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hallo spacedog posted:Additionally they make packets that you mix in that makes it easy, but I prefer using the previous method of pre-sweetened vinegar, personally. I haven't made sushi at home in a few months but every once in a while I will do Inari. I'm not an expert on Japanese food or anything, but I much preferred su that I made with hon-mirin to sweeten it as well. Something like 4 parts rice vinegar, 2 parts sugar, 1 part mirin (although I tend to leave out some of the sugar because I don't care for it too be too sweet and/or overpower some of the more subtle flavors of the mirin). I also think it improves the rice to cook it with a good chunk of kombu that has been soaked overnight and using the water it was soaked in. Again, I don't know if this is traditional for sushi rice, but it tastes good and improves the texture in my opinion.
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Jul 18, 2014 20:47
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Yeah, I guess it makes sense that recipes vary greatly from shop to shop, so it's ultimately just up to your personal tastes. Still, I guess it would be nice to know what is considered 'traditional' just so you know where you're breaking with tradition in your own variations. It also just occurred to me when going back over your introductory post (which is really great by the way) that there was no mention of umeboshi or nattō which are both very characteristically Japanese foods. Umeboshi is a pretty unique ingredient that combines sweet, salty, sour, and savory flavors. Dice it into a paste, and it goes great on top of a bowl of rice or as a filling for onigiri. It pairs great with shiso and it's delicious on chicken as well. I also highly recommend trying this umeboshi based barbecue sauce which I found on this site but I'll copy over the ingredients below. Umeboshi BBQ Sauce: 1 tsp Ginger 3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce 1/2 cup Sake 3 tbsp Light Miso Paste (Red/dark miso will also work, but use a bit less)[url][/url] 1 tbsp finely chopped Shiso Leaves 1/2 cup Sugar 3 tbsp Mirin 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil 5 tbsp Umeboshi Puree Just throw it all in a blender and it's done. Leave out some of the sugar if you like it less sweet. I'll also go on record saying that I love nattō and loved it from the first time I tried it, and don't really see why it is widely reviled as a disgusting food (although you'll probably want to stick to eating it mixed in a bowl of rice with other Japanese toppings/condiments, rather than haphazardly throwing it into random recipes). You also always hear that it has a terrible ammonia-like smell, but I've only ever been able to detect any of this scent after practically sticking my nose into it. I feel like that for anyone that has a strong affinity for miso and/or other fermented soybean products, there is a decent chance you'll like nattō as well.
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Jul 18, 2014 22:35
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Mr. Wiggles posted:I love it too, and have never been able to figure out why people don't enjoy it. Maybe it's a texture thing for some people. I think it might be due to people just trying to eat it straight out of the container, without stirring it properly and without any soy sauce or rice to compliment and carry the flavor, or to overheating it in a microwave, which really kills the flavor and messes up the consistency in a bad way. NB for people who haven't tried it before, if you're heating a frozen container of nattō in the microwave, it only takes ~10-20 seconds at most, it shouldn't be piping hot, ideally it should be just at the point of being thawed, lukewarm/room temperture.
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Jul 18, 2014 23:31
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My Lovely Horse posted:I've taken to making onigiri once a week for my work lunch and got a little tired of my usual salmon/mayo/soy sauce/sesame filling, so I bought some umeboshi today. Do I just pit one of those and pop it in the middle or is there a preparation method? It's weird to me that I never considered just putting a chunk of umeboshi in onigiri (because it seems like there's no problem there), but I always like to slice it into a paste first (surprisingly easy/fast) and then use it.
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Aug 6, 2014 14:58
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