The Sushi Burger Is A Fresh Spin On Handheld Meals

Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish that consists of various ingredients, typically a delectable blend of cooked or raw seafood and vegetables, wrapped in seaweed and a layer of rice. The flavorful options and combinations are basically endless. If you love sushi but aren't a professional with the chopsticks, or maybe you just prefer trying it in a different format, try diving into a sushi burger instead.

Almost anything can be made into a burger-style meal, as long as you don't consider a burger to contain meat between two buns. In the sushi variation, there's no bun at all. Rather, the sushi rice serves as the bun. It's shaped into thick circle, and the ingredients are placed within the two rice buns. Suddenly, your favorite dish turns into a handheld meal. You can top this burger with fish and vegetables to build your favorite sushi roll flavors, or you can even put a classic meat patty between the two buns to stick with a true burger-meets-sushi combination.

Sticky rice is commonly used in sushi, and it's necessary for creating this unconventional burger bun. It's also known as glutinous rice and gets its sticky texture from its high starch content. This is why you can't substitute it out, as other white rice won't stick together enough to form a bun. You can shape the sticky rice and use it as-is, or you can take things one step further and fry it to turn it into crispy rice. Just shape the rice bun as you normally would, then cook it in hot oil, until it's golden brown on both sides. This adds a little extra crunch to the burger.

The flavor combinations for the inside of the sushi burger are up to you. You can add some marinated steak and leafy greens, or spread softened cream cheese on the rice, then top it with cucumber, thinly-sliced avocado, and crab meat or shrimp for an easy twist on a California or New York roll. You can also make homemade spicy mayo and pair it with diced shrimp or tuna. For an even truer sushi flavor, wrap the burger in a nori sheet, which is dried piece of seaweed, before serving it. This extra layer will also ensure the burger stays together while you eat it.