Sesame Rice Balls With Red Pepper Dipping Sauce Food

SESAME RICE BALLS WITH RED PEPPER DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Purée bell pepper with vinegar and sugar in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a small heavy saucepan and stir in red pepper flakes. Simmer 5 minutes, then pour through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids.
• Rinse rice in a bowl in several changes of cold water until water is almost clear; drain well in a large sieve. Combine rice and 2 cups water in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and let stand 10 minutes. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook at a rapid boil (lid will be rattling and foam may drip down outside of pan) 5 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes.
• Transfer warm rice to a large wooden bowl and sprinkle vinegar over it, a little at a time, while gently tossing with a flat wooden paddle or spoon so vinegar is absorbed and rice cools as it is aerated. Cool to room temperature.
• Stir together ginger and wasabi paste and remove edamame beans from pods.
• Have ready a bowl of warm water (for dipping hands and spoon) and a double-thickness 12-inch square of plastic wrap. Holding plastic in palm of 1 hand, put an edamame bean in center and invert a packed tablespoon of rice on top of bean. Gather plastic up around rice and twist tightly to form a ball (bean should still be visible). Unwrap, leaving plastic in your hand, and, going in from side opposite bean, poke a dampened finger into center of ball and fill with 1/4 teaspoon ginger mixture. Close rice over mixture and twist plastic tightly to re-form ball, then flatten slightly. Remove rice ball from plastic. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top and sides of rice ball, pressing lightly to adhere (do not coat bean with seeds). Transfer rice ball, bean side up, to a plate.
• Make more rice balls in same manner.
• Serve rice balls with dipping sauce.

VEGETABLE SESAME RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Chop the vegetables very finely - if the pieces are too big, the mixture will not stick together.
• Combine the rice and vegetables in a bowl. Mix the tahini, lemon juice, tamari and tofu in a blender until smooth and creamy.
• Pour this sauce over the rice and vegetables and mix thoroughly.
• With wet hands, roll bits of the rice mixture into balls of about 5cm in diameter.
• Roll the balls in the sesame seeds until they are completely coated and place them on a baking tray.
• Bake for 40 minutes, turning the balls twice during the baking process.
• While the balls are cooking, make the dipping sauce by mixing the tamari and mirin together in a small bowl.

SESAME RICE BALLS

Steps:

• Place the rice in a pan with 2 ½ cups of cold water and a pinch sea salt.
• Bring to the boil and reduce to simmer for 30 - 35 minutes until cooked.
• n a food processor grind half the cooked rice until it becomes sticky and glues together.
• Add ground rice to a bowl with the remaining rice, vegetables and sesame seeds.
• Using your hands take a small amount of the rice and veggie mix and make a ball the size of a 50 cent piece.
• Push index finger through to centre and place a blob of umeboshi if using and close up the ball. Sushi ginger also works well too.
• Continue this process until all the rice mix has been used.
• Roll each ball in the sesame seed and wind a strip of damp nori around each ball.
• Brush each ball with sesame oil.
• Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 160C.
• Serve with a dipping sauce of tamari.