There is this thing they call inarizushi in Japanese restaurants. So often but not, you only get to see them on the menu when you to the authentic ones here in Manila, particularly in Makati like Kikufuji, Seryna, etc.. These tiny golden pouches of tofu are deep fried and sweet. They are normally stuffed with sushi rice inside and some shitake mushroom.
Inarizushi are quite expensive when you them buy from the authentic Japanese restaurants. A single order would normally cost you 120 pesos for two pieces of these. Luckily, I found some of these in a Japanese Mini-mart called New Hatchin, somewhere in Makati. Ofcourse, knowing myself, I won't hesitate to buy them so I bought them.
When I got home, I looked in the fridge and found some salmon, so what I did was, I made some inarisushi with some salmon topping. It was good.
Salmon Topping
Get a Salmon - poach it *make sure don't overcook it unless you want to ruin the fish*
After poaching the salmon mix it with these - Japanese mayo *don't use the normal mayo cause they don't have the creaminess of the Japanese mayo which is suitable for this dish*, Chili Sesame Oil and season it with some salt.
Sushi Rice
Am pretty sure you can get a lot of this recipe on the internet but main components are Japanese rice vinegar *brand is mizkan*, sugar and salt.
Rice must be Japanese rice *expensive yes?* or something that is sticky. If you want something cheap that can be a substitute for an authentic Japanese rice, use Jasponica of Dona Maria.
Inarisushi
You usually get these frozen, so here's what you have to do: thaw it *duh* then rinse it through running water and squeeze like a sponge *the sweet juices of the wrapper will go out, you don't need them* and tada! that's it
Assembling is easy - Get wrapper, put rice in, put salmon topping on top, normally, you garnish it with a chiffonade of parsley *chopped parsley, using the term chiffonade seems cooler* or just place the parsley aside. That's it!
Opinion
The flavor profile was there. The salmon and sesame oil went really well together especially with the creaminess of the Japanese mayo. The sweetness of the tofu wasn't as sharp as I was expecting which is good. Color looks nice, it looked very appetizing and it is a good starter for any meal.
Points of improvement will be for adding more texture. I think adding some tempura flakes or some cucumber might give a better texture or using a higher quality of Japanese rice so that one will be able to feel every grain of the sushi rice. I suppose the Kushihikari breed of Japanese rice will be able to achieve the texture that I am talking about. Adding some green might also help for the color. Sprinkling some chiffonade of parsley will help in the presentation and am sure that it won't ruin the flavor of the dish.
