I had a year break for updating my blog - with many reasons. Now I'll start again but not as frequently as I could do before.
Starting with one that quite simple - as long as you can make right sushi rice.
Ingredients (for 12 pieces):
- 6 slices of Oage (can be found in any Japanese glossary shop, usually packed in 2 or 3 and frozen)
- 1/2 cup Men-tsuyu (can be found in any Japanese glossary shop, or you can prepare Vegan one following bellow section)
- 1 cup water
- Sushi rice (prepare following the linked page but summary of ingredients are below):
- 3 cups short grain rice, Japanese, Korean or Chinese one
- 3 T sake
- water as needed (see detail in the linked page above)
- 150 ml sushi vinegar or below a)
a) 135 ml rice wine
a) 90g sugar
a) 30g salt
* some hot water for cleaning oage
<How to prepare Vegan Men-tsuyu>
Men-tsuyu is a typical sweet soy sauce base sauce, used for eating soba, templa and many other Japanese cousins.
You can buy one in bottle at Japanese glossary shop like here, or you can make them at home.
Proper Men-tshuyu requires a proper dashi, made from konbu and dried fish flakes.
Since my mother in law is almost vegan, this recipe is complete vegan style.
Ingredients:
- 1 thumb nail size cut of Kombu
- 3 heap T sugar
- 1 T sake (Japanese rice wine)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
Put all in a sauce pan, leave it for 10 minutes, then gently boil them with melting sugar by medium heat. Take kombu once the sauce start to boil, then stop the heat.
I usually make in much larger quantity, bottle them and keep it in fridge - it can last for a month.
It is concentrated; you'll need to add some water if you want to use it for templa or soba.
<How to prepare Inari slices>
1. Usually, sold oage has too much oil remained in it, we need to clean them first. Cut the oage slices into 2 pieces, so you can make 2 bags from 1 slice, then soak them in a bowl of boiling hot water. You can use from freezer directly, it will melt in the hot water.
2. Carefully squeeze the hot water out from pieces, then pat dry each piece of oage between kitchen paper to take off remained oil and water out.
3. Place Men-tsuyu, water, and slices of oage in a sauce pan, start cooking in low heat, move them around, up and down to make all slices well cooked in the sauce until almost no sauce remain in the pan. Take them out on a plate and leave it to cool down.
<How to prepare Inari zushi>
3. Prepare sushi rice - see this page.
4. Carefully open every inari pieces as bags without breaking them. If inari doesn't open easily as a bag and this is difficult, then place the inari on cutting board or clean surface of kitchen table, roll over by a cooking pin (or any clean roll should do).
5. Place about 2 to 3 table spoon of rice in each inari, lightly pressed in to bottom of bag by the spoon, then fold to close the bag and place it up side down.
6. Serve it with slices of gari and soy sauce if you prefer.
Note: sushi rice gets really hard and dry taste once you keep them in fridge. Don't worry, Inari is tasty in warm too; place on a plate, cover by clingfilm, you can warm them in microwave for a minutes or so, then it will be back to same soft nice taste. Of cause you don't do this to the sushi with fish!
Starting with one that quite simple - as long as you can make right sushi rice.
Inari zushi
Sushi rice wrapped in a deep fried tofu call "Oage", seasoned in sweet soy sauce flavor.
Everyone like this.Ingredients (for 12 pieces):
- 6 slices of Oage (can be found in any Japanese glossary shop, usually packed in 2 or 3 and frozen)
- 1/2 cup Men-tsuyu (can be found in any Japanese glossary shop, or you can prepare Vegan one following bellow section)
- 1 cup water
- Sushi rice (prepare following the linked page but summary of ingredients are below):
- 3 cups short grain rice, Japanese, Korean or Chinese one
- 3 T sake
- water as needed (see detail in the linked page above)
- 150 ml sushi vinegar or below a)
a) 135 ml rice wine
a) 90g sugar
a) 30g salt
* some hot water for cleaning oage
<How to prepare Vegan Men-tsuyu>
Men-tsuyu is a typical sweet soy sauce base sauce, used for eating soba, templa and many other Japanese cousins.
You can buy one in bottle at Japanese glossary shop like here, or you can make them at home.
Proper Men-tshuyu requires a proper dashi, made from konbu and dried fish flakes.
Since my mother in law is almost vegan, this recipe is complete vegan style.
Ingredients:
- 1 thumb nail size cut of Kombu
- 3 heap T sugar
- 1 T sake (Japanese rice wine)
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
Put all in a sauce pan, leave it for 10 minutes, then gently boil them with melting sugar by medium heat. Take kombu once the sauce start to boil, then stop the heat.
I usually make in much larger quantity, bottle them and keep it in fridge - it can last for a month.
It is concentrated; you'll need to add some water if you want to use it for templa or soba.
<How to prepare Inari slices>
1. Usually, sold oage has too much oil remained in it, we need to clean them first. Cut the oage slices into 2 pieces, so you can make 2 bags from 1 slice, then soak them in a bowl of boiling hot water. You can use from freezer directly, it will melt in the hot water.
2. Carefully squeeze the hot water out from pieces, then pat dry each piece of oage between kitchen paper to take off remained oil and water out.
3. Place Men-tsuyu, water, and slices of oage in a sauce pan, start cooking in low heat, move them around, up and down to make all slices well cooked in the sauce until almost no sauce remain in the pan. Take them out on a plate and leave it to cool down.
<How to prepare Inari zushi>
3. Prepare sushi rice - see this page.
4. Carefully open every inari pieces as bags without breaking them. If inari doesn't open easily as a bag and this is difficult, then place the inari on cutting board or clean surface of kitchen table, roll over by a cooking pin (or any clean roll should do).
5. Place about 2 to 3 table spoon of rice in each inari, lightly pressed in to bottom of bag by the spoon, then fold to close the bag and place it up side down.
6. Serve it with slices of gari and soy sauce if you prefer.
Note: sushi rice gets really hard and dry taste once you keep them in fridge. Don't worry, Inari is tasty in warm too; place on a plate, cover by clingfilm, you can warm them in microwave for a minutes or so, then it will be back to same soft nice taste. Of cause you don't do this to the sushi with fish!
