Hello Everyone, welcome to the uTry.it channel. This is Amy Tong.
Today, I have these super adorable and kawaii treats to share with you.
These little rice balls not only look cute but they are super delicious as well.
My daughter and I absolutely adore these
fluffy critters.
These are some of the new kawaii characters from Japan.
Follow me to the kitchen and I'll show you how to make these Sumikko Gurashi Rice Balls.
First, we start with 2 cups of cooked sushi rice.
If you don't have sushi rice, you can substitute with short grain rice.
Divide the rice into four equal portions
and leave 1 portion plain.
In 1 of the portion, I'm adding some seasoned cod powder to naturally season and color the rice.
It will turn the rice into a gorgeous pink color and the flavor is wonderful.
I ended up used about 2 teaspoons of the cod powder in my rice.
But you can taste it along the way to adjust it to your own preference.
In the next portion of rice, I'm adding 1/2 a teaspoon of matcha powder.
You can substitute with spinach puree if you like.
I really love the earthy green tea flavor in these rice balls.  I will list the product link below this video for your reference.
In the last portion of the rice, add about a teaspoon of soy sauce to season it.
Give it a quick stir until the soy sauce is evenly distributed throughout the rice.
For the fillings of these rice balls, I'm using some cooked smoked salmons.
I used about 1/2 a cup of salmons.
Stir in about 2 tablespoons of Japanese mayonnaise.
The mayonnaise will help the fillings stick together and also adding wonderful flavors.
Here comes the fun part, shaping and decorating the sushi balls!
I found this Sumikko Gurashi Rice Ball Set tools online and it's super fun to use.
Since I don't read Japanese, the pictures instructions at the back of the package really helps.
This tool set comes with a rice ball mold, a stamp for you to cut out the cheese to create the arms and ears for your critters,
and a very sturdy metal stamp to cut out your seaweed for the whiskers and eyes.
Our next step is to stamp out the cheese.
I'm using cheddar cheese today but you can use any cheese that you prefer.
As you can see, I have a little helper in the kitchen today.
This is a wonderful and easy recipe that you can cook with your kids.
After you  stamp out the cheese with the arms and and ears that you need, you can set them aside and work on the seaweed.
Press hard on the metal stamp as it is quite heavy.
Besides seaweed, I'm also using these colorful soy wrappers.
Not only that these soy wrappers are so easy and fun to use, the colors are all natural as well.
After you stamped out all the little parts
that you need, we can start shaping the rice balls.
First, fill up the bottom of the mold with some of the rice.
Use the back of a small spoon to apply
pressure on the rice.
Create a little cavity in the middle so you can add your smoked salmon filling inside.
Cover the filling with a little bit more rice on top, then cover the rice with the top part of the mold and apply gentle pressure.
Flip the mold over and the handle will gently released.
Un-mold the rice ball from the mold and you can start decorating.
You can decorate however you like it.  Some cheese for the ears and nose.
Some seaweed for the eyes and soy wrapper for the arms and legs.
The rice ball turned out so adorable!
The shape of these rice balls are wonderful because they can stand up straight!
Check them out, who can resist these adorable faces!?
Besides looking so adorable, they are
actually very yummy as well.
And here's a bonus for you.  Do you wonder what these creatures are?
From the left to the right, we have Cat, Polar Bear, Penguin, and Tonkasu!
After all these hard works, I think we all deserved a nap!
I hope you enjoy today's tutorial and
will give this recipe a try real soon.
Before you go, please remember to click
on the subscribe button and subscribe to my channel.
Remember, Eat, Drink, and Be Happy!
Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you all next week!
