Every now and then I prepare a meal that I’ve been reluctant to blog about because it’s not at all fat-free. Inari are rice-stuffed pouches made of fried tofu, and they’re very easy to make if you buy Inarizushi No Moto in a can. I’ve been working on a way to make the pouches myself, without frying, but I just haven’t gotten to it yet. After all, inari is a convenience food, and I seem to forget about making it until I’m in a hurry to throw together a meal. I threw together such a meal a few days ago, using the evil (but tasty) fried inari pouches. I did manage to get some of the fat out by rinsing the inari in hot water and wringing them out before I filled them. I was happy to find that they retained their delicious sweet and sour taste even after rinsing. There’s no real recipe for my inari, but I can tell you what I do. I cook about 1 cup of short-grained brown rice in my rice cooker until it is done. While it is cooking, I chop up 2 carrots and half of a large, seeded cucumber.

When the rice is almost done, I add the carrots and some frozen peas (3/4 cup maybe) to the cooker, just on top of the rice; I close it up and let it complete its cooking (if the rice isn’t tender, add a quarter cup of water and turn it back on–sometimes this is necessary when cooking rice with additional ingredients). When the rice is done, I turn it out into a bowl, add the chopped cucumber, and toss it all with seasoned rice vinegar. I just add it until it tastes good to me. (Start with 1/8 cup and add more from there; it should have a distinctly vinegary taste, but not overpoweringly so.) I use the seasoned rice vinegar that already has salt and sugar, but if you’re using regular rice vinegar, dissolve a little salt (1/2 tsp.) and sugar (2 tsp.) in it beforehand. After the rice is cool enough to handle, I stuff it into the pre-rinsed pouches. I like to over-stuff mine and never bother with folding the edges over to “hide” the filling. The more rice inside, the better, in my opinion!

Serve the inari with Ponzu Sauce (citrus-flavored soy sauce), lots of wasabi, and sliced pickled ginger. The over-stuffed inari were complemented by a sweet yet tangy vegetable dish that turned out to be the surprise hit of the meal. I used dinosaur (lacinato) kale and regular mushrooms, but you can use regular kale, bok choy, or most any other green along with any mushroom you like. But don’t leave out the water chestnuts, which give it some crunch, and use Ponzu, if you can, for that hint of citrus.jiro dreams of sushi st louis Kale with Mushrooms and Water Chestnutsjiro dreams of sushi narration 1 bunch of kale, or other greenssushi conveyor belt pa

1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil 12 ounces mushrooms, sliced 1 tsp. minced or grated ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup vegetable broth 1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained 2-4 tbsp. Ponzu or soy sauce (to taste) 1 tsp. rice wine vinegar 1 tsp. sugar or other sweetener Wash the kale and remove any tough stems. Chop the leaves into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok. yo sushi delivery portsmouthAdd the mushrooms, ginger, and garlic, and stir-fry until mushrooms start to become tender. where to buy sushi grade fish in calgaryAdd the kale and broth and cover immediately. ichiban sushi menu queens quay

Cook on medium heat, checking often to make sure that the water hasn’t all evaporated, until the kale is tender, about 5-9 minutes. (Add more broth if it becomes dry.) When the kale is tender, remove the cover and add the water chestnuts. Cook uncovered for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients, cook for one more minute, and serve.If you’ve ever seen an anime featuring the Shinto kami (god), Inari Okami, and its’ kitsune, or fox gods, you would know that their favourite food is inari age, or seasoned deep fried tofu pouches….where to buy sushi grade fish ottawa A little sweet, a little savoury, inari age is really not the most attractive food ever (it’s kinda… just brown coloured? … but trust me when I say it’s delicious! The tofu pouches have a slight sponginess with a nice bit of chew, and really soaks up the sauce it’s seasoned in. In anime, inari age shows up in all over the place….

And, just like in real life, in anime, inari age is not eaten on it’s own. Instead, it is commonly seen added to udon to make kitsune udon, or stuffed with seasoned sushi rice to make inari zushi. It is also used as a garnish in some Japanese dishes, such as hijiki (a type of seaweed dish). Of course, you can buy pre-made inari age in a store, but I will just say that I never truly fell in love with this dish until I took the time to actually season the aburaage, or deep fried tofu pouches, myself. When made yourself, it really tastes so much more delicious than anything I’ve ever found in a pre-made package! Making inari age is pretty simple and takes only a small amount of cooking. The most important step to take note of is to try to remove as much of the excess water from the aburaage as possible after boiling it briefly to remove the excess oil and oil smell. If too much water is left in the aburaage (those pouches can soak up a lot of water!), your sauce will be diluted, and the resulting taste of the seasoned tofu pouches will not be as strong as it should be.

Unseasoned, deep fried tofu pouches, or aburaage, can be found in many Asian grocery stores. Just make sure to check whether it’s seasoned (inari age) or unseasoned (aburaage). The seasoned version tends to be darker in colour, being more brown than yellow/tan. Note that the pieces of aburaage generally comes in the form of a long rectangle and will need to be cut in half crosswise in order to turn them into pouches (packaged inari age is already cut in half and ready to use). 1. Remove the aburaage from the package, cover with a piece of plastic wrap and, using a rolling pin, roll it across the aburaage to help the sides of the pouches to separate. Cut the aburaage in half crosswise. You should now have 12 pieces of aburaage. 2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add tofu pouches and cover with a drop lid, or otoshibuta, as the aburaage tends to float. Boil for 2 -3 minutes to remove the excess oil and the oil smell. Gently remove from the water, being careful not to break the pouches, rinse in cold water, and drain well in a strainer.