Easy Inari Sushi Recipe

Konnichiwa people! No, I am not currently in Japan, but I just had Japanese food. *Grins*

I started a little tardy with the blog post this week. It has been a pretty busy week so far. I have not been trading (Fx) for almost a month now and work officially starts next week. It is always hard to go back to work after being in the relaxation mode for quite a bit.

My eldest brother got married recently, thus we have a new member in the family. It is invariably a time for adjustment when something novel occurs.

The cons of having someone new in the family.

1. I have to share the kitchen with someone else.
2. Getting used to working in the kitchen with someone else.

YES, if you noticed, it is ALL ABOUT THE KITCHEN. I know I behave like a kitchen goddess at times. Tsk.

The pros:

1. Someone taking care of my brother and his little daughter.
2. Another person in the house that actually love to cook, so we can take turns to cook. There are times where I just wanna relax, so having someone else to share the kitchen workload helps.
3. Since she comes from a different country, we get to taste the cuisines from other countries and I am totally cool with that.

Although she loves to cook, she doesn’t bake, which is not a bad thing because I am possessive about my oven and Kitchen Aid. 😉

Talking about oven, I baked the wedding cake for their nuptial ceremony. A very simple one, but I am fairly satisfied with how it eventually turned out, considering that it took me less than a day to work on the cakes.

Going back to these, 

These are called Inari Sushi. Repeat after me people. It’s I-na-ri.

You people are smart! ♥

For those of you who are not familiar with Sushi, it is actually a very famous food that originate from Japan and it has gained millions of fans across the globe. People from all round the world are embracing Japanese cuisine for its intricacy, health benefits and simplicity. Sushi starts with some short grain cooked rice that has been flavored with vinegar, salt and sugar. It is then topped/rolled with other ingredients like vegetables, seafood or even eggs. Sushi actually comes in all forms and sizes.

Inari Sushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi. This type of sushi is one of the easiest to make and can be a great snack by itself. Inari sushi is a tasty vegetarian sushi that is made by simply stuffing Inari fried tofu pockets with sushi rice. Inari sushi is perfect for people who do not consume raw seafood *waves* or seaweed (like my mom). Most of my family members do not consume sushi, but they would gladly tuck it to Inari sushi.

Inari sushi mostly serves as a tasty vegetarian sushi, but if you prefer a non vegetarian version, you can top the sushi with egg mayo or tuna mayo, which is a favorite in my household!

The deep-fried tofu pouches come in a variety of different ways, but the easiest way is to use pre-made Inari sushi pouches. If you are not able to find the premade ones, you can use fried tofu puffs instead. That’s exactly what I did.

For those of you, who are daunted by the idea of cooking the sushi rice, DON’T BE. It is actually not rocket science and most sites make it sound harder than it is. If you know how to cook rice, you can definitely cook sushi rice too!

Steps to cooking sushi rice

Step ONE: Measure. Wash. Soak. Drain.

Let’s suppose you are making sushi for 2 people. So you would measure out 1 cup of rice. Wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain.

Step TWO: Cook the rice

You would require equal proportions of water and rice. Since we used 1 cup of rice, therefore we would need 1 cup of water as well. Put the water and rice in a pot or a rice cooker and cook as per normal. I would invariably use a rice cooker for convenience so that I can get busy with my own thing while it is performing its own thing too.

Step THREE: Measure and mix the flavoring to the rice.

A good rule of thumb would be to add 4 tbsp of rice vinegar, 2 tbsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt to 2 cups of sushi rice. Put this in a bowl and mix till the sugar is dissolved. You can also do this in the microwave.

Step FOUR: Mix the rice and the flavoring

Once the rice is cooked, place it on a large platter and mix the flavoring. Traditionally the sushi chefs would fan the rice to bring the temperature down to room temperature asap. This is believed to dedicate that extra “shine” to the sushi rice. Alternatively, you can just cover the rice with a damp cloth until ready to use. This ensures that the rice does not dry out.The rice is now ready to be used. I assure as easy it is sounding, it IS that simple.

For those of you who would want to see a step by step tutorial for cooking the sushi rice, You can check this link out. Just as I have said earlier, most websites tend to make it look a tad more tedious than it actually is. So you might want to refer to the steps written above instead.

This Easy Inari sushi recipe yields really delicious sushi. If you believe it is difficult to make Sushi at home, this Inari Sushi Recipe might just twist things round for you. They are ‘oh so good and surprisingly easy to make. Serve these to your guests and I am sure these sushi will be attaining a permanent impression on your family and friends.

Easy Inari Sushi Recipe

 

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Author: Maya Kitchenette

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Ready made Inari sushi pouches (Aburaage)
• or make you own with the recipe below

For the tofu pouches

• 1.5 cups water
• 3 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce (shoyu)
• 3 Tbsp sugar

To cook the sushi rice:

• 1 cup short grain/sushi/calrose rice
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Sushi topping

• 1 can of tuna flakes in brine
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• freshly cracked black pepper.
• ½ small onion - chopped

Instructions

1. Roll the tofu puffs with a rolling pin a couple of times to flatten them.
2. Cut one side of each tofu and boil the tofu in some hot water for a minute to remove the excess oil. Drain well.
3. In a pot, place the 1.5 cups water, 3 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce and 3 Tbsp sugar. Bring to a boil.
4. Once it boils, add the puffed tofu and cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Drain the tofu pouches and let it cool down for at least an hour while you cook the sushi rice.
6. You can also prepare the tofu pouches, one day in advance.

For the rice

1. Wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, drain and place the rice and a cup of water in a rice cooker and cook as per normal.
3. Once the rice is cooked, place it on a large platter and mix in the flavoring.
4. You can fan (with a magazine or baking sheet) the rice if you need to use it immediately OR you can just cover the rice with a damp cloth if you are using it later.
5. Once the rice is at room temperature, make 10 small oblong rice balls (there may be leftover rice).
6. Stuff the rice inside the tofu pouches.
7. At this stage, the sushi is ready and these vegetarian sushi can be serve with wasabi and some japanese soy sauce.
8. If you want to take the sushi a step further, you can make the topping as follow.

For the topping

1. In a bowl, mix all the four ingredients.
2. Place a teaspoon of this filling on top of the Inari sushi
3. Top with sesame seeds or chili flakes.

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