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vegan sushi at shojin! every monday night in june!
21June 11th, 2010LA restaurants, shojinthis is the month to get your vegan sushi on. why? because every monday evening in june, shojin is having a vegan sushi night, with creative rolls that will knock your socks off. that means you have three more chances to take advantage of this japanese deliciousness.
i hit up shojin with an omnivorous friend last monday, and we were beyond impressed. it was by far my best experience yet at the restaurant, and all the food was excellent. even my pal who is a big fan of non-vegan sushi thoroughly enjoyed herself and wants to go back!
fried shishito peppers with garlic scallion sauce. $5.50
to start with, i got an order of shishito peppers. these little beauties are featured on the regular shojin menu, so you can get them any night of the week. the plump flavorful peppers come in a bowl, covered in a tangy garlic scallion sauce. i was completely smitten with this appetizer—each partially dried shishito pepper omitted just the right amount of heat and seasoning. even my dining companion (who is not usually a fan of hot peppers) thought they were wonderful.
nigiri sushi combination: 6 pieces of assorted "nigiri" sushi and a spicy roll. $15.95
next up, we split a platter of nigeri sushi. this is basically the house special if you are dining at shojin on a monday evening in june…their big assorted sushi platter where they put their best foot forward. in the photos i’d seen online, the dish was riddled with bell peppers (which i HATE), but shojin was quite happy to make ours pepper-free. our platter came with 6 pieces of beautiful vegan sushi as well as a “spicy roll” (avocado, cucumber, and shiso).
the plate was artistic, mysterious, and amazing—-with toppings such as bok choy, natural vegan caviar (made of who knows what), avocado, and many more exotic vegetables i couldn’t name. or waitress even warned us when she brought the plate, that each piece of sushi was flavored and marinated, so we wouldn’t need soy sauce. she was almost right. my friend and i both agreed that the nigiri rolls were so fabulous, they needed nothing. after each bite, we’d sit and reflect about how awesome the flavor nuances were. the spicy roll, however, was a tad dry….and went down very nicely dipped in a pool of soy sauce (which i had to embarrassingly request from the waitress).
we also split the epic-sounding dynamite roll…
dynamite roll: spicy "tuna" and avocado inside, spicy mayo and green onion on top. with spicy sauce. $10.95
i can tell you, with the price and the mouth-watering menu description, i was expecting A LOT from this dish. however the action-packed roll still exceeded my expectations. i can tell you without a doubt, that this is my FAVORITE SUSHI ROLL EVER! you gotta get to shojin this month on a monday night and try it, because it’s not on the regular menu. it’s spicy, creamy, and crunchy all at the same time, with the most delicious mixture of mock tuna. they really took vegan sushi to a new level with this one.
spicy rock shiitake hand roll. $5.95
i also ordered a spicy rock shiitake hand roll on the side, which was phenomenal. the hefty little pocket came stuffed with tempura shiitake mushrooms tossed in spicy wasabi mayonnaise. the rock shiitake tempura appetizer is one of shojin’s most popular menu items, and i can say that it’s even better wrapped up in a sushi roll. this specialty roll is also absent from the main menu, so now you have another reason to hit up shojin on a monday in june.
spicy avocado salad: avocados, tomatoes and cucumber mixed with spicy mayonnaise on top of mixed greens. $6.95
my friend also ordered the spicy avocado salad to go with her meal, and while i didn’t taste it, she raved about it. shojin’s menu has a variety of appetizing salads, and everyone i’ve tried has been awesome.
also, the drinks at shojin are not to be missed! the restaurant doesn’t sell booze at the moment (they should be getting their alcohol license sometime next month), but they do have a large selection of detox elixirs. my buddy ordered some type of carrot concoction, and it was out of this world.
vegan ice cream: strawberry and mint & chip
after gorging on vegan sushi, side dishes, and appetizers, we had absolutely no room for dessert. however, our waitress wouldn’t take no for an answer and brought us two small bowls of complimentary ice cream. talk about service! we couldn’t finish them all but they were fantastic…the mint and chip one in particular! it even came with a dollop of creamy chocolate frosting. soooo good!
vegans: you must, must, MUST visit shojin at least once this month for monday sushi night. this food is so good, it has to be tasted to be believed…don’t take my word for it!
and shojin, if you are reading this, please add the dynamite roll to the regular menu! kthxbye.
oh, and be sure to follow @shojinlove on twitter.
shojin
333 S. Alameda St. Suite 310
(Little Tokyo Shopping Center 3F)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tel: 213-617-0305Monday, Tuesday
5:30pm – 10:00pm
Wednesday, Thursday
11:30am – 2:30pm,
5:30pm – 10:00pm
Friday
11:30am – 2:30pm
5:30pm – 10:30pm
Saturday,
12:00pm – 10:30pm
Sunday, Holidays
12:00pm – 10:00pmPS: while i was dining i spotted polly from veggywood.com, and she seemed to be working on a top secret special project. look out for more from her regarding shojin in the future!
Tags: downtown la, japanese, sushi
17 responses to “vegan sushi at shojin! every monday night in june!” 
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WHOA. Shojin is really such an incredible place. They blew me away with their Valentine’s Day dinner in ’09. Looks like they’ve stepped up their game yet again…I can’t wait to hit this up.
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Gregalor June 11th, 2010 at 10:44
Haha, we must’ve all been there at the same time.
It was definitely a unique experience. We broke the bank, but it was good to get something new for a change.
I got the biggest combo platter they offered, and the waitress was nice enough to warn me that it wasn’t really entree size. That was okay, because I was planning on getting other stuff anyway.
It was by far the best-looking meal I’ve ever been served. The taste didn’t knock my socks off (but really, what can you do with vegan sushi?), but it was a work of art.
And seriously, what WAS that roe? It wasn’t sesame seeds, it wasn’t quinoa. They were crunchy…
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HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! spicy rock shiitake hand roll!!!! spicy tuna! i am going to spontaneously combust skjdfhs;akjdh;rweiorhw,mefncsdhfwsder
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So glad I went to Shojin when I was in LA (based on your recommendation!). It was soooooooooo amazing.
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Gregalor June 11th, 2010 at 13:47
Anyone who hasn’t been before, I suggest trying the okara fish. It’s pretty interesting, and you can get it included in several menu items. It’s obvious to tell that the breaded little cake is filled with tofu, but they mix in bread crumbs or something to take away any sliminess/gooeyness. It makes it almost flaky. And there’s a square of nori for sea flavor.
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beenierye June 11th, 2010 at 13:52
As the omnivore friend who was lucky enough to join quarrygirl on this vegan sushi extravaganza, I just wanted to say that the caviar was the most amazing thing. I asked the waitress what it was, and I forget the name, but it’s a weird small Japanese plant (I think it begins with a T) that tastes pretty much exactly like caviar except no gross fishy taste. WAY better than other vegan caviars I’ve had that are made from seaweed. I highly recommend it, and, of course, everything else was absolutely amazing as well! Yay Shojin!
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SHOJIN rocks!! They are so creative. Can’t get enough of their ramen!
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Gregalor June 11th, 2010 at 17:18
Their seitan is the best. Not dense, rubbery, and tasteless like the packaged stuff.
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Cool, I don’t think I’ve seen that kind of vegan caviar before.
Maybe it was this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caulerpa_lentillifera(It would probably be easier if you learned to like bell peppers, since they’re just Capsicum without capsaicin.)
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Veggywood.com June 11th, 2010 at 22:12
Heehee I know what the vegan caviar is made of!!!
p.s. DON’T MISS SUSHI NIGHT! IT’S AMAZING! -
Thanks for the report on Monday sushi night (it caught my eye too!) — and I definitely agree on the deliciousness of their vegan ramen.
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[…] this roll started out as a special for shojin’s weekly sushi nights, and when i tried it, i wa…it’s spicy mock tuna mixed with avocado, then wrapped in rice and topped with spicy mayo and green onion. seriously dude, seriously, the BEST VEGAN SUSHI I HAVE EVER HAD. i was ecstatic when i saw that shojin added this to the regular menu. so please, please, PLEASE go eat it and help keep it around. i’d hate to see this item axed due to low demand. […]
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[…] first trekked out to Shojin last June to try out their vegan sushi after reading this review by Quarrygirl. I had just returned from a 2 week trip to Tokyo and I was not vegan at the time so the idea of […]
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[…] roll consists of spicy tofu tuna rolled up in rice, all topped with spicy mayo and green onion. i have raved about this thing on multiple occasions, and i cannot get enough. it usually costs $10.95, so to be able to get it […]
raspberryrush June 11th, 2010 at 10:11