Vinegared Rice Balls Recipe

Photo courtesy iStock/c_yung

Directions

• Place rice in a deep bowl and fill with cool water. Mix until the water becomes white and chalky. Drain water and repeat this rinsing until the water runs fairly clear. Drain rice in a strainer and tap to remove excess liquid.
• In a 5-quart saucepan combine rinsed and drained rice, kombu, and water. Soak for 15 minutes.
• Mix together vinegar, sugar, sake, mirin, and salt until all the ingredients have dissolved.
• Bring rice and water to a rolling boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for another 15 minutes.
• With a damp wooden spatula or spoon remove rice to a wooden basin or a ceramic or glass bowl. Sprinkle the vinegar dressing over the rice. Place in front of a running fan, and toss the rice until the dressing has been completely absorbed and the rice has cooled to almost room temperature.
• Form rice into 2 inch balls using wet hands (keep a bowl of water nearby as the rice will impossibly stick to dry skin!) by firmly pressing the rice together. Place finished balls into a container and cover with a damp cloth.
• Jeff Nekola has a PhD in Ecology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has a passion for biodiversity in its many forms, whether it be plants, butterflies, and land snails in the wild or crops grown in gardens, orchards and fields, or the use of those foods as expressed by the entire range of humanity's cuisines. You can learn more here.
• Linda Fey's first and finest childhood memories are of helping her mother and grandmother in the garden and then bringing in freshly picked produce to the dinner table. As an adult, she has over 20 years of experience in market gardening and teaches middle-school English at the Albuquerque Institute for Math and Science. Visit www.LindaFey.com to view her writing about food and life.