carrot kinpira onigirazu
4 servings — 20 minutes
An onigirazu is a Japanese rice ball sandwich, or a 'lazy onigiri'.
The word onigiri (or nigiru) means to press into shape using your hands, while razu means the opposite. Free form onigiri. This is perfect for people who have a hard time making rice balls. Onigirazu has the same great taste, without the fear of imperfection.
This recipe is perfect when you don't have the right type of rice available for onigiri. You can use just about any type, we tested it out a few different kinds. The seaweed wrapping will keep it together, thus eliminating the need for sticky rice.
We seasoned the rice with miso for added flavor, and filled it with carrot kinpira—'kinpira' means sauteed (usually with a mixture of mirin soy sauce and chili peppers.) It's a sweet and spicy dish that the Japanese serve in bentos.
Inorganic arsenic(iAs). Rice can be a significant source of iAs, especially brown rice because it is concentrated in the outer bran layer(bran is removed in white rice). Cooking the rice in excess water, say using a 1:6 rice to water ratio, reduces iAs up to 60 percent. [Source]. How to cook the rice?
Method 1: Boil 4 cups(1 cup of water for every cup of rice), add rice and boil for 5 minutes, discard the water, add 1 1/2 cups of fresh water back to the pot with the rice and bring to a boil, then lower to medium and cook until the water is absorbed.
Method 2: Regardless of the kind of rice you are cooking, bring a pot-full of water to a boil, add the rice and cook it like pasta(15 minutes boiling time for basmati), then drain the water out.
Note that soaking rice is also a good way to reduce iAs, but cooking the rice in excess water is a better approach.
carrots2
maple syrup10 ml
mirin10 ml
soy sauce30 ml
sesame oil15 ml
chili pepper flakes2 g
kinpira carrot
- Peel and cut 2 large carrot into thin strips using a julienne peeler (a knife will do, but it will take longer).
- Stir these ingredients together to make the sauce for the kinpira: 10 ml (2 tsp) of maple syrup, 10 ml (2 tsp) of mirin and 30 ml (2 tbsp) of soy sauce.
- Heat 15 ml (1 tbsp) of sesame oil in a pan at medium heat, add the carrot strips and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in 2 g (1 tsp) of chili pepper flakes as well as the sauce prepared in the previous step.
- Cook until no liquid remains. Let cool.
short grain white rice1 cup
water350 ml
white miso15 g
rice
- Wash 190g (~1 cup) of short grain white rice to release excess starch, until water runs clear. Soak for 30 min (in summer) and 2h (in winter). See the above notes to see how to cook the rice to further reduce the amount of inorganic arsenic in the grains.
- Add 350 ml (1 1/2 cups) of water into a pot, and add the rice. Bring pot contents to a boil, turn heat to low and cover the pot with a lid. Cook for 10 minutes, turn heat off and let rest for 10 min before uncovering.
- Fluff the rice with a fork, and mix in 15 g (1 tbsp) of white miso.
nori sheets4
wrapper
- Lay out 4 pieces of nori sheets, rough side up. Lay out some rice in the center of the 4 sheets, then divide the carrot kinpira into 4 portions and lay over the rice. Cover the carrots with the remaining rice.
- Now, take one corner of the nori sheet and fold over into the middle, do the same for the opposing corner. Then, repeat for the other 2 corners. Press down gently.
- Wait until the nori has softened and then cut into the middle! Serve as is.