I love sushi.  LOVE IT.  But there’s one thing right now really holding me back from giving into my crazy desire to eat sushi 24-7.  Sushi is damn expensive!  At least for us it is--my husband and I can consume MASS AMOUNTS OF RAW FISH YA'LL. I may be petite, but girl can eat.  So regular sushi excursions just aren't in the budget for this family.  Which brings me to my current situation.  On a budget, and unwilling to put forth all that effort to hand make a sushi roll, BUT still craving sushi like there's no tomorrow.  So of course I channeled my inner recipe developer and came up with the perfect solution--the sushi bowl.  Now, I'm sure I'm not the first one to come up with this concoction, and the fact that it really is so simple to assemble really opens it up to all sorts of variations which I love in a recipe.  Flexibility when cooking is amazing, in my opinion, and really lets you get creative.

In this particular recipe I used cooked shrimp in a light, sweet sauce as my protein.  I knew I needed to have a cooked protein, AND I love shrimp so that's what I went with.  But again, the beauty of this recipe is the versatility.  You could get some really high quality sashimi grade salmon or tuna if you want, you could sear some scallops in the sauce, you could do whatever your little heart desires, and I think it would still be absolutely amazing.  A few other quick notes about this recipe...

1) When looking for a good seaweed salad, you want to find one that isn't full of all sorts of chemical additives.  I was actually really surprised to find a really clean version at our local HEB sushi hub that wasn't bright day-glo green and actually very clean.  You could actually also substitute some crumbled nori or seaweed snacks and I think it would be awesome as well! 

2) Wasabi is another fairly typical garnish for sushi that can be made with questionable ingredients.  In fact, in my local store I couldn't find a blend that didn't include soy and wheat and a bunch of other not so gut-friendly ingredients.  So take caution when using that. 

3) THE SPICY MAYO MAKES THIS BOWL EVERYTHING.  Don't skimp on it!  It's so incredibly easy to make, and I doused my bowl in this precious sauce and couldn't get enough of it.  I would consider the mayo recipe made as is, a mild spice level, so feel free to increase or decrease the spice according to your personal preference.

4) For those of you who tolerate white rice, cook the rice according to package directions.  If cauli rice is your go to, the easiest way (IMO) is to just quickly steam it and season it lightly with salt and pepper.  There are many ways to cook your cauli rice out there, but simple is better for this recipe!

Alright alright alrighttttt, without further ado, go get your sushi on folks!

Deconstructed “Sushi” Bowl with Spicy Mayo

Ingredients for Bowl: (Makes 4 small servings, or 2 large bowls)

• 2 cups cauliflower rice or white rice, cooked

• 1 whole cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks

• 5-8 oz. pre-shredded carrot sticks

• 1-2 avocados, sliced

• 4 oz of seaweed salad

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, grass-fed butter, or ghee

• 2 tbsp coconut aminos

• 2 tbsp honey

Ingredients for Spicy Mayo:

• 1 1/4 cup mayo

• 1 tbsp fresh, grated ginger

• 4 garlic cloves

• 5 tbsp sriracha

• 1 tbsp honey

Optional Garnishes:

• coconut aminos, wasabi, sesame seeds, diced green onions

Directions for Bowl:

1.  In a large pan, heat coconut oil or butter in a pan over medium-high heat.

2. Once pan is hot, add in shrimp, aminos, and honey, stirring well to coat evenly.

3. Cook in pan until shrimp are pink and cooked through.  Set aside.

4. Assemble bowl by creating a base of rice, topped with seaweed salad, cucumber, carrots, avocados, and shrimp.

5. Top with spicy mayo and optional garnishes.

6. ENJOY!

Directions for Spicy Mayo:

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. ENJOY!