Serves four If brown rice feels too worthy, use white sushi rice and cook according to packet instructions. Radish, daikon, carrots and cucumber all make good additions. For the baked tofu 200g (7oz) firm tofu, cut into 2cm (¾in) thick batons 1 tbsp finely grated ginger 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp mirin or sweet sherry 1 tbsp groundnut oil For the rice 200g (7oz) brown sushi rice or brown shortgrain rice 1 tbsp caster sugar 4 tbsp rice vinegar ½ tsp salt For the salad 100g (3½oz) frozen soy beans (edamame) 2 tbsp sesame seeds 1 large avocado, quartered, stoned, peeled and sliced 2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced 2 toasted nori sheets, cut into thin strips with scissors small handful of radish sprouts or other sprouts such as alfalfa 2 tsp wasabi paste, to serve 2 tbsp Japanese pickled ginger, drained, to serve Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Combine the tofu with the ginger, soy sauce, mirin or sherry and oil. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes or just spread out on a lined baking-sheet and cook for about 25 minutes, turning halfway, until golden.

Meanwhile, rinse the rice and cover with water. Add a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until just tender. Drain off excess water and set aside to rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Combine the sugar, rice vinegar and salt and sprinkle over the warm rice, stirring in well. Cool, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or so while you finish the rest of the salad. Blanch the soy beans in boiling water for two minutes then refresh in cold water and drain well. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying-pan until golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool. Mound the rice into four bowls and top with tofu, soy beans, avocado, spring onion, nori and radish sprouts. Scatter with sesame and serve with wasabi and pickled ginger.This post is the most exciting post yet for me! It was a genuine “Aha!” moment in my kitchen and I absolutely love it (and may get too excited about it). I will admit though, to get to the end result of DIY rice pops/crispies/krispies it was an embarrassingly obsessive rabbit hole of experiments that even in its calmest moment ended up looking like this…

It all started when a friend of mine reminded me about my long-lost love of popping your own popcorn. Which is fun, cheap and far more delicious than a bag of microwave stuff. But then I started scanning my kitchen thinking “what else can I pop?!” I started doing internet research and consulting a few books of mine and everything I read was so varied so I decided to just experiment. I had on hand: pearled barley, sushi rice and brown rice. g sushi hong kong deliveryI soaked about a tablespoon of all of them for 24 hours. food delivery london paypalThen started the popping experiment. sushi girl 2012 watch onlineMy results ended up as that board of madness above, but the results were very clear. sushi cat 2 game freak

The dried rice ended up popping far better than the soaked ones and the sushi rice was easily the most edible but sadly, none of them were great. Slightly discouraged, I did some more reading and found out that the reason rice is so hard to pop at home is because the outer shell on the rice is too hard so the inner kernel cannot pop out as it does in the case of corn (ie.popcorn). Which is why in a factory setting, a high amount of pressure and steam is used to pop the rice. how to cook sushi rice ukBut most of us don’t have high pressure steamers available to us, and if you do I am jealous. how to eat sushi and lose weightSo, I did a bit of research on using cooked rice to “pop” thinking that the outer shell would be weakened with the cooking process and it may be a viable option for home popping rice. obba sushi order online

After some more experimenting this is the tasty and successful end result! 1) Take your cooked sushi rice* and lightly flatten it out into a thin patty, making sure not to smash the rice kernels. Place in a non-stick pan 2) Let it cook in an oven on the lowest setting until it is hard but still white, let cool and break into little crumbles 3) Place about 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan and with a lid on, let it fry until golden brown (it doesn’t really pop much but it does puff ever so slightly) 4) Place rice on a paper towel to drain And there you have it- tasty tasty rice pops! I added them to my muesli for a new crunch, but I also tried it with milk and it legitimately tastes and holds together like Rice Krispies!! So give it a go and start making your own breakfast cereals. They could also be used as a new snack. When still hot out of the pan, try sprinkling your favorite spice mix (sweet or savory) on them for some personalized munchies!

I may be a bit too excited, but I hope you try it and enjoy it. * for me, the easiest way to cook sushi rice is: wash the rice, then use equal parts water and rice let it come to a boil and then cover and simmer on low until ready.How to Make Delicious Thai Sticky Rice Without a Steamer or Rice Cooker If you're a fan of Thai food, I'm sure you're familiar with sticky rice. There is something so special about its chewy texture and sweet flavor. If you have a desire to make it in your own kitchen but don't have the proper tools such as a traditional bamboo basket or stackable steamer, there are several other methods that work just as well. Once you try these alternative methods, I'm sure you'll be "sticking" to them for a while. What Makes Sticky Rice So Sticky?Sticky rice is a different type of grain from other types of cooking rice. Steaming, not boiling it, is also crucial for creating its unique texture. You want to use long-grain Thai sticky rice (or Thai glutinous rice), which should be available at your local grocery store or Asian specialty market.

If the Thai variety isn't available, you can use almost any type of glutinous rice (which, by the way, is gluten-free, so don't be confused by the name). The results will be good, although not identical to what you get at your favorite Thai restaurant.Food Republic points out that glutinous rice gets its sticky texture from its high amylopectin (a type of starch) content. When activated by hot water, amylopectin breaks down easily. This is why sticky rice has to be steamed, not boiled.Thai Food and Travel breaks down sticky rice science: "If steamed or boiled the same way as regular rice, the grains will break down and become soft and mushy in consistency. Instead, Thai people like to cook it in such a way that the rice grains remain whole and have a firm, chewy texture. To accomplish this, the rice is soaked for several hours (four hours or more) until the grains have absorbed enough water to cook."As Fine Cooking describes the process, rice cooking consists of two things: the rice absorbing water, and the heat breaking down the starch.

So, another key to creating great sticky rice is soaking, which cuts down on the amount of heat required. Alternative #1: Use a Splatter ScreenA splatter guard makes a convenient (and space-saving) alternative to the traditional sticky rice steamers. The process for making the rice is pretty easy:Soak one cup of rice for 2-3 hours or longer and drain it. Fill a large pot or deep pan with water and bring to a boil. Place the splatter guard over the pot. Once the water is boiling, turn down the heat to a simmer. Place the rice on the middle of the screen in an even layer. Try to keep the rice no higher than 3 inches for best cooking. Image via Food Canon Next, cover the rice with a bowl or heavy lid. The higher/more domed it is, the better—it'll trap steam more effectively. Steam rice for 30-35 minutes. It's good to turn the rice over halfway through to guarantee proper cooking. Image via Food Canon Gently remove the splatter guard and place the rice into a bowl. The splatter guard method has been approved by the amazing Thai food blog, She Simmers, so be sure to check out her complete instructions on this process.

If it's a good enough hack for her, it's good enough for us.She also points out that, structurally, this hack is very similar to cooking in a Moroccon tagine. If you happen to have one handy, why not give that a try, too? Alternative #2: Use TinfoilHere, the steps are essentially the same as with the splatter guard, only you have to do a little more leg work to create a faux steamer using a sheet of aluminum foil instead.To make your faux steamer, tear off a large enough sheet of foil to cover the surface and also wrap around the sides of your boiling water pot. Once the sheet is wrapped around the pot, use a toothpick to puncture holes over the entire circumference. You want enough steam to get through to cook the rice! And that's not all you can do with foil. There are plenty more tinfoil cooking tricks to discover! Alternative #3: Use a StrainerNo splatter guard or out of foil? A regular, large-sized strainer works just fine. Again, the cooking process is the same as with the splatter guard, but there are a couple of extra tricks you should know.