Inari sushi

Ask and you shall receive. It is kind of crazy how this works out sometimes.

Inari sushi is one of those things that only Japanese and Korean people eat/like - amirite? I mean, try explaining what it is is to someone unfamiliar with it ("it's rice stuffed into a fried tofu pocket that has been soaking in a sweet liquid"), and just see if they will take a bite.


Even me - when I was younger, I would see my mom preparing this and would experience mild dread. For some reason I would think I wouldn't like them, and yet I always did.


I don't think I've eaten them in years, and certainly never sought them out, until just a couple of weeks ago when I had this sudden craving and really wanted to try making them myself. I fortuitously happened to visit Cousin A and mentioned my craving to her. Lo-and-behold, she handed me a can of the inari tofu skin!


Cousin A also gave me a bag of frozen burdock and carrots, to make gobo, and suggested adding it to the inari sushi. (Honestly, you can find everything in the freezer aisle.) She said I could make it straight from the freezer, so I skeptically dumped the frozen block into a pan, and whaddyaknow, it steam-cooks to perfection. Fast too! When I make gobo using the actual burdock root, it could easily be a 2-hour process, from cleaning/julienne-ing to cooking. Using the frozen version, about 15-20 min.

I'm getting older, time is of essence. Priorities people.


The can of tofu skins actually has directions on how to make the rice. It says to start with 1-1/4 cup of uncooked rice. I used 1 cup.

I ended up having exactly two tofu skins left, probably enough for that 1/4 cup of rice. Lesson learned: follow directions.



The hardest part, I found, was opening up the skins without ripping them. Mine aren't nearly as well-made as my mom's but they totally hit the spot. And I loved the contrast of the crunchy gobo with the rice and tofu.


So now I am asking for frizz-free hair and a new pair of boots.