Vegan Dynamite Sushi Bake

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings 5 people

Author The Earth Kitchen

Using a small mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients such as the vegan mayonnaise, chili garlic paste, agave, vegan cheese, garlic/onion powder, sesame oil, and salt & pepper to taste. Whisk thoroughly until well combined.

Preheat frying pan with a splash of oil (more or less a tablespoon) in medium heat.
Once fully heated, pan fry small tofu cubes and season with salt and pepper all around. Pan fry until most sides ar golden brown and crisp. Set aside tofu on a separate bowl/plate once it is cooked all around.
Using the same amount of heat, pan fry small cubed mushrooms until each side are golden brown on each side or until mushrooms start to sweat. Once cooked and shriveled into size, combine with tofu.
Turn off heat. Now, combine chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds with tofu and mushroom mix. Allow it to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
Pour spicy mayonnaise mixture to the tofu / mushroom dry ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Set aside OR store in an airtight container (and refrigerate) if you decide to make this topping in advance.

Cook rice according to instructions provided on the packet.
Once cooked, place in a mixing bowl and allow to cool off for 15-20 minutes before handling.
Once rice is slightly cooled, combine rice vinegar, sugar, and salt to taste. Mix all together until sugar and vinegar has been thoroughly combined with rice.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a baking dish, begin assembling the layers of the sushi bake, starting with the seasoned rice.
Spread rice all throughout the baking dish using the back of a spatula, a spoon, or clean hands. If the rice is too sticky and unmanageable, dip the spatula / spoon, or hands in lukewarm water to dampen. Flatten the layer until it is compact.
Season a generous layer of furikake flakes on top of the rice.
Place the tofu and mushroom mayo topping as the last layer above the furikake flakes and rice. Spread in an even layer until all corners an sides are covered. Press with the back of a spatula or spoon to keep the layers compact.

Vegan cheese or vegan cream cheese - For this recipe, I used regular vegan shredded cheese (mozzarella) as I prefer it over cream cheese. Either one would be delicious, depending on how creamy you'd want it. Adding either one is an optional ingredient and you can skip it, however, it will add a better depth of flavor.
Choosing the best rice - Japanese sushi rice would work best or short grain white rice. You can use Jasmine rice as well, however, it will be looser. Short grain or sushi rice is stickier which is ideal for creating sushi.
Choose chili garlic paste over sriracha - since this is a dynamite sushi bake, meaning it's meant to be spicier, choose a chili garlic paste such as Sambal Oelek over sriracha will add more fire to the dish. You can also switch it up with gochujang (however, it might be slightly tangier) as well. If you don't have anything else on hand apart from sriracha, just add a bit more or add a few pinches of chili flakes.