Veggie Sushi Rolls

Father's Day. James's second. David's thirty-second (or thirty-first, if you count from the day he picked me up at the airport). Kevin's zero (he is not a father, but he is an uncle, and Uncle's Day is not a thing but should be). I celebrated all of them: James with beef noodle soup, David with a phone call, Kevin with a text that said "Happy Uncle's Day" and a photo of Hana wearing a Bridge City Roasters t-shirt Kevin sent (child-sized, absurd, perfect).

James spent Father's Day at the kitchen table with Hana. They had a project: making rice. Not rice in the rice cooker — rice in a pot, the traditional way, the way Jisoo taught me, the way I am teaching James, the way James is now teaching Hana. James measured the rice. Hana put her hands in the bowl and "helped" wash it (mostly she splashed water and ate raw rice grains, both of which are age-appropriate contributions). They cooked the rice together. James lifted the lid. The rice was perfect. James said, "We did it." Hana said, "Bap!" The bap was made. The father-daughter bap. The first of many. The tradition continues.

Kevin is five years sober. He marked the anniversary quietly — he does not make a production of sobriety anniversaries because, he says, "Every day is the anniversary. Every day I wake up sober is the day." But I marked it. I called him on Tuesday and said, "Five years, Kevin." He was quiet. Then he said, "Five years." He said, "I don't count them. But I know them." He said, "Five years of being a person who can hold a coffee cup without shaking. Five years of being a person who calls his sister every Sunday. Five years of being a person." I said, "You were always a person." He said, "I was a person who was disappearing. Now I am a person who is here." He is here. He has been here for five years. He will be here tomorrow. The being-here is the miracle. The being-here is the sobriety. The being-here is Kevin.

The recipe this week is the pot rice — the traditional Korean stovetop rice that James and Hana made together. Short-grain Korean rice, washed until the water runs clear. Soaked for thirty minutes. Drained. Placed in a heavy-bottomed pot with water at a 1:1 ratio. Lid on. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to the lowest heat. Cook for twelve minutes. Remove from heat. Let steam for ten minutes with the lid on. Do not lift the lid during cooking. The lid is faith. The lid is trust. The lid is: you have done the work. Now let the rice become itself. Open the lid. The rice is perfect. The rice is always perfect when you trust the process. Bap. Made by a father and a daughter. The best bap in the world.

After watching James lift that lid and hearing Hana say “Bap!” for the first time, I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that short-grain rice can become when you trust it. The pot rice was the beginning — but the rice kept going in my head, rolling itself into something we could all gather around. These veggie sushi rolls use the same rice, the same washing, the same faith in the process; they’re the natural next step for a family that has just discovered, together, what rice can do.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 50 minutes | Servings: 4 rolls (about 32 pieces)

Ingredients

2 cups short-grain sushi rice
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 sheets nori (roasted seaweed)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (optional)
Soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi for serving

Instructions

Wash the rice. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with cold water. Swirl gently with your hand, then drain. Repeat until the water runs nearly clear, about 4—5 rinses. Let the rice soak in fresh water for 30 minutes, then drain well.
Cook the rice. Combine the drained rice and 2 1/2 cups water in a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the lowest setting. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let steam, lid on, for 10 minutes. Do not lift the lid during cooking.
Season the rice. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Transfer the cooked rice to a wide bowl and fold in the vinegar mixture gently using a rice paddle or wooden spoon. Fan the rice as you fold to help it cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Prepare your workspace. Place a bamboo sushi mat on a clean surface and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over it. Set out your nori sheets, seasoned rice, and prepared vegetables.
Assemble the rolls. Lay one nori sheet shiny-side down on the mat. With damp hands, spread about 3/4 cup of rice evenly over the nori, leaving a 1-inch border at the far edge. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese (if using) in a thin line across the center. Arrange a few strips of cucumber, avocado, carrot, and bell pepper along the center.
Roll. Using the mat, lift the near edge of the nori up and over the filling, pressing firmly as you roll away from you. Squeeze gently to shape the roll. Moisten the bare nori edge with a damp fingertip and press to seal. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Slice and serve. With a sharp, damp knife, cut each roll into 8 pieces, wiping the blade between cuts. Arrange on a platter and serve with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and wasabi.

Nutrition (per serving, approximately 8 pieces)

Veggie Sushi Rolls — When the Bap Inspires Something More