Sesame Rice Balls

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup short grain brown rice
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely diced
• 1/4 cup shallot, finely diced
• 30 g sesame seeds, toasted
• umeboshi plum paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon roasted dark sesame oil
• 2 sheets nori fresh seaweed, cut into strips 1 . 5 cm thick

Recipe

• 1 place the rice in a pan with 2 ½ cups of cold water and a pinch sea salt.
• 2 bring to the boil and reduce to simmer for 30 - 35 minutes until cooked.
• 3 n a food processor grind half the cooked rice until it becomes sticky and glues together.
• 4 add ground rice to a bowl with the remaining rice, vegetables and sesame seeds.
• 5 using your hands take a small amount of the rice and veggie mix and make a ball the size of a 50 cent piece.
• 6 push index finger through to centre and place a blob of umeboshi if using and close up the ball. sushi ginger also works well too.
• 7 continue this process until all the rice mix has been used.
• 8 roll each ball in the sesame seed and wind a strip of damp nori around each ball.
• 9 brush each ball with sesame oil.
• 10 place the balls on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 160c.
• 11 serve with a dipping sauce of tamari.