If you know anything about me, you know that sushi is one of my all time favorite foods in the entire world! So, when I saw there was a weird way to make sushi into my OTHER favorite food of donuts/bagels I was completely over the moon!! because come on, SUSHI DONUTS EXIST and I had to try them. They really aren't as complicated to make as true sushi in my opinion. 

Sushi rice is shaped into donut rings and then covered with thin slices of raw fish and other sushi ingredients. I love how colorful they are! I haven’t yet had a chance to try a sushi donut at any of the restaurants that serve it, but I decided to try making my own and I’m pretty happy with the results. I still want to try out Project Poke in Orange County when I get a chance. I kept mine pretty simple. 

Most of the ones that are served also have a filling inside the middle of the donut ring but mine is just rice. It still was flavorful though of all the toppings. These were a lot of fun though a little time consuming, especially if you want to make them pretty. I’m still glad I tried it though!

3 cups uncooked sushi rice

80 ml seasoned rice vinegar for sushi

1/2 lb sashimi grade tuna, thinly sliced

1/2 lb sashimi grade salmon, thinly sliced

2 okinawan cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/2 cup roasted white sesame seeds

1/2 roasted black sesame seeds

6 oz masago eggs

any other toppings of your choice (avocado, other sashimi, etc)

4 full sized sheets of roasted seaweed for sushi making

For best results, cook rice in a rice cooker. Measure out rice into your rice cooker pot. Please use the rice cup that comes with the rice cooker as 1 rice cooker cup is 180ml (whereas 1 US cup is 240 ml). If you don't have a rice cup, adjust measurements accordingly. Rinse rice with water a few times until water drains out mostly clear.

Run rice through a colander and let dry for 15 minutes. Add rice back into the pot and add enough water until it reaches the 3 cup water line. Close rice cooker and cook according to manufacturer instructions.

When rice is finished, pour it into a large wide bowl, giving it a big surface area so that it cools faster. Pour sushi vinegar over rice while it is still hot. Use the rice cooker rice paddle to mix the sushi vinegar into the rice and help cool the rice. Instead of doing a stirring motion, make diagonal slashes through the rice, alternating starting from the right and left side. Repeat until rice is cooled.

Place one end of a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of one donut mold cavity. The plastic wrap should be a little more than twice the length of the mold so that it can later wrap around your entire donut. Add about 1/2 cup (using the rice cooker cup) of sushi rice on top of the plastic wrap that is covering the donut cavity. Use the other end of the plastic wrap to cover the top of the rice and use your fingers to press down on top of the plastic wrap to shape the rice into the donut cavity. Your fingers should not be touching the rice and instead should be on the plastic wrap. Continue to shape and press as you want a tightly packed ring or the rice will fall apart.  Once you are satisfied that you have a tight donut ring, lift the sides of the plastic wrap so that the rice ring comes off of the mold and then flip over so that the flat side of the donut is on the bottom. The rice should still be on the plastic wrap.

Wrap the fish and toppings of your choice around the top of the donut. You want to cut the cucumbers and sushi to a length so that they just barely wrap around the top of the donuts. It helps if you do a test piece on one of your sushi donuts before making the rest of the slices. For the cucumbers, I recommend using a mandolin slicer and the thinnest setting possible ("1" on mine.)  If the slices are a little long, you can tuck the edges into the bottom of the donut. But you don't want to have to wrap completely underneath the donut as it will loosen the rice and cause it to lose its shape. Decorate each sushi donut to your own liking. For the slices, you want them to slightly overlap. For the smaller ingredients like sesame seeds, you can simply spoon them on and press them into the rice. When you're finished decorating, wrap  the plastic wrap back over the sushi and shape and press the donut ring a few more times.

When you're ready to serve, cut each sheet of seaweed into 4 squares. Carefully remove donuts from plastic wrap and place each donut on top of a seaweed square. Don't add them to the squares too soon as they will wilt soon after from the moisture of the donuts. Eat immediately.