When Brad and I first moved to Japan, we stayed in a business hotel until we could find an apartment. This lasted an unexpected 3 weeks. The small room was furnished with two twin beds complete with their own buckwheat filled pillows. A TV with a screen no larger than 15 inches gave us access to BBC and CNN Asia. When work began for Brad, I was left to occupy my time in this strange place that I did not understand at all. Looking back, I cannot believe how shell-shocked I was just 3 years ago. And how today, Japan is, and always will be, my second home.
View from our hotel room:
On occasion, I would venture to a nearby grocery store (which today is part of our everyday routine). It was actually very scary to go alone at first. Everything was foreign. I couldn’t read the labels, I didn’t recognize much of the food on the shelves, and I had no idea what to do when I got to the cash register. I would usually walk out with some yakisoba or perhaps onigiri. My husband, who had lived abroad previously in Argentina, was much more brave than I when came to venturing out of our tiny hotel room. I remember one day he brought home a bento that included what appeared to be fried pockets of something. I was surprised when I picked one up that it was not crispy, like most fried food, but instead it was soggy. I bit into it and the flavor was slightly sweet and tangy. The fried pocket was filled with white rice. Thinly sliced pickled ginger was served as a condiment on the side. I would later learn that these little rice pockets were called inarizushi.
I can’t say that I loved it at first. The flavor and texture of the wrapper (made from fried tofu sheets) took some getting used to. But eventually this became one of my favorite snacks to pick up at the local conbini (convenience stores like 7Eleven or Lawsons). I love them so much that when I am back in the United States I crave them. I crave them enough to make my own. As opposed to walking into any konbini or grocery store, this required some more work. I had to make the 25 minute drive to Minneapolis to an Asian store for the fried tofu sheets. And of course I had to make and season the rice, season the wrappers, and assemble.
While this sounds like a lot of work, it is very worth it. If you can access the ingredients needed, you must try making these delicious bites at home. You can add sesame seeds or chopped pickled ginger to the rice if you’d like, but I prefer to keep it simple and serve the pickled ginger on the side.
The best recipe I’ve found is this one from JapanEats.tv. Click here for the recipe!
