Shrimp Sushi Bowls

These easy Shrimp Sushi Bowls can be made at home in minutes!  These easy-to-assemble sushi bowls are great for lunch, dinner, and meal prep.

As much as I love sushi, it's one of those things I never make at home. Honestly, I am just a bit too lazy for all the rolling and precise knife work involved.

However, these quick and easy spicy shrimp sushi bowls are a whole other story. They are so easy to make and taste seriously delicious. 

Plus they can easily be customized to include all your favorite sushi flavors including these tasty Salmon Sushi Bowls. 

How to Make Shrimp Sushi Bowls

Let's talk about how easy these sushi bowls are to make! 

1. Choose the base

You are going to want to start with rice. You can use any kind of rice you like - brown rice, sushi rice, cauliflower rice, or a combination.  Or start with greens for a lower-carb option.

If you want this to be really easy, use frozen brown rice and cook it slightly less than the package calls for if you want a cold rice bowl.  It works warm as well - totally up to you. Then to make the rice more flavorful, we add rice vinegar and soy sauce. You could also drizzle in some sesame oil if you like, but that isn't traditionally used.

2. Cook the shrimp

Start with pre-cooked shrimp, like what is used in shrimp cocktail, for the fastest option. Or you can bake, poach, or saute raw shrimp in a skillet with a splash of oil. Just make sure to peel the shrimp and let them cool.

If you want to make spicy shrimp sushi bowls, it all starts with homemade spicy mayo. You need a combination of mayonnaise, Sriracha, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Leave out the soy sauce for a gluten-free option.

You could also simply stir together mayo and Sriracha or an Asian chili paste, like sambal olek. Personally, I like the extra kick of the vinegar and soy sauce. Toss this with the cooked, chopped shrimp and you are ready to eat.

One quick side note. For a more authentic flavor, you will want to use Japanese mayo, also called Kewpie. It's richer than traditional mayo and made with rice vinegar. If you opt to use this, leave out the rice vinegar from the sauce.

If you prefer not to use spicy mayo, I recommend tossing the shrimp in some soy sauce and sesame oil, similar to how a poke bowl would be prepared. 

3. Choose the toppings

Next comes the toppings. Anything could work here and you can channel all your favorite sushi rolls or just use what you have at home.

The most popular toppings are cucumbers (Persian or English cucumbers), carrots, edamame, green onion, and avocado. You could also add some red cabbage for color.

Then sushi needs some nori, or seaweed. The easiest option is a snack-size container of dried seaweed or nori sheets. Chop them into strips and sprinkle right on top.

Then add some pickled ginger as well if you like. I can find it at the grocery store. In my grocery store, they sell it near the prepared sushi in a small plastic cup. You could make your own too.

Then add some extra spicy sriracha mayo, sesame seeds, and furikake if you like.

Make Your Sushi Bowls with a Different Protein

There are so many easy ways to customize this recipe and make it your own. 

• Fresh Tuna: For a spicy tuna sushi bowl, swap in fresh sushi-grade raw tuna for the shrimp. You can either cut it into cubes for a more poke-style bowl or dice it for a more sushi-style bowl.
• Canned Tuna: Believe it or not, this is pretty delicious with canned tuna. It's kind of like an Asian spicy tuna salad and it's delicious.
• Tofu: For a vegetarian option, you can use cooked tofu or baked packaged tofu. You could also opt for all veggies and just top it with spicy mayo.
• Imitation or fresh crab: For a California roll sushi bowl, use fresh or imitation crab meat. Most California rolls are made with imitation crab meat.
• Salmon: Sushi-grade raw salmon or cooked salmon is another great option for these healthy sushi bowls.

Meal Prep Sushi Bowls

I love making these healthy sushi bowls for meal prep. Usually, I layer the rice and all the toppings (except the avocado) and then pack the spicy shrimp mixture separately. Then just toss them together when you are ready to eat.

Since this dish is great cold, you don't have to worry about heating anything up at work. You can also switch out the rice for noodles or even lettuce wraps to mix up the flavors during the week.