We know you’ll love this recipe from Knoxville Catholic High School  in Knoxville, Tennessee!

The Story

During Lent 2021, the team at Knoxville Catholic High School was brainstorming menu items, trying to come up with unexpected ways to surprise and delight students on the traditional Lenten “Fish Fridays.” Not interested in another fish fillet or tuna salad, cook Stella Eaton had a lightbulb moment.

Before joining the Pedestal Foods family, Stella worked at a manufacturing plant that once flew a sushi chef from Japan to her worksite, where he taught her team to make sushi.

Unit Manager Liz Butler thought it was a great idea. Stella did a quick test run to make sure she still had the skills; turns out making sushi is like riding a bicycle. She gave Liz a tutorial and just like that, sushi had arrived on the Knoxville Catholic menu for the following Friday.

The sushi was such a hit that it sold out in just 15 minutes!

Demand for the Japanese staple was so high that Liz ended up rolling more during afternoon service to make sure they’d be ready for the next rush. 

Want to try your own sushi night at home? 

Sushi is deceptively easy to make. It might take a roll or two to get the hang of it, but before you know it you’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ (literally). Homemade sushi night is a great family activity for older kids and friends, too! 

Pedestal Foods Kitchen Tips & Tricks

• Bump up the DIY factor with a homemade ingredients bar: slice bell peppers, tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, cucumber, pickled onion, pickles… the sky’s the limit, so get creative! 
• Set out thinly sliced ingredients, rice, and nori and let each family member create their own roll. 
• This recipe calls for a sushi rolling mat, available at many home goods stores or international markets. If you have one, great! If not, try a clean cotton dish towel.

Recipe

Pedestal Foods Kitchen DIY Sushi

4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups sushi rice, cooked according to package directions (not the same as regular long-grain rice; check your supermarket’s international section)
• ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 4 half sheets sushi grade nori (available at most supermarkets in the international section)
• 1 teaspoon sesame seed, optional
• 8 pieces imitation crab
• 8 oz cream cheese cubed
• 1 small carrot cut into matchsticks
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced

Preparation

1. Season the sushi rice with the rice vinegar, fanning and stirring until room temperature.
2. On a rolling mat, place one sheet of nori with the rough side facing upwards.
3. Wet your hands and grab a handful of rice and place it on the nori. Spread the rice evenly throughout the nori without mashing the rice down. Season rice with a pinch of sesame seeds, if using, then flip it over so the nori is facing upwards.
4. Arrange the crab in a horizontal row 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the bottom, followed by a row of avocado, row of cream cheese, and a row of cucumber.
5. Grabbing both nori and the mat, roll the mat over the filling so the extra space at the bottom touches the other side, squeezing down to make a nice tight roll. Squeeze down along the way to keep the roll from holding its shape.
6. Transfer the roll onto a cutting board. Rub a knife on a damp paper towel before slicing the roll into six equal portions.
7. Garnish with wasabi, soy sauce, and ginger if desired.

Did you try this recipe? Let us know how it went!

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