Disaster! Sushi Gets the Better of Caroline :(

The best of the best. I used a whole nori sheet for 1 roll. I should have used a half of one.

I've put off posting this cause I'm thoroughly embarrassed by my utter failure Tuesday evening. I attempted to make low carb sushi. I used nori, canned tuna, cucumber, avocado, shrimp, miracle rice (made by the same company that makes the miracle noodles I posted about), cream cheese, and sesame seeds.

On my first few tries the roll got too wet and fell apart due to the rice holding water. It became a soggy mess. No matter how sharp my knife, I ended up squishing the roll when I attempted to cut it. So eventually  I stopped using the rice. It doesn't stick together like normal rice because it contains no starch. Oh, and it goes everywhere! ALL over my countertop! *sigh*

No, I don't have hairy hands- that's my boyfriend. :)

So I gave up on the rice and just used avocado, shrimp, cucumber, and cream cheese in my nori. Those were the only ones that turned out acceptable. The tuna ones would have been edible if I had used real rice and had fried the roll like they do at Hibachi restaurants. So, if you do want sushi, let me warn you that while it's possible, it is not an easy task. You will need:

Sheets of nori, cut in half
1 avocado
1/4 lb cooked, peeled, de-tailed shrimp, sliced in half lengthwise (good luck with that)
1/2 cucumber, julienned, about 4" long
1/4 block of cream cheese
Bamboo mat
small bowl of water
Yum Yum sauce (optional- recipe below this one)
The sharpest knife you own

Lay out the mat and place half a nori sheet on it. On the edge nearest to you, place your fillings so they all lay one way. You may need to wet your hands and roll the cream cheese between your fingers to create a log like shape. Dip your fingers into the water bowl and wet the opposite edge of the nori so that when you roll it up, it will stick. Fold the nori over using the mat while using your fingers to tuck in your fillings. Roll very tightly using the mat. Place roll seal-side down and pinch the roll near the end. With light sawing motions, cut through the nori at one inch intervals. Pinching the roll keeps it from getting squished by the knife. If you've never done this, it's hard. It will most likely take you 2 or 3 times to get the technique correct. Place filling side up onto a plate, drizzle with the Yum Yum sauce, and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on top.

Note: Make your Yum Yum sauce first and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours.

Here's a YouTube link that shows you how to roll sushi.

Yum Yum Sauce:

Ingredients:
1 tsp tomato paste
1 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 and 1/4 c. mayonnaise
1 tsp Splenda or Truvia
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 c. water

Whisk together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

After thoughts: The rolls pictured were pretty good; they were some of the last ones I rolled.
I think the "rice" would be good instead in a soup with chicken, or even in some sugar free vanilla pudding with tapioca flavoring, since real tapioca is pretty much starch. The rice is small, gelatinous pearls.