Deconstructed Sushi - a Salad

Some of my most favorite people were over for NYE last weekend, spending the evening at home on a sushi making project. We made all kinds of veggie sushi, Kalifornia rolls, even some tempura salmon for Genki rolls; and enjoyed them with Momokawa Silver (and a random fashion show put on by my 6 year old niece and a very team-player Brandon). It was a time consuming process, but a lot of fun. In the end we had some great rolls, and a lot of leftover food. I've made sushi a dozen or so times before this, but for some reason I forgot that you really don't need a ton of vegetables. I spent way too much time chopping and not enough time visiting (or watching the fashion show for that matter). We ended up with a ton of extra food.

The good thing is though, that all the leftover, pre-chopped veggies and tempura salmon make a fantastic deconstructed sushi - in salad form:

We used up all our rice, but leftover rice isn't good anyway (and I generally don't eat rice outside of sushi....not a fan). One could make some for use with this salad, as it would be great served as a bed, or even mixed in; I think next time I might even try it with quinoa. My favorite thing about this salad is how flexible it is - I mean how many different kinds of sushi are there? Be creative! This is what was used in the picture above - vary the amounts according to your taste, and chop each into small cubes:

Cucumber
Avocado
Carrot
Asparagus (raw)
Daikon
Tempura salmon (was made ahead - salmon cut into strips, rolled in tempura batter and deep-fried)
Black sesame seeds
Dressing: combine soy sauce, a little ponzu, a few drops of sesami oil, and wasabi in a jar & pour over a desired amount - not too much though, start small

Some other options include bell pepper (red & green), green onions, sprouts, lettuce, tofu, crab (or krab), jicama, and mushrooms. The dressing can be varied as well - try a spicy combo of Japanese mayo with Sriracha!