Inari-zushi

Except for a brief obsession with avocado subs in collage, I’ve never been a cold sandwich person. A warm sandwich such as a reuben or a turkey melt, I like. However, I’ve discovered I enjoy the Japanese “sandwich like” food called Inari-zushi, or sushi pillows which is eaten at room temperature or cool. In the basic form, Inari-zushi is soy simmered fried tofu pockets stuffed with rice that has been flavored with vinegar, salt, & sugar. In her book Washoku, Elizabeth Andoh explains that the name of the dish is linked to the Inari shrine in Kyoto which is associated with foxes. In Japanese folktales, foxes are fond of fried tofu. And, the fried tofu’s golden brown color resembles a fox. I like to add toasted sesame and pickled pink ginger to the rice. Yummy!