This is another popular picnic
dish, particularly with children who like its sweet flavor. The tofu
should be prepared while the rice is cooking (or beforehand) as the
rice has to be warm so that it can be packed into the tofu. Wasabi
is not used for this Inari-sushi.
Ingredients
- fried tofu (aburage) - 6 sheet
- bonito stock or instant dashi
and kombu - 200ml/7fl oz/scant 1 cup
- sugar - 45ml/3 tbsp
- soy sauce - 37.5ml/7½ tsp
- sake or dry white wine - 30ml/2
tbsp
- mirin - 30ml/2 tbsp
- dash of rice vinegar
- gari (ginger pickles) - to
garnish
For the rice
- Japanese rice - 240g/8½ oz/1⅛
cups
- sake - 15ml/1 tbsp
For the sushi vinegar
- rice vinegar - 30ml/2 tbsp
- sugar - 15ml/1 tbsp
- salt - 2.5ml/½ tsp
Method
- Lay a sheet of dried tofu on a
board. Using a chopstick as a rolling pin, roll the tofu, this
will ensure that it opens easily when boiled.
- Bring a large saucepan of water
to the boil and blanch the tofu to remove excess fat, then drain
and squeeze it.
- Cut the sheet of tofu in half
width ways, then carefully open out with a knife to make 12 small
sacks or pockets.
- Bring the stock, sugar, soy
sauce, sake or wine, mirin and rice vinegar to the boil. Add the
tofu, cover with folded foil and simmer until the liquid has
virtually evaporates.
- Pressing the foil down
occasionally to squeeze the soup from the tofu and prevent the
packets from filling. Drain and cool.
- Heat the ingredients for the sushi vinegar and leave to cool.
- Cook the rice, replacing 15ml/1 tbsp of the measured cooking
water with the sake. Add the sushi vinegar to the rice and stir
well with a spatula.
- Divide the warm rice between the tofu and fold the tofu to
enclose the rice in neat parcels.
- Arrange on plates with the folded sides underneath and serve
garnished with gari. Makes 12.
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