Inari

Everybody loves Inari Sushi

It’s true! I have never, ever met people who don’t like this Japanese ultimate comfort food – vinegar rice stuffed in seasoned fried bean curd. With few ingredients – no fish is involved here - the recipe is also a simple affair and seems like there is no room for improvement, it’s perfect!

NHK’s Tameshite Gatten (試してガッテン) Tested and Assent (roughly translated) science team thought otherwise however… a nation wide taste test show they got 90% inari approval rating..What is their secret? Lose the sugar in the sushi rice. Adding sugar in both pouches and rice muddle the flavor. Really? I have to try their method. I have a inari expert who lives right under my roof and he is very honest.

Ingredients and Instruction for 12 inari sushi (Print recipe here)

• 6 thin deep fried bean curd (油揚げ) 
• 5 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (I used gluten free soy sauce)
• 300ml (1 and 1/2 cup) water
• Just cooked warm rice (cook 2 rice cooker cups with 360ml of water in rice cooker). See step #3
• 75 ml rice vinegar Note: not sushi vinegar
• 4g of salt
• 2 Tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds (optional)

1. Remove some of the oil from fried bean curd by immersing in hot water for 3 minutes. Drain water and gently squeeze the water out. Cut in half then open the pouch. Watch Japanese YouTube on how to open easily here. Lay the un-cut bean curd in a single layer on the plate and microwave for 1 minute on 60% power, cut in half and voila!
   
2. Boil sugar, soy sauce and water in a medium sauce pan. Put fried bean curd in and cook until almost all the liquid is evaporated at medium high heat. About 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan. Set aside.
3. While the bean curds are cooking and cooling, cook rice if you have not done so already. You want a slightly firmer rice for this recipe.
4. Mix vinegar and salt well in a small glass measuring cup. Set it aside.
5. When the rice is done. divide rice into 6ths or 8ths in the rice cooker. Sprinkle the vinegar mixture from perimeter of rice cooker, then turn out to a large bowl. Fold over the rice with rice paddle while cooling down with a fan or magazine. Mix in the toasted sesame seeds at this point if using. Cover with moist towel until needed.
   
6. Stuff rice into the pouch –do not over stuff, you will probably have some left over rice. Have a small bowl of water nearby to moisten your hands to prevent rice from sticking to your hand. I turned the pouch inside out on some for fun looks. Serve with pickled ginger.
   We tested and we assent! This is a winner!

There are many wild chickens roaming around my daughter’s house in Hawaii. They are early risers and I can hear them through the open window…good for you but please let me sleep in…wait… that’s my grandchildren, “Go back to bed!”!

I heard my 3 years old grandson screaming one afternoon as he was being chased by one of the mean chickens.  I wish he could eat this chicken inari up as revenge.

Oink! A pig inari for my lunch.Fellow food blogger Cooking Gallery published a cook book ‘Bento Delight’ recently. I planned on purchasing it but life got in the way….you know. I have two problematic issues - that my fingers are too fat to make delicate character bento and the second, I don’t have patience. It’s going to be a fine read nonetheless.

Abundant! While I was in Hawaii, beside the strawberries, our gumi plant and raspberry shortcake are also waiting for me to devour them!Which I made trifle for Father’s Day. I spread the gumi jam my husband made on the pound cake I baked…team effort.

Father’s Day Sunday was hectic. Came home from church service, I hustled to fixed cream cheese center kimkatsu roll for dinner. Delish!

My children have a terrific dad. He scores high with the grandchildren also. This was taken in 1977 in Nagasaki, Japan. Nice hair!