KitchenNippon

【Ingredients】(4 Servings)
Vinegared rice (酢飯 / Sumeshi)……360ｇ
(1) Sweet Simmered Abura-age (油揚げの甘煮 / Abura-age-no-amani)
Abura-age (油揚げ / Abura-age)……6 pieces
Water (水 / Mizu) (or broth (だし汁 / Dashijiru))……200ml
Sugar (砂糖 / Satō)……2tbsp
Mirin (みりん / Mirin)……2tbsp
Soy sauce (しょうゆ / Shōyu)……2tbsp

(2) Chicken Soboro (鶏そぼろ / Tori soboro)
Ground chicken breast (鶏胸ひき肉 / Tori-no-mune hikiniku)……100ｇ
Sake (酒 / Sake)……1tbsp
Sugar (砂糖 / Satō)……2tbsp
Soy sauce (しょうゆ / Shōyu)……1tbsp
Ground ginger (おろししょうが / Oroshi shōga)……10ｇ

(3) Sweet Simmered Vegetables (野菜の甘煮/Yasai-no-amani)
Dried shītake (干しいたけ / Hoshi shītake)……1
Water for rehydrating the dried shītake)……100ml
Carrots (にんじん / Ninjin)……1/４
String beans (いんげん / Ingen)……４
Soy sauce (しょうゆ / Shōyu)……1/2tsp
Sugar (砂糖 / Satō)……1/2tsp
Sake (酒 / Sake)……1tsp

[How to Make]
(1) Make the sweet simmered abura-age.
1. Place the abura-age on a cutting board and then put a cooking
chopstick on top and roll the chopstick up and down across the abura-
age. This will make it easier to open up the abura-age. Cut the abura-
age in half across its longest dimension and then open up each half to
make them into pockets. Place both halves in boiling water for about 5
seconds and then transfer them to a strainer to let them drain.

2. Add the water, sugar, mirin, and soy sauce to a pot and mix. Next, add
the abura-age, cover with a drop-lid then simmer over low heat. Once
nearly all of the liquid has evaporated, squeeze out the liquid from
the abura-age by pushing down on the drop-lid. Continue to simmer
until the liquid has completely evaporated, then turn off the heat and
allow to cool.

(2) Make the chicken soboro.
1. To a separate pot, add the ingredients for the chicken soboro – the
ground chicken breast, sake, sugar, soy sauce, and ground ginger – and
use a pair of cooking chopsticks to mix it well.

2. Place the pot on low heat and use 4 cooking chopsticks (hold them in
one hand) to mix everything well, making sure to break up any clumps
of ground chicken.

(3) Make the sweet simmered vegetables.
1. Mince the rehydrated shītake. Retain the water used to rehydrate the
shītake. Skin the carrot and cut it into matchstick-size pieces. Remove
the stems from the string beans and diagonally cut them into pieces
about 5mm (little less than 1/4in.) wide.

2. Place the shītake, water used to rehydrate it, and carrots into a pot
and bring the mixture to a boil. Next, add the soy sauce, sugar, and
sake, and simmer over medium heat until only a little of the liquid
remains.

3 .Now, add the string beans and continue simmering until the liquid
completely evaporates.

(4) Make the inarizushi.
1. Add the chicken soboro and sweet simmered vegetables to the vinegared
rice, mix well, and then create 12 equal portions.

2. Take an abura-age pocket into your hands and gently squeeze out what
liquid there is by pressing it between you palms. Now fill the
pocket with a portion of the chicken soboro mixture.

3. Fold the opening over to close it and enclose the whole thing in
plastic wrap for about 10 minutes. This will help the flavors of the
vinegared rice and abura-age blend.

4 .After 10 minutes, remove the plastic wrap, cut each of the inarizushi
in half diagonally, and arrange on a plate.

Recipe Developed by: Machiko Tateno