Tomorrow is “Hinamatsuri,” “Doll’s Day,” or Girl’s Day in Japan. It is celebrated and there are prayers for the health and happiness of young girls. Dolls are on display in the house and special foods like mochi and sushi are eaten for that special girl in the house.
This tradition has Chinese roots of getting rid of bad luck and sickness by transferring it to a doll and then tossing it into the river. Sending bad fortunes away in straw and paper dolls was adopted by the Japanese, and is called “hina-nagashi,” In modern day Japan, grandparents buy dolls for granddaughters in February, which are displayed for Girls Day and then put away for the next year. Timing of putting the dolls away is important, which is stored away soon after Girl’s Day. Otherwise, putting the dolls away late may mean that the girl will have a delayed marriage. So if you don’t want your daughter or granddaughter to be an old maid, then please put the dolls away on March 4!
Inarizushi or what we know as cone sushi is often on the menu. According to Just One cookbook, inarizushi are taken as offerings in front of fox statutes located at fox shrines, dedicated to the deities that protect the crops. The fried tofu or aburage is believed to be a favorite food for the foxes.
As with most food fishes, the Tokyo inarizushi is different from the ones from Osaka. In Tokyo the cone sushi is completely wrapped into the pouch. The Osaka inarizushi has the rice exposed at the bottom.
I remember my mother making cone sushi and cutting, then separating the aburage, then cooking it in soy sauce, sugar, and ichiban dashi. She wanted to make her inarizushi as good as the ones from Mizoguchi Sushi Shop, where she worked and learned their technique. Today, you can buy the aburage already seasoned and cooked, ready to be stuffed with sushi rice. Buying ready-made is easy and can be stored at room temperature, but is often too sweet, and contains preservatives to improve its shelf life.
Inari Sushi
Makes 12
1-1/2 cups raw sushi rice, cooked up to 4 cups cooked
My mother’s important rule No. 1: you must season the rice when it is very hot. To make sushi vinegar:
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
To make vegetables to add to rice:
1/2 cup finely minced carrots
1 aburage, finely minced
1/2 cup kamaboko (fish cakes) finely minced
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup leftover kampyo from making sushi
My mother’s important rule No. 2: these vegetables may have been leftover after making makizushi and must be in odd numbers, either 3 or 5.
My mother’s important rule No. 3: the vegetables need to be warm when added to the rice. The rice is seasoned with the vinegar solution first, otherwise she would say that the vegetables will get sour.
My mother’s important rule No. 4: when mixing the seasoned vinegar and the minced vegetables, gently fold the rice from the bottom of the bowl up. Do not smash the rice, otherwise the rice will become mushy.
12 pouches of inari, warmed
My mothers’s important rule #5 if you make from scratch, cut the aburage, open the pouches now or you will never be able to open them once you cook them in the sauce of: 1/4 cup ichiban dashi, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup sugar, gently boil until aburage is soft.
My mother’s important rule No. 6: fan the rice to cool slightly before stuffing it into the pouches. Moisten your hands with the liquid from the aburage or the vinegar. Make a small rice ball with your hands to fit into the pouches.
My mother’s important rule No. 7: never make tight rice balls. When you bite into the inarizushi, it should never be biting into a hard ball of rice!
Place the rice ball into the inari pouch and pat in gently. Either fold over the edges or close up the pouches so the rice does not come out.
• • •
Chichi dango or three colored mochi is displayed with the dolls with pink standing for spring; green for summer or fertility and white for snow or purity.
Chichi Dango or Three-Colored Mochi
1 pound mochiko (16-ounce box)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 (14 ounce) coconut milk
1-3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red and green natural food coloring
Potato starch or katakuriko
Mix mochiko, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. Mix coconut milk, water and vanilla in another bowl until well blended.
Gradually add the mochiko mix into the wet. Mix until fully incorporated. Evenly separate the mix into three bowls. Add 4 drops of red food coloring, 4 drops of green in another, and leave the third one white.
Pour the pink mixture into a greased 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan and cover with foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Take mochi out and pour the white mochi over the pink, covering the pink completely. Cover again in foil and place back in the oven for 30 minutes. Take mochi and pour the green layer over the white, covering the white completely. Place foil over and back for another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into one inch by two inch rectangles. Roll in potato starch. Cut waxed paper into 4 inch squares and wrap the mochi diagonally and twist to close. Can be stored at room temperature for two days.
Happy Girl’s Day to my granddaughter Artemis!
