Couscous Sushi - Salmon Flakes, Octopus Salad 熏鱼北非小米寿司

The best perk about making sushi at home is that you can toy with thousand and one ideas for your preferred filling. The sushi flavors can be limitless. You can have what you can't get in store-bought sushi. In fact, this perk to DIY "Do-It-Yourself" is not reserved for sushi but nearly...everything.


Using couscous is not traditional but ultra-quick when assembling sushi, not forgetting it qualifies as make-ahead meal, for example, prepare the night before for next day's lunch (Note: I would not suggest using raw seafood fillings in make-ahead meals).

If you do not know how fast and easily couscous can be prepared or cooked, refer to these archived posts. To add to my earlier vegetarian sushi repertoire such as sesame greens and kimchi variety, are these seafood versions - one with flaked salmon (next photo below) and the other with store-bought octopus salad (above).





Don't you think this Salmon Flakes or Octopus Salad Couscous Sushi is perfect for summer? Conveniently, those hot and dry summer days that you do not feel like cooking behind the stove will be those days that you do not even want to turn on the oven no matter how fuss-free "oven-cooking" is. This is simply a no-roast, no-cook "grains, proteins, vegetable" (balanced!) meal is done without breaking too much sweat, literally.

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Sesame Shungiku Couscous Sushi

Some alternatives don't work while some do. So, I made more couscous sushi! A more colorful version with the fresh crisp of organic bell peppers and cucumbers. Remember the Sesame-Dressed Shungiku I made earlier on? It can be enjoyed on its own or as an appetizer-side, and is great filling ingredient for sushi too!

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Couscous Sushi

You may want to look closer. This is not your everyday sushi.


They are made with couscous instead of using traditional sushi rice. Since I did not have sushi rice, it was switched out with another "grain" that might be suitable. As I have been using couscous quite often and pretty comfortable that the texture (soft, just a little sticky, not too wet) might work well as an alternative.


Well, it did. It worked out well and what was better - couscous is practically "no-cook". So now, whenever I feel like eating sushi, it can almost be instant. Since cooking sushi rice takes time vs cooking couscous that take not much time (5 mins at most, of course plus the cooling duration for the couscous before putting it on the nori seaweed).

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