Do you think people regularly make sushi at home in Japan?
In fact, the answer is no. This is especially true for NIGIRI sushi, high quality raw fish over rice. We often go out and eat this at a specialty restaurant.
Then, what kind of sushi people do make at home in Japan???
Today’s recipe is a pretty popular homemade sushi which is great for a house party and lunch box. Each family has their own recipe.
Mine is mixing sushi rice together with hijiki seaweed wrapped with a sweet soy sauce based fried tofu. It's juicy and well balanced with savory and sweet.
Also I already posted Chirashi sushi which is another famous authentic sushi in Japan.
Today's recipe needs a little more effort comparing to my usual recipes, but it's definitely worth trying it out!
<Inari sushi/ 稲荷寿司>
＜Yield> 3 servings
<Prep time> 15 minutes (doesn’t include rice soaking time)
<Cook time> 40 minutes
<Ingredients>
Sushi rice
160ml water
2 tablespoons Sushi vinegar
Fried tofu wrapper
5 pieces thin fried tofu
Seasoning A
200ml water
3 tablespoons Soy sauce
3 tablespoons Mirin
3 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons sugar
<Optional toppings>
carrots
thinly sliced egg omelette
herbs
cucumber
<Directions>
1. Rinse the sushi rice and soak in water for an hour. Drain the water and cook with 160ml of water.
2. Make the hijiki seaweed according to this separate recipe.
3. Place the thin fried tofu on a cutting board. Place a single chopstick over the fried tofu then roll around from one side to the other by pressing. Cut the tofu in half and put your finger into the cut to open the tofu carefully. Remove the excess oil from the fried tofu by pouring boiling hot water (1000ml) over it. Let it cool down and squeeze out the water carefully. In a pot, place in the fried tofu and the ingredients listed under "Seasoning A". Simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Let it cool down.
4. In a big bowl, place the steaming hot cooked sushi rice and drizzle with sushi vinegar over the rice. Mix them by cutting it with spatula as you fan the rice. When the rice has completely cooled down, add in the hijiki seaweed (step 2). Roughly mix everything together. Divide the rice mixture into 10 and make 10 rice balls.
5. Stuff your rice ball into thin fried tofu (step 3). Make sure the rice is fully stuffed into the thin fried tofu, including the corners. Close and shape by gently patting it. Garnish with some toppings if you want to. Now it's ready to be served!
<Miwa’s tips>
・The rice needs to be sticky sushi rice.
・You can swap hijiki seaweed for toasted sesame seeds.
・This fried tofu is quite breakable. Make sure to squeeze gently in step 2.
・It's important to drizzle on the sushi vinegar while the rice is still hot in order to let the vinegar absorb into the rice grains.
・Thin fried tofu is usually coated with old oil, it’s very important to remove it before you season them. The hot water needs to be boiling hot in order to remove the old oil.
・Better to eat on the same day since the rice easily dries out.
<Recommended side dishes>
Spicy cucumber pickle
<Storage time>
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
<MIWA’s recommendations♡>
-Please check out beautiful Japanese tableware to decorate your table! Use my code MIWA to get 5% off from your purchase!
-If you need very sharp quality knife, I highly recommend this handmade Japanese knife made by 80 years old Japanese maker!
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