Inari sushi is a type of sushi where rice is stuffed in a deep-fried tofu pocket. The tofu pockets have a pleasantly sweet taste which is what the dish is known for. It's one of the easiest types of sushi to make. All you do is buy tofu pockets from the store and fill them up with sushi rice.
Inari sushi is incredibly simple but one of my all-time favorite types of sushi. Growing up, my family used to be friends with this Chinese family that ran the sushi department in a grocery store, and they would sometimes give us free sushi platters. There were always 1 or 2 pieces of Inari sushi inside, and they were always my favorite.
I actually attribute Inari sushi to being the reason I got into sushi making as a kid. It was one of the first recipes I made, and it was super successful. It made me want to make more sushi. I used to go grocery shopping with my mom to get the tofu pockets, and I would make them for our family's lunch.
Inari sushi is typically eaten as an appetizer, but my wife and I ate it as a main course for our lunch today. We also added some furikake to the rice and ate it with a side of my homemade kimchi. The sourness of the kimchi went surprisingly well with the sweetness of the inari!
What is inari age?
Inari age is the deep-fried tofu pocket that surrounds the rice. Sometimes it's called "seasoned fried bean curd" or "fried bean curd pouch." You can buy it at almost any Asian grocery store. Here is a picture of my packaging:
The package also came with a packet of powdered vinegar for the rice, but I decided to make my own seasoning since I don't think the powdered stuff tastes as good.
Inari Sushi
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked sushi rice
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 package inari age (fried tofu pockets)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Heat this up over medium-high heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved. While the rice is still warm, fold this mixture into the rice.
- To wrap the inari sushi, I like to use my hands. Wet your hands gently with tap water (to prevent the rice from sticking to your hands), then stuff the rice into the pockets. The pockets are quite flavorful, so I like to really stuff them to the brim.
Leave a Reply