The most common traditional Inarizushi is a very simple rice dish that is basically the oval-shaped or triangle-shaped sushi rice ball wrapped in a seasoned aburaage (deep-fried thin tofu). Sometimes the sushi rice contains roasted sesame seeds, cooked vegetables and/or hijiki seaweed. Don’t forget that sushi rice is also full of sugar: the rice itself is sugar (do you know Japanese rice contains the highest sugar contents and highest GI level among the world), and there’s added sugar in sushi rice, too.

In a separate saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, ensuring that the sugar is dissolved. Add the inari pouches and simmer for 10 minutes. Stuff your homemade Inari Age with vinegared rice and make Inari Sushi! The sushi rice contrasts beautifully with the well-seasoned tofu pouches and you can never get enough of each bite! Keep in mind that rice dries out in the refrigerator, so I like to eat it right away or store it in the freezer. When I have time, I make my own Inari age; otherwise, I use the store-bought Inari age for Inari sushi or kitsune udon. When I make homemade Inari age, I make sure to double or triple my recipe and freeze them for later use. How to Make Delicious Sushi Rice

This is how a dish made with deep-fried tofu came to be called “inari.” So, inari sushi is “sushi” made from “inari (deep fried tofu).” A Brief History

Removing Oil: To enhance the taste of your inari sushi, remove the oil from the fried tofu. This can be done by boiling the tofu in water, which not only expels the oil but also mitigates any bitter or stale taste from the oil. Once you’re happy with how well the tofu is seasoned (you can leave it for longer than 10 mins, if you desire more flavor), it’s time to remove the aburaage from the pot again. Again, you need to lightly press any excess liquid out of the aburaage, or it’s going to be too watery to make tofu musubi rolls that don’t fall apart! Foxes ( kitsune) are said to be the messengers or spirits of Inari, and it’s believed that they enjoy aburaage. I like to make a big batch and freeze them for later use! You can store it in the refrigeratorfor up to 3 days and the freezer for up to 3 weeks. An Important Cooking Tool for Making Inari Age

Alternative Fillings

The tofu slices are then fried for a few minutes at a temperature of 270-300 F (5-17 C) to brown and crispy. A hot aburaage is served with a dipping sauce.

Remove from the oil again and allow to cool down completely. Slice a half down the middle to create a pouch. The amount of sesame seeds I added was 1 tablespoon for 240g/8.5oz of sushi rice. It’s quite a lot but you can hardly notice that because of the colour of the sesame seeds. Savory, sweet, and full of juicy mouthfeel, Inari Age is the key ingredient to make Inari Sushiand as a topping for Kitsune Udon.Is it an acquired taste? It could be since it tastes completely different than sushi rolls and hand rolls. Make plain sushi rice as per the recipe in the post, Temakizushi (Hand Rolled Sushi), then mix roasted white sesame seed into the sushi rice.

You can keep these inari skin in room temperature for a very long time and there’ll be no sign of going off. Isn’t it so scary? Furikake: Furikake is a sweet and savory Japanese seasoning made specifically to put on cooked rice. When mixed into sushi rice, it lends an additional layer of flavor to the inari sushi.Cut the tofu in to thin slices, pat dry with kitchen towel. In a large sauce pan, heat up the vegetable oil to 110°C and deep fry the tofu slices until they puff up. Make the sushi rice as per my recipe, Temakizushi (Hand Rolled Sushi). Since Inari Sushi does not contain raw fish, the sushi rice does not have to be completely cooled down. It can be slightly warm if you are in a hurry. In my recipe, I only explained how to make a triangle Inari Sushi but if you make different kinds of Inari Sushi and present them on a plate, it looks great. Here is the example of mixed Inari Sushi. It’s a bit difficult to eat Inarizushi with toppings compared to the traditional one but they certainly look gorgeous. But don’t worry that this inari would not be as tasty if you cut down the sugar! My inari will still be yummy!