Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls

I've decided to cook all the way through Veganomicon!  I'm so excited about this book.  Every single recipe sounded wonderful to me (with the exception of one casserole with a sauerkraut filling.....not a big fan of sauerkraut, anyway, but baked in the center of a casserole....???), so before I even made it to "Soups" on a read-through, I knew this would be my cook-through book!  I'll go recipe by recipe starting from the first page, with one recipe per pay period (twice a month).  But I'll use other recipes to fill in my menus as they work out seasonally or according to my whim...!

Recipe number one in the first chapter, "Snacks, Appetizers, Little Meals, Dips, and Spreads" is Spicy Tempeh Nori Rolls.

This was a terrific first impression.  I was so surprised by how good the tempeh filling tasted.  It was just as savory and satisfying as spicy tuna, but without the slightly repulsive (though oddly refreshing) raw fish texture.  It was not as spicy as spicy tuna rolls I've had, so I could have added more chili oil (the recipe calls for "hot chile-sesame oil" which I don't have or know of, so I used equal parts "fire oil" chile oil and toasted sesame oil).  I ate it with a simple miso soup with scallions and sauteed mushrooms.

I've made sushi rolls twice before.  In Ann Arbor, my friend from Japan had me over for a sushi tutorial.  Our making of the rolls almost kept up with our eating them!  We made something like five different fillings, and they were wonderful and beautiful.  We even did inside-out rolls and hand rolls.

Then, more recently (though still quite a while ago!), in Manahattan Beach, my friend Heather and I attempted a big plate of sushi rolls for a party.  They were so ugly, everyone was afraid to eat them!  But those of us who did eat them had a treat, because they tasted excellent.  So there you scaredy cats...

So, I'm not exactly an expert, but I've had a little experience.  These turned out quite pretty as well as tasty.