Rice Balls with Roasted Eels (Unagi Balls)

Posted August 30th, 2010 in Food No Comments »

I made this to eat at home, but it’s also a great item for picnic. It’s such easy to make and looks cute, like temari-sushi (small and ball-shaped sushi). You can add more colors such as red (red ginger), green (green veggie or green pickles), orange (tobikko) …

The good thing is, you don’t even need to make your hands dirty – shape it by using pieces of plastic wrap.

I used normal steamed rice (not vinegared rice) so this is not sushi. You can use vinegared rice if you like.

Makes 8~10

100g unagi (roasted eel)
1 egg
1 pinch of sugar
about 3 small bowl-full of steamed rice (short or medium grain)

If you are using a frozen unagi, defrost and warm up in a boiling water. Cut into pieces.
Beat egg with 1 pinch of sugar. Heat a frying pan and lightly grease the pan. Pour the egg and cook as if you are making very fine scrambled egg. Try not to color the egg. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Cut plastic wrap about 15cm x 15cm. Place a piece of the plastic wrap in a small bowl. (this makes easy to shape) Arrange a piece of unagi in the centre, and spoon scrambled egg around it. Drop 1.5 tbs of rice on top and close the plastic wrap. Shape into a round ball. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.