Allow me to explain some of the food from my homeland. I enjoy many different cuisines. Truly. Italian can be a close second for me, well, outside of Sonja’s home cooking. She really is an amazing cook! But the food of Nihon (Japan) is nostalgic for me, as well as delicious. There aren’t as many issues with things like high blood pressure, or other things many Americans find themselves dealing with because of their food staples. Or diet is rich in seafood, vegetables and rice. There is Udon, a delicious soup that almost looks like water, so they put in in colorful bowls to change the color, and it tastes like heaven. Really. It has a really full flavor you would think comes from a stew instead of such a light soup. Often we add noodles into it to make it taste even better, or some meat.  Of course, I love sushi!


Sushi and Sashimi are two very different things. I just thought about that. Many restaurants in the States list Sushi on the menu, so I not blame individual people. Sashimi is cut of raw meat (most often fish). Sushi is the vinegared rice (shari) mixtures that have many different toppings (neta), that can include Sashimi. So if you eat Sushi…it does not mean you eat anything raw. If you eat Sashimi on you Sushi…well then, yes you do. You are able to eat Sashimi alone, by the way. 

But enough about Sushi vs. Sashimi. I wanted to share with you something my mother taught me long ago to make. Maybe you can have your own Karashi-Mentaiko Rice Balls (for you Sailor Moon, Naruto, or Vampire Knight fans out there, this one is for you!)



Ingredients first!

You will need: 2 servings of hot steamed rice (about 4 ounces each)

1 toasted and dried layer of  nori (seaweed)

2 pieces of karashi-mentaiko (spicy Alaska Pollack Roe) about 1/3 ounce each

1 Tblspn of salt

Okay, here we go!

Put one serving of hot steamed rice in the center of plastic wrap

Make a hallow center and put a most of one piece of Karashi-Mentaiko in the center. (about 10 g)

Wrap the plastic wrap and form the rice into the desired shape. (I chose triangles most of the time)

Remove the plastic wrap and then sprinkle some salt around the outside. of the whole rice ball.

Cut a piece of nori to wrap just around the middle of the bottom of ball (like in the picture I provided)

Repeat on second ball and you are done!

See, wasn’t that easy? But this is one of the mot popular rice balls in Japan. Now I need to go make some.


Oh, I forgot. If you try it, please post a picture here. I’d love to see it. Maybe I can help you if you have any questions at all 🙂

Ja mata ne! (See you later!)

Subscribe and receive a FREE copy of Caesar's Gift!


Thank you for subscribing!