Recipe: Salmon Belly Arani and Grilled Onigiri

Sprinkle onigiri with Marumiya Furikake Seaweed Egg Powder. It sounds weird but it's actually a yummy flavored rice sprinkles made of fish, sesame seeds and seaweed. Available in groceries that sell Japanaese food items like Rustan's, Metro Gaisano and Machiya Mart.

This dish usually utilize fish head as the main ingredient. But I couldn't find fresh fish heads (or frozen salmon heads) as of this moment so I used salmon belly cuts instead. I buy these frozen in vacuum-sealed packaging. If you are hesitant in buying these,  I recommend that you always check the date when it was packed. The more recent the better. Expiry dates are usually least important for me if I know the fish was recently packed. If it packed more than a month, I wouldn't buy it. These kinds of fish cuts are tasty when cooked the right way and is inexpensive compared to the prime cuts.

"Ara" from what I gathered is the bony part or trimmings of the fish. And in japanese cuisine, "arani" is a method of cooking the bony parts of the fish using soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. I love Salmon Arani in Little Nonki Restaurant cooked similarly this way. It's very simple and easy to do and is best served with rice.

I included my Grilled Onigiri recipe which I copied from Osaka Takoyaki Restaurant. It's a shaped rice, grilled and flavored with a weak solution of kikkoman and mirin. You can get these plastic onigiri mould at Daiso stores for Php 66 to Php 88 each. Always use Japanese rice to make it hold it's shape and make grilling easier. Alternatively, there's a rice variety called the "long grain, Japanese textured rice" which costs lesser than the former. It's actually a good substitute for the real thing.

Salmon Belly Arani

Ingredients:

• 300 grams Salmon Belly
• 1 piece thumb sized ginger, julliened
• 1 stalk green onion sliced
• 2-3 teaspoons Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup mirin
• 1/3 cup sake
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• A dash of shichmi (japanese chili powder)

Procedure:

1. Arrange salmon slices in a pan. Cover with water and use high heat until the water is hot and close to a boil. 

2. Turn it off and discard water immediately without removing the fish in pan. This is to remove the scum of the fish. Avoid over boil and cook the fish thoroughly and do not try to remove the fish either.

3. Place the ginger amd green onions on top of the fish and pour over the soy sauce, mirin and sake. 

4.Sprinkle the sugar around the fish before adding the water on the sides. 

5. Give the pan a quick shake from side to side to distribute the sugar and liquid.

6. Cook in medium heat until it boils and reduce heat to a low simmer.

7. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes or more or until the sauce reduces and thickens by itself. Don't try to stir the fish, it will flake.

8. Turn off heat and let it sit for 30 minutes to let he fish soak up the flavor.

9. Serve with rice.

Grilled Onigiri

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon mirin
• 2 teaspoons water
• 3 cups cooked Japanese Rice
• Onigiri mould (available at Daiso or Japan Home Center)

Grill sauce:

• 3 tablespoons mirin
• 1 teaspoon Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce
• Few drops of sesame oil

Shake everything in a small sauce squeeze bottle or mix in a small bowl.

Procedure:

You can get these plastic onigiri mould at Daiso stores for Php 66 to Php 88 each.
The small fancy shapes on top (heart, star, bear) amazingly holds about a cup of rice for the three combined.
The twin triangular shapes below holds a cup for both combined.

1. Mix the first mirin and water ingredients.
2. When rice is still warm, pour the mirin dressing over the rice and toss well.
3. When rice has cooled down, pack them in onigiri mould. The twin mould that I used could pack a cup of rice so two pieces onigiri would be enough for one person.
4. Unmold the rice balls and set aside.
5. Preheat a flat pan wiped with a thin layer of cooking oil.
6. Lay the onigiri balls and pan grill them in medium heat while basting it with the grill sauce. Do not over baste or the rice will fall apart.
7. Grill until slightly browned on all sides. Use kitchen tongs with spatula to make it easier to handle and flip the balls.
8. Serve warm with the Salmon Belly Arani.

Tip: Sprinkle with Marumiya Furikake Seaweed Egg Powder. It sounds weird but it's actually a yummy flavored rice sprinkles made of fish, sesame seeds and seaweed. Available in groceries that sell Japanaese food items like Rustan's, Metro Gaisano and Machiya Mart.

Enjoy and Happy Eats!