Home Made Inari topped with Spicy Sushi Sauce

Home made Inari Sushi with Spicy Sushi Sauce from 500 Vegan Recipes

An oldy but a goodie! I originally posted the recipe for the Spicy Sushi Sauce way back in January of 2009 as a teaser for 500 Vegan Recipes, and I'll be darned if I don't love that stuff even more today. My newest favorite way to use it is on Asian Fusion Tacos. There are a few food trucks and restaurants in Los Angeles serving up this wonderful Asian twist on Mexican food.  I say wonderful, because I think it is a wonderful idea to fuse those two cuisines, but the truth is, those places aren't vegan, so I haven't been able to try them out.  Enter my local Whole Foods Market, who started serving up vegan street style tacos in their traditional Mexican form as well as Fusion style.  YAY!

But I digress.  This post is about Inari, home made Inari to be exact.  So it's really 3 recipes in one post. One for the tofu pockets, one for the rice filling, and of course, one for the ridiculously good sauce.   You can take a huge shortcut when making these at home by buying canned, prepared Inarizushi No Moto tofu pockets, but I like to make my own pockets with regular extra firm tofu that you can get at any grocery store.

For the Tofu Pockets

12 ounces (or one block) extra firm tofu, drained and pressed*

1 cup (or more) vegetable oil

1 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup agave

*It really doesn't matter how much your block weighs.

In a pot, or a deep fryer, place enough oil to give you at least one inch. Heat on high heat.

Cut your tofu into 12-16 pieces, depending on the size of your block. You want to have rectangles that measure about 2 inches long, 1 1/2" wide and 1/4" thick.

Deep fry the blocks, 3 or 4 at a time, in oil until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Take care that they don't touch in the oil, or they will get stuck to eachother. Remove from oil and set on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil.

In a wide shallow dish, or a gallon size zip top bag, mix together soy sauce, vinegar, and agave. Place the fried tofu in the marinade and let soak for at least ten minutes, but no longer than twenty. Remove from marinade and, once again place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Carefully cut a slit in the long end of the tofu to create a pocket.

Stuff with the prepared sushi rice.

Tofu Pockets

For the Rice
1 cup dry sushi rice
2 cups water
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon agave
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in your rice cooker. If you don't have a rice cooker, follow the instructions on your package of rice, adding the vinegar and agave to the water.

Sushi Rice

Spicy Sushi Sauce
1/2 cup vegan mayo

2 tbsp Sri Racha

1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Whisk together until smooth, put it in a squeeze bottle and then squirt it all over everything you can think of!

Sushi Sauce