Monday, August 13, 2012

Japanese Masago Rice—With Step-by-Step Pictorial


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Many years ago, when I was still in college, I frequently visit this casual Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles called 花の島 (literally translated to Island of Flower).  They mainly serve set lunch and dinner on their menu.  They have tasty noodles and many varieties of rice bowl dishes.  Very tasty, homey and affordable, perfect for college students on a budget.  One of the items on the menu was Japanese Masago Rice and it’s always been my favorite ever since my first order.  And please do not ask me how many years ago that was, I’ve lost count!

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After moving away further from that part of town, I seldom visited this restaurant anymore.  I still crave this Japanese Masago Rice from time to time.  So, I’ve been making this at home for the longest time.  This is one of my favorite recipes from the “restaurant dish recreated at home” category, especially in the hot summer because it’s served at room temperature.  Think about it, who needs a bowl of hot rice when the temperature hits triple digits, right!?  Definitely not me. 

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Imagine flavorful, slightly tangy and sweet sushi rice packed with slightly salty and sweet Masago eggs (Smelt Eggs); mixed all in with tender egg stripes, sweet and umami crab (imitation crab meat it is, remember we’re on a budget here); top with crispy, earthy seaweed and crunchy and spicy radish sprouts.  Each bite is heavenly.  If you wonder what the imitation crab meat is made from, it’s fish.  Different brand might use different type of fish.  I’ll show you my favorite brand to use in the pictorial below.

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Ready to come into the kitchen with me to learn how to make this?  Come on over.

1) Place the cooked sushi rice into a large bowl and season with rice vinegar, sugar and salt.
2) Fold the rice to evenly distribute the seasoning and cool off the rice a bit.  Loosely cover the rice with a plastic wrap so it won’t dry out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3) Fry the eggs on a skillet until fully cooked.  Remove from heat and let it cool on a plate.
4) This is my favorite brand of imitation crab meat.  They are so good that I can eat them straight out of the bag!  And I did…and please don’t ask me how many either.  You probably know by now that I’m not too good with counting numbers.

Pictorial A

5) The imitation crab meats are individually wrapped, so make sure you remove the plastic wraps.
6) With your hands, pull them apart into thin strips. 
7) Cut the cooked and cooled eggs into thin strips.
8) This is the package of radish sprouts, as instructed on the package, use a pair of scissors to cut whatever amount you needed.

Pictorial B

9) This is the seaweed that I used.  Toast it in the toaster oven for 30 seconds at the lowest setting to crisp it up if you like.
10) With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the seaweed into thin strips, 1 1/2-inch length.
11) Fold in the masago eggs into the cooled sushi rice.
12) Gently fold in the imitation crab meat, eggs and top with the seaweed, radish sprouts and serve.

Pictorial C

Here’s a close up of the finished dish.  Don’t you just love the colors?

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Hope you enjoy today’s recipe and pictorial.  Until next time, take care and let’s enjoy more summer dishes before it ends! 

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Japanese Masago Rice: (Printable Recipe)

Ingredients For the Sushi Rice:
1 cup sushi or short grain rice
1 cup water, plus more for rinsing
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

To Prepare the rice:
Place the rice in a mixing bowl and cover with cool water.  Swirl the rice and pour away the water.  Repeat 2 or 3 times until the water is clear and not cloudy.

If you have a rice cooker, please rice in the bowl of a rice cooker, add water and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

If you don’t have a rice cooker, place the rice and 1 cup of water into a medium saucepan and cook over high heat.  Bring to a boil uncovered.  When the water begins to boil, reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let it stand for another 10 minutes, covered.

Transfer the cooked rice into a large bowl and season with rice vinegar, sugar and salt.  Fold the rice to evenly distribute the seasoning and cool off the rice a bit. Loosely cover the rice with a plastic wrap so it won’t dry out while you prepare the rest of the ingredient.

Ingredients for the Masago Rice:
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of kosher salt
2 ounce of masago eggs (sold in most Asian Markets)
8 ounce of imitation crab meats
1/2 seaweed sheet
a handful of radish sprouts

To Prepare the Masago Rice:
Fry the eggs on a skillet with low heat until fully cooked. Remove from heat and let it cool on a plate.  Remove the plastic wraps from the imitation crab meat, if any.  With your hands, pull them apart into thin strips.

Cut the cooked and cooled eggs into thin strips. Use a pair of scissors to cut the radish sprouts.  Toast the seaweed in the toaster oven for 30 seconds at the lowest setting to crisp it up if you like.  With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the seaweed into thin strips, 1 1/2-inch length.

Fold in the masago eggs into the cooled sushi rice. Gently fold in the imitation crab meat, eggs and top with the seaweed, radish sprouts and serve at room temperature.



34 comments:

  1. This just popped up onto my feed--and I was so delighted! And also a little heartbroken. I don't eat imitation crab or masago, but I do love egg with sushi rice since sushi rice is so rarely served entree-style. I'll definitely have to make a variation on this soon...thanks for sharing!

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    1. Sorry to hear that you don't eat imitation crab or masago. Well, but the sushi rice base is still good. You can add whatever ingredients that you love. This is a pretty versatile recipe. Can't wait to see your version. :)

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  2. Very beautiful presentation and healthy meal. Definitely love to try this at home. Thank you for sharing dear :)

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    1. Thank you. Yes, I love how pretty it look and rather simple to make. :)

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  3. What a beautiful colorful dish! Thanks for the step by step...beautiful presentation.

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    1. Thank you, Belinda. Yes, I adore the color and flavor of this recipe. :) It's cheers me up just by looking at eat. Of course, eating it is even better. hehehe...

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  4. You always makwe beautiful things, Amy! I loved the sushi rice part of the recipe. My mom would like the masago rice part of the recipe - I'll send them both to her:)

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    1. Thank you. :) If you don't like the masago part, simply top the rice with other ingredients that you love. The sushi rice will still taste great.

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  5. Amy - this is one of the most interesting and beautiful dishes I've seen in a long time! I think we would love this at my house. I'm printing to add to my pile of must-make-soon recipes! Thanks - have a great week.

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    1. Thank you, Tricia. I'm sure you'll love this recipe. It's so good especially in the summer. :) Hope your week was wonderful so far. Take care.

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  6. This looks amazing! Thank you for sharing :). Glad I found your awesome blog!!
    xoxo
    Ash
    http://abpetite.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you Ash. I really enjoy reading your blog too. Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment. Hope I'll see you soon again.

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  7. I loves eating Japanese food but never attempted to make it at home. Yes, I have enjoyed viewing all the tutorial photos you have posted here. The crab sticks color look different from ours selling here.

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    1. My family love Japanese food a lot, so I tried to make the simple ones at home from time to time. :) This one is particularly easy. I guess different brand of crab sticks might have different colors. I saw those from American markets look very different from these. :)

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  8. This looks like the perfect summer dish -- not too heavy, but still filling enough. Plus, the color is just spectacular.

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    1. Thanks, Carolyn. Yes, this is a light yet satisfying dish. This is one of our family's favorite summer dishes.

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  9. A healthy and delightful dish. Love your presentation.

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    1. Thank you, Angie. Glad you like this dish. :)

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  10. I love Little Tokyo in L.A. My daughter and I visit every couple of months and we definitely have our favorite little places. Your rice dish looks fabulous and I would definitely make on one of our scorching summer days we're having Amy.

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    1. Oh yeah, I really miss Little Tokyo! Can't wait to go there again for some treats. :) This dish is definitely one of my family's favorite summer dishes. Hope you'll like it too.

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  11. I love this kind of rice, especially when the weather is warm...thanks for the pictures...awesome!
    Hope you are enjoying your week Amy:)

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    1. Thank you, Juliana. Yes, this type of dishes is very comforting in the hot summer weather. Wish you a beautiful rest of the week too. :)

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  12. This looks delicious, Amy. Looks pretty too...Christine

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    1. Thanks, Christine. :) Hope you're having a fantastic week. Thanks for stopping by.

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  13. Such a colorful dish! Love the egg in there:)

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  14. What a beautiful dish so full of flavor and lovely color!

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  15. At first I thought you said mango rice, but this sounds so much better!
    There's this great Japanese restaurant I love but now that we moved away I rarely visit it either. In hindsight we should have stayed just for the restaurant.

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    1. :) Mango rice would be really...hm...really interesting! LOL...but guess I would prefer masago much better too.

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  16. Hope you are having a great weekend and thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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    1. Thank you Miz Helen for hosting. Always love to join your linky party. ;) Have a wonderful week.

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