It sounds weird but I feel very proud of shiitake mushrooms every time I see them used in
Western cooking programmes and recipe books. It is one of the few Japanese ingredients
that has become widely used outside of Japan. It has a unique taste and aroma and I love
to use it in soups. It goes well with a variety of seasonings and ingredients. What’s more, it is very nutritious!
Ingredients
- 8 Fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 17 oz (480 g) Cooked Japanese short grain rice
- White radish (daikon) leaves 20-cm (8-in), blanched, drained and cut into 0.5-cm (¼-in) lengths
- 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) + more for brushing on mushrooms
- 2 tbsp Toasted white sesame seeds + more for coating
- ½ tsp Salt
How to Make It
- Wipe shiitake mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and remove stems. Score the tops of the mushrooms with an X. Set aside.
- Combine rice, white radish leaves, soy sauce, sesame seeds and salt in a bowl and mix well.
- Place cling wrap in a rice bowl and scoop 60 g (2 oz) of rice mixture into the bowl. Pull out rice together with cling wrap and gently mould rice into a ball. Flatten top and bottom of the rice ball slightly. Remove cling wrap. Repeat to make another 7 rice balls.
- Coat the sides of the rice balls with toasted sesame seeds.
- Top each rice ball with a shiitake mushroom.
- Grill onigiri with the mushroom side down in an oven toaster or frying pan for 3 minutes. Turn rice balls over and grill the other side for another 3 minutes or until browned.
- Brush soy sauce over shiitake mushrooms and grill again until brown on both sides. Brush soy sauce over shiitake mushrooms once again and serve immediately.
