Wow! It’s been sometime since the last post. A little follow up to the onigiri post from a month ago or so. A short video demonstrating secret onigiri techniques by Koshiki Yonemura from Tanpopo (see the about page). This is definitely something that is not easily put into words, so it seemed appropriate to make a simple video.
Thanks to Vimeo for making this post really easy to do.
If you have some leftover rice and are looking to make a quick snack, try making some onigiri. It’s a very popular food in Japan that is found in almost every convenience store. It’s basically a ball of rice with a filling in the center that is usually wrapped in nori. The filling is most often a preserved food like salted fish or pickled vegetables.
In the version above, crushed bonito flakes are mixed with soy sauce and then this is mixed together with hot rice. There is no center filling, so it’s a little easier to make. However, the hard part is getting the proper shape. You’ll need to form a nice lightly packed triangle with your hands. Be sure to wet your hands first, otherwise you’ll just have hot rice stuck all over your fingers. Gombatte!
Ok, the rice has been washed and is done cooking and now it’s time make sumeshi – or vinegared rice. Remove the lid from the rice cooker and test a small amount of rice. If it seems too hard, let it sit in the rice cooker a few more minutes.
A wooden sushi-oke and a shamoji are the basic tools used to mix the cooked rice with your sushi vinegar. A sushi-oke is made of cypress wood and helps absorb excess moisture. However, this is not necessary. A large bowl and spoon will do the job.
1. If you are using a wooden sushi-oke, fill it up with water and let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then drain.
2. Empty your rice into your bowl or sushi-oke.
3. Pour the sushi vinegar slowly and evenly over the rice. If you are cooking 3 cups of sushi rice, add 1/4 cup of the sushi vinegar. Warm the sushi vinegar in the microwave before using.
4. Cut the rice. At this point, you want to spread the rice around with a cutting motion to help cool it down and break-up any clumps of rice. Do this several times from side to side of the sushi-oke while fanning the rice. Cooling the rice down quickly will give the rice a more polish look and will also help the rice absorb the sushi vinegar. Gather the rice to one side of your container, cover with a clean, damp cloth until it is cool enough to use (slightly wamer than room temperature).
This is the basic ‘pickling’ solution for sushi rice. Recipes for sushi vinegar seem to vary widely with different amounts of rice, vinegar, sugar and salt. That means, there’s some wiggle room here. If your measurements are a little off – no worries. You can give your sushi vinegar a little more body and flavor by adding a small strip of konbu. Add the konbu while heating vinegar, sugar and salt (and discard before storing).
Ingredients
Rice Vinegar….. 1 cup
Sugar….3/4 cup
Salt…. 2 teaspoon
Directions
1. Combine vinegar, sugar and salt into a small sauce pan.
2. Heat on until sugar and salt are dissolved.
3. Remove from heat, cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Warm up before using.
Sushi rice is really just as easy to make as regular rice, but requires a little more attention. The most important part is adding the right amount of water. Too much water and the rice will be sticky, mushy and too hard to use. Too little water and your sushi will be hard and crunchy.
The standard amount of water to use is equal parts water and rice. So if you are cooking 2 cups of sushi rice, you’ll need two cups of water. Not too hard, right? Well, things like new crop rice vs old crop rice, temperature, humidity, etc., all seem to have an effect on your rice. Like everything, it may take a few times before you get optimal results.
1. Measure your rice and add into the pan of your rice cooker.
2. Add water to your rice and pour off the cloudy water. The idea is to do this several times until the water remains clear (in the next step).
3. “Wash” the rice by rubbing it around with your hand. Repeat this process: Add water, rub, pour off cloudy water and repeat (about 4 times).
4. Once the water stays clear, drain the water from the rice, and then add the final amount of water (2 cups water if cooking 2 cups of rice). Then let the rice stand for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
