had it over a bed of pineapple. YUM!! And now I can say I’ve had it as sushi.

This is a fairly new recipe for me. I’m not new to making chicken salad, and actually have a few different recipes I like to rotate between when making it but I have never combined it with rice. And why not?
Now, because of the texture this may not go over very well for younger children, however I think this would be great for tweens and teen who like sushi or are have an interest in it. I also think this one would be a hit to serve to adults at a party or gathering.

So lets get started. You can use your own tried and true recipe for chicken salad, or use the ingredients I did in this recipe. You’ll notice that in a lot of my recipes I don’t offer measurements. I think that’s one of my favorite parts about making sushi, in that you can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like. It all depends on the textures and tastes that you and your family prefer.
Ingredients:
Red Grapes
Celery
Shredded Chicken (either precooked and shredded or canned chicken)
Dill Pickles
Mustard
Mayo (I use the kind with olive oil in it)
Prepared Sushi Rice
Battleship Sushi Mold

The first thing I do is wash the celery and peel off the strings. Once you cut the celery, push your knife into the top back part of the celery where the ‘strings’ are, cut in a tad and pull down. This is just a personal preference, but I have always felt that kids that don’t care for celery as much usually have more of an aversion to the strings than the celery itself. When you’re finished chop it up into little bits.
The grapes are next, and they get a rough chop as well, and next I chop up the pickles.

Next I prepare the chicken by adding my desired amount of mayo and mustard. Do this to taste, but keep in mind that you don’t want your chicken to be too moist. Only add enough to coat it well. Stir in the dill pickles.

All of the above steps can be done while your sushi rice is cooking.

Once your rice is finished cooking and fully prepared, press it into a battleship sushi mold. (or a rectangular nigiri mold)
[If you do not have a sushi mold you can cup the palm of your hand and press it into that. Just make sure you keep your hands moist so it doesn't stick.]

Take your soy wrapper or nori and cut it into strips that are wider than your sushi is tall. As your filling ingredients will be sitting on top of the rice, your wrapper has to be tall enough to hold it. I usually cut it so it sits double the sushi’s height. Wrap your strip around the sushi, and press it together firmly against the rice. To get the wrapper to stick you can swipe a moist finger over the seams, or use a piece of rice in between the seams as your glue. I prefer to wrap all of the sections of rice before I start adding the toppings.

Now it’s time for the fillings. I first layered mine with some grapes and celery, and then added the chicken mixture on top of that. And? You’re done!
It’s as simple as that.

This was my first time making chicken salad sushi and I was really pleased with how it turned out. Absolutely delicious! I invited my neighbor over to try a few pieces as well and, with mouth full, I got two thumbs up. My husband gave me rave reviews, and I even got a ‘that’s really yummy’ from my son and toughest critic.

Enjoy!

I’d like to go over some of the ones I use regularly so you can be familiar with what you see in my posts:

Knife ~ now if you Google or do an Amazon search for sushi knives you are going to come up with a lot of expensive options. While I’d love to own a fantastically smooth cutting knife, there is no way I’m dishing out over $100 just for one knife. And who can? At least, who on a normal/average family budget can?
The knife I use is one that I picked up at my local super store, and it’s from Chicago Cutlery. It is a Partoku knife, 5″, and has worked perfectly for all of my sushi slicing needs.

Sushi Molds ~ there are several types of sushi, therefor several types of molds. What molds you’ll need or use most frequently is probably going to depend on two key factors. 1. the age of your children (the younger the kids, the smaller the bites, and the smaller you’ll need to make your sushi) & 2. how much time you have to invest in your sushi making
So here are some molds I recommend according to these two factors when making sushi for kids.
Sushi Master ~ This is the perfect sushi mold kit for any beginner. This mold makes sushi into fun shapes like half circles or full rolls, triangles, hearts, and small square finger sushi giving you the ability to make sushi for any age range.
Easy to use just fill with rice and fillings, press, slice, and serve! This was the first sushi mold I bought and recommend it to anyone just starting out.         

Square Nigiri Sushi Mold ~ Finger sushi is great for the younger kids, especially the square size. This press is easy to use and easy to clean, and perfect when making a few quick bites.

Rectangular Sushi Mold ~ Another mold for finger sushi, but in a rectangular shape so you can also easily make battleship sushi. I also love to use this mold when making dessert (mock) sushi from cake.

Small Sushi Roll ~ This one is a favorite of mine because of the size, mostly. A lot of molds only make the large rounds, and right now my kids are young with little mouths. It’s nice to be able to make a roll that’s just the right size for them.

Sushezi Sushi Roll Mold ~ My cousin got me this mold as a gift as soon as she found out I was into making it sushi, so while it wasn’t the first mold that I personally bought for myself it is the first mold I have ever owned and used. I love it! But…. I don’t recommend it for kids. The rolls come out very large. So while you probably won’t see me use this a whole lot on the site in my recipes, I still wanted to make you aware of it as it is a great mold for making fast sushi for adult friends you might be entertaining. Or maybe you’d just like to surprise your husband/wife with a fun sushi dinner at home!

Nori Punch ~ Whether you are using nori or soy wrappers, having a nori punch just makes it all the more fun and special. However, don’t get hung up on the word ‘nori’ when hunting for a punch. Some of them that are labeled as such can be very pricey. You can use a craft punch to do the same thing.

These are just some of the tools I own and use, and recommend for you. If you look in the top menu bar you will see a tab that says KODOMOSUSHI STORE. This is an Amazon.com aStore in which I am using to showcase all of the tools I use and make easily available for you to purchase if you aren’t able to find it at your local store.

If there is a kind of sushi you’re wanting to make and not sure what tool to use, please email me and I will gladly point you in the right direction.

So lets get rolling!

What you’ll need
Ingredients

• 1/4 to 1lb taco seasoned hamburger meat (if you don’t have any on hand brown some up starting while you’re soaking your sushi rice, when it’s finished you shouldn’t need more than 1/4 of the full pound)
•  - note: To make sure the seasoning isn’t too spicy for kids I always use mild taco seasoning.
• 1 avocado
• 1 medium vine ripe tomato
• 1/2c (or more if you like) shredded cheese
• Prepared Sushi Rice
• Soy Wrappers (I love the Sushi Party wrappers)

Tools

• Sushi Mold (I used Sushi Master)
• A sharp knife

Make sure your beef is fully cooked and seasoned. If you are having to make it fresh (no leftovers) make it ahead of your rice so you can give it plenty of time to cool.
Next slice your tomatoes. Scrape out all the juicy guts of the tomato and give them a fine slice, almost julienne style. Lay your tomato slices on a paper towel to absorb some of the juice. Too much may cause the sushi to not hold together.
At this time, if you like, you can start slicing your avocados. If you are worried about them turning brown before you put your sushi together then just slice your ‘cados as needed.
Once cooled, mix your cheese into the beef. If you’re using leftover taco beef then you can mix your cheese at any time. Combining the two eliminates one of your ingredients for layering and makes the process a little easier.

Take a Soy Wrapper and line the inside of your mold with it. If you are having troubles keeping the wrapper still while adding rice, you can make your sushi roll first, and roll it in the wrapper when you’re finished.          
Take your prepared rice and press it into the sides and bottom of your mold. Make sure to get a good foundation, but don’t use up too much of the space for your fillings. Press gently now because you’ll be doing a firmer press once we put it all together.
Now it’s time to start layering. From one end to the other layer a row of tomatoes, on top of that add your avocados, and then on top of that you can add your taco meat.
Finish it off with a layer of rice. You want enough to completely cover your fillings, but not over-stuff.    
Next, if your soy wrapper was placed in the mold before filling, take the outer flap and lay it on top of your rice. Now you can take your mold press, and push down on your sushi pressing all of your ingredients together so that your roll stays together. Cut your sushi through the slats provided in the mold, wiping the knife with a wet paper towel or rag every 2 to 3 cuts. Turn out your sushi, break the pieces apart, and you’re ready to serve!

*If you did not place your soy wrapper in the mold before adding your ingredients, lay a sheet of wrapper out so that you can flip out your sushi onto the sheet. Very carefully pry the sushi out of the mold. Once it’s completely out, roll it up in the rest of the wrapper. Cut your sushi to your desired width, pull pieces apart, and serve.

    
You can make this in any mold you want. I made mine in both a half circle roll (to mimic the shape of a taco) and the square nigiri sushi (finger sushi) mold.
I always prefer to use fresh ingredients when it comes to the vegetables, that way if you make extra and want to save some leftovers you can.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe for Taco Sushi! If you have any questions please comment or shoot me an email.
Happy Eats!

Buy your rice. However, you want to make sure that the bag says Sushi Rice. (no, you can not use minute rice) Can’t find sushi rice in your grocery store? Then try looking for premium grade short grain white rice. It’s pretty much the same thing.

Measure out your rice. Basically you are going to want to use the same measurement of water that you use of rice.
2 level cups of rice : 2 cups of water – this makes about 5 to 6 cups of cooked rice
3 level cups of rice : 3 cups of water – 7 1/2 to 9 cups of cooked rice
4 level cups of rice : 4 cups of water – 10 to 12 cups of cooked rice

Preparing the Rice
First this is first. You must RINSE the rice.
Put your desired amount of rice into an empty pot, the inner pot from your rice cooker, or a glass bowl. Fill the bowl with enough cold water that you’ve covered the rice. I often fill the bowl halfway. Swish the rice GENTLY around with your hand. No smashing. Dry rice can break easily, and if this happens the finished product will come out too sticky which makes it harder to work with and not as pretty.
You’ll notice the fine rice flour start to billow around in the water leaving it very cloudy. Go ahead and pour out the water, and fill the bowl again. Swish gently, pour out.
You’re going to want to do this about 6 times or so. You want to get the water fairly clear. I say ‘fairly clear’ because you don’t need it perfectly clear, but about 6 to 8 rinses should do the job.
Once you have finished rinsing your rice, you’re going to need to let it soak for a little while.
Put your rinsed rice in whatever pot you’re using to cook it in. Add the cold water in the measurement stated above. Set aside (or if using a rice cooker set the pot inside the cooker but do not turn on or plug in) and let soak for 30 minutes.

Cooking The Rice
Let me start by saying that you DO NOT need a rice cooker to make great sushi rice. I was making sushi long before I went out and actually bought myself a rice cooker. Obviously the easiest method of the two is cooking your rice with a rice cooker, but don’t feel like you need to rush right out and buy in order to make great sushi.
So now, choose your method.

Stove top
or
Rice Cooker

While you’re rice is cooking, you’ll want to go ahead and Make the Rice Vinegar Dressing.
This is what gives your sushi rice that mildly sweet and slightly tangy flavor.

The Final Step: Turning Out & Finishing the Rice [see vlog below]
Can you believe it? You’re almost finished! Now it’s time to turn out your cooked rice, add your rice vinegar dressing, and end by cooling down your rice.



Now you’re ready to start making sushi!!

Measure out your rice. Basically you are going to want to use the same measurement of water that you use of rice.
2 level cups of rice : 2 cups of water – this makes about 5 to 6 cups of cooked rice
3 level cups of rice : 3 cups of water – 7 1/2 to 9 cups of cooked rice
4 level cups of rice : 4 cups of water – 10 to 12 cups of cooked rice
Place the desired rice/water ratio in the inner pot, and place inner pot in rice cooker. Plug in your rice cooker, and cook.
When rice is finished, let stand for 15 minutes before opening the lid. If you have a ‘cheap’ rice cooker, make sure to unplug it as soon as you know the rice has finished cooking, to help prevent scorching.
[The better rice cookers will cost you between $200 and $400. I bought mine for $100ish, so I have a good 'mid-grade' rice cooker]

While your rice is cooking, go ahead and make your rice vinegar dressing.

Once it’s finished, you’re ready to turn out and finish your rice.

*measurements come from Sushi for Dummies, *My Preference is just that; after making several batches and figuring out what I liked best. You can adjust the sugar and salt to your liking, but you need to keep the rice vinegar portions as stated according to the cooked rice portions.
Combine your ingredients in a small bowl and stir until your sugar/salt is completely dissolved. Set aside, leaving it room temperature, until your rice has finished cooking.

Don’t forget to rinse your rice! Good rice prep makes great sushi.

Put the desired rice/water ratio in a covered pot and bring to a boil starting at a medium heat. Once the rice starts to boil quickly open the lid and place a cloth over the pot. I would use either a doubled cheese cloth, a kitchen towel, or a Gerber cloth diaper. Put the lid back on the pot making sure the cloth is tightly secured and no steam is being released.
Reduce your heat to low and simmer for, roughly, 20 minutes. No peeking!
After 20 minutes has passed raise the heat back to high for about 5 seconds, then turn the heat completely off.
No peeking!!
Let your rice sit, still covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes.

While your rice is cooking, go ahead and make your rice vinegar dressing.

Once it’s finished, you’re ready to turn out and finish your rice.

If you’re using a wooden rice paddle and sushi tub, moisten it with water. This helps keep your rice from sticking to the tub and your paddle. If you’re using a plastic paddle, keep a bowl of water handy to rinse it in periodically. If you do not have a wooden sushi tub, no worries. I have often used a ceramic pie plate. Just try to use something fairly flat.
Dump your cooked rice out of your pot into your tub, gently scooping out any rice still stuck in the pot.
Next comes the vinegar dressing:
Holding your rice paddle over the rice, pour your rice vinegar dressing over the rice paddle while moving the paddle all around the rice as you do so. This helps to evenly disburse your dressing.
Now, with your rice paddle, spread out your rice in an even layer. Don’t mash and smash. Gently ‘cut’ into the rice and separate it. No stirring the rice, either.
Once your rice is fairly spread out, slide your paddle under small sections of rice at a time and turn them over. Do this twice.
You’ll notice how very white and shiny your rice looks.
Finishing with a Cool Down:
Keep turning over small sections of rice, while fanning it. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. Just gently turn over a few sections over and lightly fan it. The Japanese will use a flat fan, but I actually still don’t have one so I use my hand, or a wide spatula. Do this until you no longer see steam coming from the rice. Your rice will still be a bit warm, but done!

Now you’re ready to start making sushi!!