A Complete Guide to Best Sushi Without Raw Fish?

Some people may think sushi is a one-note dish when looking at the menus of Japanese restaurants. People may gravitate toward raw fish like salmon, tuna, squid, and mackerel rolled with nori, seasoned sushi rice, and fresh veggies. However, many people don’t like the taste of raw fish and avoid the dish altogether.  We would suggest adding some variation for your sushi menu that goes beyond the typical rolls of various raw fish cuts.

It’s fun to roll and arrange fresh veggies, tempura crab, shrimp, octopus, eggs, pickled vegetables, or teriyaki chicken with wasabi and soy sauce on your plate. Thankfully, most sushi restaurants provide a wide variety of sushi rolls without raw fish. You can enjoy the excitement and joy of this Far Eastern cuisine with tempura shrimp, creamy avocado, crisp cucumbers, eggs, and cheese. So let’s explore the delicious sushi without raw fish.

Why Choose Sushi Without Raw Fish?

Safer and More Convenient

It’s challenging to find sushi-quality fish and to prepare and store raw seafood at home. It calls for careful planning. Making sushi at home is simpler and safer when you use prepared fish, seafood substitutes, or plant-based fillings.

Suitable for All Diets

Raw fish isn’t eaten by everyone. Sushi sans raw fish is a fantastic choice, whether for dietary restrictions, pregnancy, or personal taste.     

More Affordable

Fresh fish of sashimi quality is not always readily accessible in local supermarkets and can be costly. Sushi may be made inexpensively without sacrificing flavor by using common ingredients like smoked salmon, canned tuna, or roasted veggies.

Best Sushi Rolls Without Raw Fish

1. Anago

While some people may not enjoy eating eels, sushi lovers know that this writhing creature is a tasty mouthful. According to Sushi Modern, anagogo is a saltwater eel that usually descends from the white-spotted conger eel. It is frequently mistaken for the freshwater eel known as unagi. Anago is cooked in its own concentrated broth and is never served raw. If the meat is cooked in the reduced broth or some of it, it absorbs all the flavor and keeps its sweetness and tenderness simultaneously. Anago can be grilled as well.

Anago is a sort of Nigri sushi, consisting of fish over rice. The seasoned rice provides a tasty bite on its own, though occasionally eel sauce is put on top (via TasteAtlas). The next time you see anago on a sushi menu, order it even if it’s not as popular as unagi. Even people who don’t enjoy seafood may be pleasantly pleased after trying Anago sushi because it doesn’t taste particularly fishy.

2. Avocado Roll

Avocado rolls are surprisingly easy to make and are often featured on the menus of sushi restaurants across the United Kingdom. This vegan  raw sushi roll is made up of nori, seasoned rice, and slices of fresh, green avocado. It is a great option for anyone looking for a clean-eating and healthy meal. Anyone seeking a more subdued, palate-cleansing roll to serve alongside more daring sashimi or nigiri can surely enjoy this. Just like herbs, lemon sorbet, or bread can refresh your taste buds before trying new flavors, an avocado roll can help reset your palate before eating more sushi.

Notably, avocado rolls are a uniquely American creation. Almost fifty years age A Japanese chef in California was frantically searching for toro, or the fatty belly part of tuna for his sushi rolls. But he was unable to locate it.People in Mexico liked to put avocado in their sushi. He added avocado, to the sushi rolls instead of the fish, and Americans quickly embraced the fruit’s cold, creamy texture.

3. Boston Roll

Another good choice for people who like their seafood cooked is the Boston roll. This uramaki, or inside-out roll, is made with rice rolled around the nori and contains avocado, cucumber, and either boiled or poached shrimp. Although tobiko (flying fish roe) or sesame seeds are occasionally put on the outside, the shrimp constitute the sushi’s true key component.

The Boston roll is a uniquely American sushi roll, as the name might indicate. On the East Coast, it’s well-liked by diners who would rather eat shrimp than fake crab. Compared to other rolls with fried tempura shrimp, it’s also a lighter choice. 

Although sushi restaurants that frequently make efforts to maintain tradition might not offer such rolls. In any case, there are many sushi options available that don’t use raw fish, though availability varies depending on the type of restaurant serving the rolls.

4. Dragon Roll

Raw fish is not among the many flavors and textures found in the always inventive dragon roll. With its emphasis on strong yet well-balanced flavors from rice, fruit, and shellfish, the dragon roll is probably a wholly American creation that originated at sushi restaurants in Los Angeles in the 1960s.

The dragon roll, also called an Uramaki (inside-out sushi roll), begins with sushi rice seasoned with vinegar, followed by a sheet of nori, tempura shrimp, slices of creamy avocado, and crunchy cucumber. Then, in a different pattern, thin slices of mango and avocado are placed on top of the roll to resemble the scales of a dragon. Sesame seeds and Sriracha mayo are used as garnishes for the rolls. Depending on the chef, several preparations may be used; grilled eel, crab sticks, and tobiko can even be substituted. The main objective of the dragon roll, regardless of its variants, is to have a slithering swagger and crisscrossing scales, much like a dragon on the plate.

5. Spider Roll

If you’re afraid of creepy crawlers or are still haunted by the film Arachnophobia, don’t worry: the spider roll contains no eight-legged animals. The ill-named roll often consists of nori, seasoned sushi rice, avocado, cucumber, and tempura-fried soft-shell crab. Given that the eight-legged ocean dweller does resemble little arachnids and that many sushi chefs leave the crab’s smaller legs protruding from the ends of the roll, the tempura-fried soft-shell crab is the source of the roll’s name.

Given how easy it is for chefs to deep-fry an entire mid-molt crab, the spider roll is a popular maki roll that is frequently ordered at sushi restaurants in the United States. There are several variations on this roll as well; some restaurants include spicy mayo, carrots, and daikon sprouts. The Daily Meal states that instead of trying to mask the flavor, diners should seek out rolls that showcase the freshness of the deep-fried soft-shell crab.

6. Philadelphia Roll

Philadelphia is the name of a delectable sushi roll made without raw fish and is home to the Liberty Bell, Rocky, and some very mouthwatering cheesesteaks. This uramaki-style roll was reportedly made in the city it was named for and includes delicious smoked salmon, cream cheese, nori, seasoned sushi rice, and cucumbers. The South China Morning Post reports that Madame Saito created the roll. She owned and ran a sushi restaurant in Philadelphia. Around 1980, she also taught sushi classes at Temple University. Inspired by a supper with a Jewish customer that included smoked salmon and the renowned Philadelphia Cream Cheese, she created the roll in 1984.

Today, the “Queen of Sushi” Saito still runs her Philadelphia restaurant, Tokio Headhouse, where patrons may enjoy the popular roll. To prepare it at home, just gather the highest quality smoked salmon available, along with some of that renowned cream cheese, nori, cucumbers, and seasoned sushi rice.

7. California Roll

Does anyone in the sushi community not know what a California roll is? From upscale American sushi restaurants to college cafeterias, and yes, convenience stores, and gas stations too, the ubiquitous roll serves as most people’s introduction to maki, handrolls, and similar offerings. In Vancouver, Canada, chef Hidekazu Tojo, who has japanese descendants, invented the roll. While working in a Japanese restaurant, Tojo noticed something. French Canadians would eat salad, tempura, and teriyaki but never sushi. In the 1970s, sushi mostly meant raw fish.

Tojo decided to try something new. He made a roll with cooked local crab and fresh avocado. He also hid the nori inside instead of using a rice layer, based on what local diners enjoyed. To give his diners a more familiar and cozy taste, he topped the roll with a little mayonnaise.

These days, the California roll is typically made with rice, avocado, nori, boiled or imitation crab, and mayonnaise (sometimes spicy, sometimes not), which makes it simple to make in your own home.

8. Caterpillar Roll

No, the sushi roll that is highlighted on your toddler’s fictitious restaurant menu is not the caterpillar roll.

The caterpillar roll, which is strikingly similar to the previously mentioned dragon roll, begins with seasoned sushi rice and nori. The rice and nori are arranged inside-out, or uramaki, with the fillings forming the outer ring immediately on top of the nori. Slices of crunchy cucumber and unagi (eel) are spread out on the nori, and when, rolled, thin avocado slices are placed on top of the rice, giving the whole thing a lovely green coating! Because of worries about overfishing, some sushi restaurants that serve the caterpillar roll may substitute tempura shrimp or even imitation crab sticks for the unagi. The caterpillar roll is a great sushi maki for people who don’t want raw fish, regardless of the protein content.

9. Cucumber Roll

Vegetarians can enjoy the simple yet delicious cucumber rolls, commonly called kappa maki. They are really simple and generally consist of a maki wrap with sliced cucumbers inside. Making this kind of sushi at home is a wonderful idea because it will allow you to practice the technique without going overboard. As cucumbers are very  simple to cut, they are ideal for honing your sushi rolling techniques without destroying expensive materials.

Sushi called kappa maki is frequently offered as a palate cleanser for adults or as a component of meals for children and finicky eaters. It is called after the cucumber-loving Japanese kappa monster, which also has a little resemblance to the vegetable. Yes, you may add other veggies or fillings to make this cucumber roll more interesting, but when done right, the classic’s simplicity is truly something to appreciate.

10. Dynamite Roll

The dynamite roll, which is explosive and unconventional, differs from sushi restaurant to sushi restaurant, but certain elements are always the same. The dynamite roll is always made with rice on the outside, followed by nori and the fillings, which include pieces of tempura shrimp, crisp cucumber spears, and chilled avocado. It is topped with tobiko or masago, which is essentially simply fish roe. On occasion, mayonnaise is also spread on the roll’s exterior or inside. In actuality, the roll is uramaki in style, with the nori concealed by the rice.

It’s crucial to remember that the dynamite roll can differ significantly depending on the restaurant. While some variations use raw mango on the outside of the roll, others do use raw salmon. Usually, the roll is just topped with black and white sesame seeds.

So why is it called a roll of dynamite? Some sushi chefs believe that the poached shrimp should resemble a dynamite fuse because its tail should protrude from one end of the roll.

11. Veggie Futomaki

Futomaki may sound like an unusual sort of sushi, but it is actually a fat maki roll that is commonly consumed during Japanese holidays and celebrations.To keep all of the mouthwatering ingredients inside of futomaki rolls in place, the nori is usually on the exterior. This sushi is occasionally prepared so that each piece displays an artistic design, such as a written character or a flower.

A collection of little sushi rolls made into a single, enormous maki is frequently used as part of the design of the more ornamental Futomaki. Futomaki is one of those foods that often doesn’t contain any raw fish, though the fillings can vary. The primary ingredients of these rolls are frequently pickled daikon radish, tempura shrimp, preserved gourd, and other veggies.

12. Teriyaki Roll

A roll that combines teriyaki chicken, teriyaki beef, and teriyaki shrimp with rice and nori is a great way to start a conversation if you’re not a huge sushi fan in general or are attempting to explain the concept to children or the uninitiated. Although you won’t find a teriyaki roll almost anywhere in Japan, uramaki rolls, including sushi rice, nori, teriyaki chicken, teriyaki beef, and/or teriyaki shrimp, are frequently served alongside more mainstream rolls, nigiri, and sashimi in the United States.

The New Zealand Herald claims that teriyaki chicken rolls helped spread the word to places that might not have otherwise been interested in maki, nigiri, sashimi, and sushi. Tokyo Mutual Trading Co. ‘s Yoshiharu Takagi and New Zealander Nick Katsoulis introduced the teriyaki chicken roll to New Zealanders in the early 1990s as a way to gradually expose them to sushi. Eventually, businesspeople were able to capitalize on the roll’s success, significantly increase their selection, and open sushi restaurant franchises on the island.

13. Kanpyo Maki

The main ingredient in kanpyo maki, sometimes called kampyo maki, is preserved gourd, a Japanese delicacy. As a palate cleanser, this maki is usually offered near the end of the meal.

This sushi gourd has a hue that is nearly identical to a mushroom and a flavor that strikes a balance between savory and sweet notes. If you don’t like rolls with raw salmon and eel, it’s worth looking for because it’s a straightforward meal that, when done right, has a lot of flavor.  

To make kanpyo, a gourd is marinated in soy sauce and sugar after being soaked in water for hours until it becomes soft, salted, then boiled until it is extremely tender. It is a time-consuming method that produces delicious results, and whether or not one is avoiding seafood, any sushi fan should try it.

14. Tiger Roll

This uramaki was made without causing any harm to tigers. To put it simply, a tiger roll is just a roll with tempura-fried shrimp along with nori and the typical seasoned sushi rice. The tiger prawns that are typically used in the dish are the source of the term “tiger roll.” The majority of restaurants also top the roll with avocado and cucumber. However, before placing your order, ask your server to confirm the ingredients. To add their own unique twist to the roll, sushi chefs can simply use ingredients like imitation crab or poached shrimp in place of tempura-fried shrimp.

Just a few items will get you started if you want to make tiger rolls at home, which can be a great way to introduce youngsters to sushi. Spread your layer of seasoned, cooked, and chilled sushi rice on your sushi mat after first placing a sheet of nori on it. Place the avocado, cucumber, and shrimp tempura lengthwise on the nori, with the shrimp tail protruding from the roll after flipping the rice side onto the mat. Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce after tightly rolling and sealing.

15. Tamago Roll

Most of us are probably not very familiar with tamago rolls, also known as tamagoyaki. The Japanese rolled omelet known as tamago or tamagoyaki is made by continuously folding extremely thin layers of cooked egg. Made with eggs, soy, rice vinegar, and sugar, the meal has a hint of sweetness and can be eaten as a nigiri, which is a rice ball with sliced tamagoyaki pressed in, or inside a roll with sushi rice and nori. Although it is popular as a kind of dessert or even a palette cleanser, it can be served at any stage of the sushi meal.

It’s interesting to note that a tamago roll was originally seen as a sign of a skilled sushi chef rather than the dish itself. The combination of this savory and sweet omelet showcased the sushi chef’s abilities, known as itamae. A tamagoyaki that is sloppy or broken is an indication of insufficient patience and competence, whereas one that is expertly rolled and layered demonstrates a skilled chef who is aware of the timing and accuracy required to create the ideal meal.

16. Oshinko

Another straightforward yet delicious vegetarian sushi option that is sometimes overlooked by sushi eateries outside of Japan is Oshinko. As The Japanese Bar noted, Oshinko typically includes pickled daikon radish, but it can also include a range of other pickled vegetables, including gobo, carrot, and cabbage.

Usually brilliant yellow in color, the pickled radish is served straight up in a classic maki roll. It’s another choice that might not be substantial enough to serve as a dinner on its own, but it’s a terrific roll to order at a Japanese restaurant to complement the sushi menu.

Despite being a straightforward roll, Oshinko requires a lot of background work. Before being served, daikon radish is frequently fermented for months on end, giving it a crisp bite that is both sour and spicy. Typically, daikon is picked in the fall and fermented and pickled for the remainder of the year.

17. Unagi Roll

Unagi rolls have eel in them. Rest assured that the eel always contains cooked fish before you get upset about raw eel. Given that eel is rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein, unagi is a great option for people who are health-conscious yet don’t like raw fish.

While its Japanese counterpart, Anago, is more popular outside, Unagi is often offered domestically. Due to overfishing and eel growers’ failure to meet demand, the popularity of unagi does raise certain sustainability concerns.

When it comes to preparation, unagi is typically gutted and filleted before being basted in unagi sauce, which is made up of mirin, sugar, soy, and sake. After that, it is either grilled or steam-cooked, which allows a coating of smoke to infiltrate the flesh and give it a distinct and delectable flavor.

18. Inari Roll

Also known as inarizushi, inari sushi is typically prepared at home and isn’t found on the menus of many sushi or Japanese restaurants. This is because, instead of being a typical sushi maki or uramaki roll, it’s more of a pocket. In inari, a pocket of aburaage, a deep-fried tofu skin, holds the seasoned sushi rice flecked with black and white sesame seeds. On occasion, chicken can be included, along with veggies including avocado, carrots, and mushrooms. Since these tasty “pockets” are frequently made to be rather sweet, they are a popular kid’s snack in Japan.

Fortunately, these pockets only need to be stuffed; rolling is not necessary for home cooks who wish to try their hand at making Inari rolls. You’ll need to find some aburaage,  which is typically accessible in the canned or freezer sections of Asian grocery shops. There’s no need to season them because they’re already marinated. After taking them out of the can, reheat them slightly, and then fill them with cooked and seasoned sushi rice and any additional foods you choose, such as veggies, chicken, or poached shrimp.

19. Tako

The prospect of eating an octopus may not appeal to those who dislike raw fish but don’t discount it until you give it a try. Tako is cuttlefish, squid, or boiling octopus. Instead of being found within maki rolls, it is usually seen in nigiri or sashimi. Although there are several steps involved in preparing an octopus, boiling is nearly always used to tenderize the meat and enhance its sweet taste.

When cooked properly, tako is tender and melts on your lips. An octopus’s silky flavor is typically the product of a chef taking a long time to tenderize it just right. The meaty taste of the octopus may surprise you if you close your eyes and ignore the suckers on the flesh. You may end up ordering this sushi with flourish the next time you’re in a sushi restaurant because you like it so much.

20. Volcano Roll

Another dish with a misleading name is a volcano roll. If you’re at a restaurant, it’s advisable to ask what ingredients go into preparing this eye-catching sushi dish. In essence, a volcano roll is a cut maki roll placed in a pyramid shape and topped with different sauces and toppings to resemble a volcano exploding. Although the sushi slices are typically thinned to make room for the copious toppings, the chef ultimately decides what goes inside the roll.

Although raw fish rolls are also frequently utilized, California rolls or any other sushi with fake crab are typically used to make the base of a volcano roll. It’s important to ask what the volcano roll contains before ordering a huge portion that you might not finish if you want to keep your order full of cooked foods.

Final Words

This is our ultimate guide to sushi without raw fish. Sushi is a versatile and delicious dish that can be enjoyed in countless ways, even without raw fish. Whether you prefer cooked seafood, vegetarian options, or unique fusion rolls, there are plenty of alternatives that deliver the same satisfying flavors and textures. Ingredients like tempura shrimp, grilled eel, avocado, cucumber, tofu, and even fruits offer creative and delicious sushi experiences.

For those who may not enjoy raw fish or have dietary restrictions, sushi remains an exciting and flavorful option. With so many possibilities, you can explore and enjoy sushi in a way that suits your taste while still experiencing the essence of this beloved Japanese cuisine. So, next time you crave sushi, don’t hesitate to try a roll without raw fish—you might just discover a new favorite!

Frequently Asked Questions