I feel like it's a holiday! It is, in actuality, a holiday. It's definitely Labor Day but I care more about the vegan month of food than that. I spent today off from work but working in my kitchen all the same. I prepared some deliciousness to share with everyone and I'm excited to unveil my first recipe. I have decided to choose a theme for this month's blog posts since it would help me narrow down my ideas. I need to do that or I will be indecisive and all over the place. So, I chose... I have wanted to make this blog inclusive of foods and flavors that I have grown up with. I also wanted to feature recipes and ideas that are fusions of my ethnicity from both sides of my family. I have mostly grown up on a standard American diet with bits of Japanese, Italian, and German cooking. After I decided to become a vegan, I branched out of my comfort zone and tried all different types of food. I still have many ethnic foods to explore, but for now I will showcase my number one favorite type! This is hardly a recipe. I think onigiri, or rice balls, are a very simple home cooked snack that don't require a whole lot of thinking. I do, however, see many places with fancy onigiri these days. It really makes me happy to see people embracing this simple comfort food. I used to eat these when I was little as a lunch, breakfast or snack. I would use only white rice and nori (seaweed). The ones I have made here a little more substantial because they have delicious azuki beans inside them! Azuki beans are small red beans that are used in Japanese cooking for many savory and sweet dishes. I used to hate them when I was little, but I've learned to absolutely love them today. They don't have much flavor which lends them to many different uses. These onigiri were created with the dish seki-han in mind, which is a modest rice and beans dish usually served for celebrations in Japan (weddings, New Year's...). I ate seki-han with my family recently to celebrate my grandparents' 50th anniversary. If you are making seki-han from scratch, cook the rice and beans together. Traditionally, the dish is cooked this way to impart a red hue to the rice (usually white Japanese sushi rice). I used a sweet brown rice which is the unrefined version of sushi rice. I love its nutty and sweet flavor. This rice, along with the azuki beans, can be used for dessert dishes as well. (Anyone else thinking rice pudding? YUM.) I used a canned variety of azuki beans here, which is fine if you don't feel like waiting for the dried ones to cook. I recommend Eden brand beans. They have a BPA-free can liner and they don't add anything weird to their beans. They are also organic! ( Don't be confused by the romanization of azuki as "aduki" or "adzuki". It's the same word just using different letters to spell out the Japanese word: あずき . I just like to use the most literal translation possible because I'm anal. ^_^' )
Ingredients
* I use a rice cooker to make my rice. I usually use a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 cups water. You can always cook your rice on the stove using the same ratio. If you are using white rice, follow the instructions on the package or from the bulk section where you bought it from. Instructions
Jess
9/3/2014 04:46:54 am
Thank you so much! ^_^ 9/8/2014 09:22:22 am
I'm so happy to find your blog! I adore vegan Japanese food! It brings me back to my late childhood when I lived there. Have you found a way to make a really good tamagoyaki? I usually make a chickpea flour omelette but the rolling part and getting it thin enough is harder to accomplish. I will bookmark your blog and be back for sure! Happy Vegan MoFo :) Oishii desu ne!
Jessica Weidman
9/8/2014 10:20:42 am
Thank you so much! Thats awesome that you used to live there! Im totally jealous ;) I have been meaning to try a recipe for tamago but i haven't gotten around to it yet. If I find something that works I will definitely post it and let you know. That is also something I miss eating haha. It was a total comfort food for me! Thanks for reading!
Jessica Weidman
9/10/2014 02:58:33 pm
Yes onigiri is definitely one of my favorite convenience foods too! I hope you like the beans in them. I love the extra protein and texture they add! Comments are closed.
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I'm Jess!This is my very first food blog! I post revised conventional recipes of foods that I hold near and dear to my heart. My cooking here is all gluten-free and cruelty-free, but full of flavor and comfort. Archives
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