INARI SUSHI

INGREDIENTS:

Sushi Rice

300 g Japanese short-grain rice
405 g Water

Tofu Pouches

3 ea Usuage (thinly sliced fried tofu)
400 g Water (+ 500 g for scalding the tofu)
30 g Soy sauce
30 g Sake
25 g Molasses
5 g Sea salt

Rice Seasoning

45 g Sushi vinegar (see Kombu Dashi recipe below for base)
5 g Yuzu juice
Zest from 1 ea yuzu

INSTRUCTIONS:

1
COOKING THE RICE. Wash the rice several times to remove any impurities left over from the polishing process. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, and gently agitate the grains with your hand. You can simply stir the rice with your fingers or - as I like to do - take a handful of the grains in your palm and rub them together gently. Pour off the water and repeat this process 2-3 times more. In the spirit of ichibutsu zentai (wasting nothing), I like to save the water from washing the rice rather than discard it.
2
PREPARING THE FRIED TOFU. The tofu has a small amount of residual oil clinging to the surface which needs to be removed by scalding it with hot water. Bring a small pot of water to a boil (500 g of water is enough). Remove the tofu from the packaging, set it in a strainer in the sink, and pour the hot water over it to wash away the oil. When the tofu is cool enough to handle, pat it dry with a kitchen towel and cut each piece diagonally into two triangles, creating a total of six triangles. Working slowly, use the tip of a knife to make an incision horizontally along the cut side of one of the triangles. Draw the knife towards you as you do this, gradually moving further and further toward the center of the tofu to create as deep of a pocket as you can without cutting through. You want to keep about 1/4" of tofu uncut along the edges of the pocket so that the pouches don't burst open when you fill them. Do this for the remaining pieces.
3
POACHING THE POUCHES. Combine the water, soy sauce, sake, molasses, and sea salt in a pot. Add the tofu pouches and place a drop lid (otoshibuta) on top to keep the tofu submerged. If you don't have a drop lid you can make one out of parchment paper. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat, and allow the pouches to cool completely in the liquid before filling them. The rice should be done cooking at this point, so you can season it while the pouches are cooling.
4
SEASONING THE RICE. Remove the insert from the rice cooker, and transfer the rice to a cedar oke (rice bucket) or a stainless steel bowl. The wooden bowl helps absorb moisture from the rice as it lets off steam, but it is not necessary to go out and buy one just for this.
5
MAKING THE INARI SUSHI. Holding a pouch in one hand, wet your other hand with a small amount of water to prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers. With your wet hand take some rice and gently press it into the pouch. You only want to fill the pouches about 80% of the way so that you can seal them without causing the tofu to burst at the seams. 45 g of rice is enough to fill a pouch. When the pouch is full fold each side in towards the center to seal the pouch. Flip the sealed pouch over in your hand so that the folded side is in your palm and gently squeeze it as you press down your index and middle finger of the wet hand. This is similar to how you make nigiri sushi, which is what the pouches should resemble by now. When all of the pouches are done, arrange 2-3 of them per serving onto small plates without any additional garnish. Other recipes suggest sushi gari (pickled ginger) or shiso leaves, but these will detract from the fragrance and subtle taste of the yuzu, so I don't recommend that for this particular variation.

Note

THE DELICATE FLAVOR OF YUZU. The flavor and fragrance of yuzu is delicate and diminishes fairly quickly. Eat these within 1-2 hours of making them.

STORING THE POUCHES. Inarizushi is best when eaten right away. To cut down on the amount of time it takes to make them you can cook a large batch of pouches and freeze them. Just pull them out of the freezer and set them in the refrigerator the night before you plan on making inarizushi.

USING THE RICE WASHING WATER. The Japanese word mottainai means something along the lines of a "shameful waste." It applies anytime we fail to recognize the potential in something. Like the water that we use to wash rice before cooking it. There are countless uses for it. My favorite is to store it in the fridge and use it when I cook vegetables, or as a substitute for stock when I am making a thick pureed soup. Some people even use it as part of their skincare regimen. Do a little research and find a practical way to use it that suits your lifestyle.