Veggie Rice Balls
From The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild...
Who else spent the weekend in a Zelda haze? The sequel to Breath of the Wild has enraptured me, like I'm sure it has many of you. I knew a few months back I wanted to announce my newest cookbook, The Video Game Chef, with a recipe from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Those who have been following me for a while know that Zelda
is the series that inspired me to create this blog 15 years (!) ago so
it sorta feels like everything has come full circle. Taking the photo
was also a great opportunity to give my poor eyeballs a break and touch
some (not cel-shaded) grass. Guys, this was such a fun and interesting
cookbook to make! It's a culinary voyage through the early days of video
game foods to the more elaborate and creative dishes from modern
titles. This recipe is for the Veggie Rice Balls from both BotW and TotK.
They seem to be a specialty of everyone's favorite sign-holder and
President Hudson supporter, Addison. The most basic version of these is
made using just Hylian Rice and Hyrule Herb but there are many
combinations that yield these tasty-looking snacks. They're easy as
slaying Bokoblins, vegan, and extremely customizable, just like in the
game. Try swapping out the ingredients and making your own combinations. Feel free to hum Epona's Song or Zelda's Lullaby while you put it
together!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Short Grain or "Sushi" Rice, freshly cooked (use brown to emulate game appearance)
- 2 Green Onions or 1 bunch chives, thinly sliced*
- 1 tbsp. Nori Komi Furikake
- 1 tsp. Gomasio (or sub Toasted Sesame Seeds with a pinch of Sea Salt)
- 1 tsp. Shiso Fumi Furikake (optional)
- 2 tbsp. Ponzu Sauce (or sub equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar)
- Up to 1/2 cup additional cooked green veggies such as Peas, Shishitso Peppers, Kale or Edamame, chopped fine (optional)
- Up to 1/4 cup additional fresh herbs such as Shiso, Dill, Mitsuba, Parsley etc., chopped fine (optional)
- 1 Shiso or large Lettuce Leaf (optional, for serving/garnish)
*This is a basic template, but you can add some Sichimi Togarashi for the "Spicy" version!
Directions
- Make sake sure all your veggies and herbs are dry, too much additional moisture could make the rice too soggy to shape.
- In
a small mixing bowl, mix together the rice, green onions, furikake
(both kinds, if using), gomasio, ponzu and any additional veggies or
herbs. Everything should be very sticky. If it's not sticking together,
you may need to add more rice.
- For easier forming, use
slightly damp onigiri rice molds to create the rounded triangular shape
and use according to product directions. This will make 2-4 rice balls,
depending on the size of the mold. If you are new to the joy of rice
balls and don't have the molds, place a small bowl of warm, lightly
salted water on your work station. Wet your hands in the water, and
separate the rice into 2-4 equal portions. Using damp hands, gently mold
the rice into the rounded triangular shape, wetting your hands as
needed. You can also wrap the rice portions in plastic wrap before
shaping them and they will appear a bit more even, although the in-game
version is pretty imperfect-looking so this is optional.
- Set a shiso leaf or a leaf of lettuce down on a serving plate. Plate two rice balls on top of the leaf and garnish one with an herb sprig of your choice. Repeat once more if you made four rice balls instead of two. Serve!
Makes 2-4 Rice Balls
*Although Hyrule Herb looks the most like dill, I think that might be too polarizing a
flavor considering the fictional herb's many applications, so I used green onion. Feel free to use whatever fresh herbs your heart container desires!
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