I love eating sushi! One of my favorites is inarizushi (inari sushi). If you don't know what that is, it is the sushi that is in those little brown tofu pouches. Before I found out I was a celiac I used to just buy the pre-seasoned inariage (seasoned deep fried tofu pockets) or buy inarizushi in a sushi restaurant. But now that I am a celiac I can't buy those. Has anyone seen gluten-free inarizushi at a sushi restaurant?

So, as most celiac's know, you have to figure out how to make it gluten-free yourself. The unseasoned deep fried tofu is usually gluten-free. Be sure to read the ingredients on the packet. To make the seasoned ones here is a link to the recipe I use to make the inariage (deep fried seasoned tofu pockets) -inariage recipe. If this is your first time trying inarizushi you might think the inariage is quite sweet, that is true, but it complements the sushi rice nicely.

Gluten-Free Mixed Vegetable Inarizushi

Ingredients

• 3 cups of cooked and seasoned sushi rice (sushi rice recipe)
• 6 sheets of seasoned gluten-free inariage sheets (inariage recipe)
• 1/3 cup of cubed boiled carrots
• 3 large dried shittake mushrooms (rehydrate by soaking in warm water for about 30 minutes)
• Seasoning for the shittake mushrooms: 1/2 cup of mushroom soaking liquid, 2 Tbsps gluten-free soya sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsps sugar, 2 Tbsps mirin and a pinch of salt.
• 2 Tbsps black sesame seeds

Directions

1. Cook your rice.
2. Peel and cut the carrot into small cubes and boil until soft. Drain and set aside.
3. Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water for about 30 minutes. When soft remove from the liquid. Do not throw the soaking liquid away as you will use for cooking the mushrooms.
4. Squeeze excess water from the mushrooms, remove the hard stem and dice into small cubes a similar size to the carrots. Put the mushrooms in a pot along with the seasoning flavourings (mushroom soaking liquid, gluten-free soya sauce, sugar, mirin and salt). Bring to a boil and then simmer until the mushrooms have soaked up most of the liquid. Drain away any remaining liquid and set aside.
5. Prepare your inariage. (inariage recipe)
6. Season your rice. (sushi rice recipe)
7. Now you can stuff the inariage with the mixed rice. Sometimes I make little rice balls and stuff into the tofu pouches (inariage) and other times I just use a small spoon to put the rice in. Be gentle as the tofu tears easily.
Gently roll the edges of the tofu pouches down to make a nice edge and then sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top.

You can also make plain inarizushi. Just make your seasoned sushi rice and stuff into the seasoned inariage (seasoned deep fried tofu pouches). Don't overfill them, you need to leave enough of the tofu pouch to be able to fold it over the sushi, making little oblong balls.They taste delicious and are great for a picnic.

Do you like inarizushi? What are your favorite fillings?

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns.