Not that long ago, I was in the mood for a snack. I didn’t want to wait to cook up the rice (waiting defeats the point of a snack), so I decided, somewhat in the spirit of the Naruto roll (which also comes without rice) to make a rice-free, grain-free hand roll or two. Mind you, this isn’t my usual sort of snack (which usually tends to be a slice of cheese, or some grapes or berries, occasionally a fragment of dark chocolate).
Ikura avocado hand roll
Anyhow, I’d saved up some ikura (salmon roe) from the supply at the grocery at Christmastime. I also had avocado to hand, and some Chinese chives. And I try to keep the nori seaweed wraps available – actually, another snack I like is to nosh on a sheet of the stuff all by its lonesome!
I lucked out with good avocado. I usually buy more than one at varying stages of ripeness just to be safe.
Anyhow, here goes:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: Nada
Rest time: Nada
Serves: however many you are in the mood for.
Grain-Free Ikura Avocado Hand Roll
For each hand roll:
- 1/3 sheet nori
- 1/4 optimally-ripe avocado, sliced longitudinally
- 1 tablespoon ikura (salmon roe).
- 1/2 Chinese chive (or green onion, the green part only) You won’t even need all of this.
- A pinch of wasabi (to taste)
- Tamari or coconut aminos to dunk in.
Assemble as per the photograph below, keeping the shiny side of the nori to the outside. Add however much wasabi you like, or wait until the hand roll is formed.
Roll with a twist to form a cone. I recall watching a video where they made the hand roll with the hand roll being rolled on the counter, and commentators (they’re pretty opinionated on You Tube) getting all huffy because the guy didn’t roll it in his hand up in the air. Hey, the result will be the same – do whatever works for you. You’re not out behind a sushi bar trying to impress the clientele – you are making a snack!
Wet the last bit of the cone so it adheres to an inner curve of the cone, and adhere it.
Additional ikura couldn’t hurt…
Sit back and enjoy. Make another!
Definitely fast and refreshing.
The snack is Paleo if you use coconut aminos instead of tamari or soy sauce. (While I keep coconut aminos around, I’ve come to the conclusion that the condiment is now too sweet for me in many uses.)
Chinese chives are hard to find unless you go to a specialty Asian market. They have a ramp-like, scallion-like flavor. Scallions/green onions are a great substitute, but leave off the white ends so that the flavor of that part of the green onion does not overpower.
Do drop in at the Fiesta Friday link party!.. Laura is the week’s co-host.
Sea Vegetable
Of Goats and Greens 
Perfect!