What are sushi tacos?

There is a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia called Mr Miyagi and in another life, I tried their sushi tacos. Nori sheets were cut into circles then dipped in a tempura batter and kind of folded in half, to resemble a hard-shell taco, while being deep fried. These were then stuffed with a few choices of fish and sauces.

They were delicious! Expensive but delicious. and this got me thinking.. because I already know these ingredients are not that hard to get and prepare, so why spend all this money to have it done at a restaurant?

This inspired me to try my own version at home. I used to make all my own tempura flakes so this part was pretty straight forward. The hardest part of the whole process was getting the nori to resemble a hard-shell taco. I used wooden chopsticks to fold the sides in while it all sizzled in my vat of oil. It was a bit of a skill-issue but one that can be perfected over practice.

What to put in sushi tacos

For the filling, I did a few different variations but feel free to experiment – you can’t really go wrong! Here is my sushi rice recipe.

Spicy salmon, avocado, purple onion, rice and green onions
Soy marinated tuna in a sesame oil marinade, avocado, rice and green onions
Salmon, avocado, rice and green onions  (I used undesirable pieces of salmon for some reason; be better than me)

Layer rice into the bottom of your fried nori and then stuff them, just like you would stuff a Mexican taco. It was fun to make but to be honest, it was quite time consuming and finicky. Sushi tacos are a bit of a gimmick but could be a popular party trick to impress friends and family. Or even to impress yourself.