Author Notes
I didn't appreciate until I grew older the inarizushi that my mother packed for me for lunch. Inarizushi is known as "brown bag sushi," made of a sweet bean curd pocket stuffed with white sushi rice. It keeps well and is perfect for long trips! I took my inspiration from kurigohan (Japanese chestnut rice) that is popular in Japan in the autumn and shiitake gohan (Japanese shiitake mushroom rice). I filled my inarizushi with plenty of kabocha and shiitake to make a filling dinner on a recent plane trip. It's bite-sized finger food at its healthiest. —passifloraedulis
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Ingredients
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1 cup
rice (white, brown, or mixed), rinsed
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water to cook the rice
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1/4
kabocha squash, diced (skin left on, seeds scooped out). Sweet potato (purple, orange, or white) may be substituted.
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1 handful
rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, cut into thin slices
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1 tablespoon
soy sauce (or GF soy sauce substitute)
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1 tablespoon
mirin
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toasted sesame seeds or furikake to taste (optional)
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1
can of "inarizushi" (available at Asian supermarkets)
Directions
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Add rice and an appropriate amount of water according to your regular method of cooking rice, whether on the stove or in a rice cooker. I used a rice cooker.
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Add the soy sauce and mirin to the rice.
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Carefully layer the diced kabocha and sliced shiitake mushrooms on top of the rice. Do not mix these ingredients in (we'll do it after the rice is cooked); doing so will disturb the ability of the rice to cook fully.
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Cook the rice per usual.
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When the rice is done, gently mix the kabocha and shiitake mushrooms into the rice.
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Allow the rice to cool slightly.
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Mix in toasted sesame seeds or furikake to taste.
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Open the can of inarizushi. The bean curd pockets tear easily, so gently stuff each pocket with the rice/kabocha/shiitake mixture.
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Pack the inarizushi snugly in a tupperware and you are on your way!
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