Sweet Potato and Avocado Rolls

I haven't had my sushi rolling mat very long, so this was my first time experimenting with having the rice on the outside of the nori, rather than inside of it. I'm not sure my technique was perfect (you can tell that some of my sushi pieces doesn't look nearly as uniform as they should). However, they still tasted good, so practice your sushi rolling skills and enjoy this sushi roll.

Recipe from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes.

Ingredients:
-3 nori sheets cut in half (6 half sheets)
-1 avocado, skin removed & thinly sliced
-1/2 sweet potato, peeled and cut into matchsticks
-1 cup sushi rice, prepared according to directions on the box
-1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
-1 teaspoon sesame oil
-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
-1 egg

Eel sauce/Japanese Tsume
-1/4 cup mirin
-1/4 cup tamari
-1/4 cup granulated sugar

To make the sweet potato: Steam the sweet potato matchsticks until tender. Then prepare them for frying. Heat oil in a medium saute pan over medium high heat, then coat sweet potato sticks in egg, then in panko, transfer to the frying pan and cook until golden brown on each side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.

To make the sushi: Cut each sheet of nori in half lengthwise, then working with one half sheet at a time place shiny side down onto your sushi mat. Top the nori with about a 1/2 cup of sushi rice, leaving about 1/2 inch space at the top; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Then flip the rice covered nori so the uncovered edge is closest to you place a single layer of sweet potato & avocado at the halfway point on top of the nori. Roll with the sushi mat (use this video from Kikoman for more detailed instructions).

To make the eel sauce: In a small sauce pot over medium heat combine all ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and cook at a simmer until the sauce has thickened.

Slice the sushi rolls and serve with eel sauce. 

  

Having the sushi rice on the outside of the roll makes for a pretty presentation, but I know that these would have held together a lot better if I had the nori on the outside (as opposed to the rice). The sweet potatoes and avocado paired well together -- pretty much all of the sweet potato rolls we've ever ordered have included fried sweet potato, that's why we choose to fry ours rather than leaving it steamed. The eel sauce is sticky and sweet, pairing nicely with the ingredients in the sushi roll.