Vegetarian sushi in Seattle?

[Susansea2003]

Does anyone know of a restaurant in Seattle with a decent number of vegetarian maki (or nigiri) options? Our toddler loves the idea of sushi (thanks to one of her favorite books), likes kappa maki, but we're not ready to move her on to raw fish yet. So I'm looking for a place that:

1. Has more non-raw-fish options than tamago & kappa maki; and

2. Would be child friendly enough for us not to tick off the other patrons (not Shiro's, for example).

There's a great sushi place in San Francisco in the Richmond where I've gone with my vegetarian friend, which serves some really great stuff, including kabocha squash maki.

Thanks for any ideas!

Susan

[dougery]

Just my opinion but I think almost any good Japanese restaurant will have a decent variety of vegetarian sushi but there's a catch...

You've got to sit at the counter NOT at a table and build a report with the sushi chef. Once you get to know the sushi chefs at a restaurant and become a regular, they will bend over backwards to make you different types of vegetarian sushi. Try going on slower days too (don't go Fri or Sat nights) when you can spend time talking to the sushi chefs. They have tons of options at their disposal, and would be more than happy to share different combinations with their friends!

For starters, try heading over to Toyoda Sushi in Lake City.

PS You can always make requests for particular types of vegetarian sushi if you ask for specific items by name.

[Nana_Kat]

If you are interested in non-raw fish options and is family-friendly, on the eastside there is Tokyo Japanese Restaurant. They feature a lot of rolls that are not on the raw fish side and have kind of interesting ones, too. My boyfriend and I had the Aloha roll before which has crab, avocado...and macadamia nuts?! It wasn't our favorite of all time or anything (kind of heavy on the macadamia nuts) but it was a nice change up. They also have a lot of combination dinners/bento boxes available. When we've gone we've also noticed that there are frequently a lot of families with young children (I think they have a kids menu too).

If you're interested in it, it's off the Richards Road exit for the I-90 East in the Factoria area (in the QFC/Loehmann's Plaza) on 3500 Factoria Blvd. S.E..

Here's the address for their site (when the page loads, you don't have to download the language--just hit "Cancel"):

http://www.tokyojr.com/

Edited April 19, 2005 by Nana_Kat (log)

[joeforte]

Vegeterian Sushi is an Oxymoron.

[ScorchedPalate]

Actually, vegetarian sushi is not an oxymoron, as the name comes from "rice" not "fish" as many people expect.

Chinoise on Madison offers the following veggie sushi on their menu:

- Kappa

- Ume shiso

- Oshinko (pickled radish)

- Kampyo (squash)

- Vegetable futomaki (big roll of tamago, sweet squash, pickled radish & yamagobo)

I have also had them make me an asparagus roll, and a california roll without the nasty krab... they make an excellent version with sesame seeds on the outside. You would need to ask them to leave out the tobiko as well, if you wanted it to be strictly vegetarian.

Also, if you're up for cooked-fish sushi, they make a nice shrimp tempura roll and a smoked-salmon roll. And there's always unagi (which I don't like).

If you go when Jae is working at the bar, you could also ask him for other options. He's always got seasonal vegetables on the menu, and I am sure many of them would make for interesting maki options (pea vines and avocado, anyone?).

Good luck with your search. Let us know what you find and what appeals to toddler tastebuds.

~A

[Bux]

Vegeterian Sushi is an Oxymoron.

←

Actually, vegetarian sushi is not an oxymoron, as the name comes from "rice" not "fish" as many people expect.

. . . .

←

No suprise, but my understanding is that vegetarian sushi has its origins inland, away from the coast. Freshwater fish is more susceptable to parasites than ocean fish. It's also my understanding that you're not likely to find raw river or lake fish used for sushi.

Bux

[JasonTrue]

No suprise, but my understanding is that vegetarian sushi has its origins inland, away from the coast. Freshwater fish is more susceptable to parasites than ocean fish. It's also my understanding that you're not likely to find raw river or lake fish used for sushi.

Bux

←

I don't think so; you're right about the main point in that ocean fish is more suitable for sushi than river fish, which usually needs to be cooked; but vegetarian sushi shouldn't have been an inland development...

Sushi originated as a Tokyo (Edo) food and, according to Gaku Homma at least (author, Japanese Country Cooking), the sushi we now know originated as a method of preserving fish, roughly in the 18th century if I remember correctly. Rice would be wrapped around raw fish and would become sour as the rice fermented. This effect was eventually simulated with vinegar, thus one of the possible renderings for the word "sushi" as "vinegared things"). As for more common renderings, both 鮨 (sushi) and 鮓 (sushi) are probably best translated as seasoned rice, even though the radical for rice never appears. The other rendering, 寿司, is probably an "ateji" (sort of "poetic license") but has a character for "longevity" and a character for "rule or administer". (Sorry for those of you that don't have Japanese support on your systems).

Adding pickled vegetables to sushi wasn't a big stretch. It certainly didn't require going "inland". Except for cabbage, raw vegetables were once quite rarely consumed in Japan, but pickled (tsukemono), blanched (ohitashi), poached (nimono), or sweetened-vinegared (sunomono) were quite common. Inari-zushi (soybean puffs with seasoned rice) might not have appeared without the presence of Buddhist temples, but it's not typically purely vegetarian either.

Other kinds of "sushi" like Gaku's "Wanko-zushi" (vinegared rice with seasoned fish or other items served in tiny bowls) developed in other regions than the Kantou/Tokyo area. As far as I know, no sushi emerged in inland areas at all until the advent of refrigerated transport.

Since I am vegetarian, I haven't spent a lot of time in sushi places in Japan, but simple pickled vegetable based fillings are common enough in Japan... One high end place I went to in Ginza had various simple offerings. It's probably easier to completely avoid fish in a sushi place than in a noodle shop or izakaya, where dried fish is used in soup stocks and as a garnish pervasively. It's a little easier if for someone willing eat tamago-yaki, ikura, uni, etc.

One time I had some yuba-based "nigiri-zushi" in a restaurant called Yuuan in Nishi-shinjuku, which was quite nice; there were some other pickled toppings and myouga. The concept was well executed and probably nearly impossible to replicate in the US, where we have a paucity of sources for fresh yuba.

One thing that I think distinguishes U.S. preparations of sushi from Japanese is that most Japanese preparations are incredibly simple, and therefore require better quality ingredients due to a lack of competing flavors. I suspect the emergence of the California roll, the spider roll, the cream cheese monstrosities and so on resulted from problems obtaining good quality raw fish, and the strange rarity of the skill of producing simple, clean-tasting dishes from excellent ingredients.

This extends to other areas of Japanese cuisine rendered in the US; most Japanese dishes require less elaborate preparation and kitchen equipment than your average casserole.

Raw avocado, of course, is pretty much limited to the US and non-Japanese locales when incorporated into sushi.

(added inari note)

Edited April 27, 2005 by JasonTrue (log)

[Bruce Burger]

Lots of sushi is cooked. My daughter's first sushi love was unagi -- cooked, soft, sweet. Ebi (shrimp) is also cooked. Sushi restaurants also have kid-friendly non-sushi dishes, including miso soup, edamame, and tofu.

[Lazrowp]

Hi Susan!

What is your child's favorite book that has turned them into a "sushi-head?"

Paul