Fried Onigiri is not traditional sushi! But no matter, my Japanese take on arancini with Miso marinated Scallops makes a great addition to a sushi platter. The coating provides great crunch and the scallop filling is full of fabulous flavour.
Firstly ensure that your 500g Cooked Sushi Rice is prepared and fully cooled.
Prepare the Scallops
Add 1 tbsp Miso Paste, 1 tsp Ginger Paste, 1 tsp Sesame Oil, 1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar and 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce to a small bowl and combine.
Using kitchen towel, dry off 24 Small Scallops.
Add them to the marinade mixture. Leave to marinate for at least 10-15 minutes. They are very small so don't really require much more.
Meanwhile, flavour the rice by finely chopping 5 tbsp Chives and adding to the rice with 1 tsp Ginger Paste. Gently combine the ingredients. You ideally don't want to turn the rice into mush.
Add 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil to a small shallow pan on a high heat.
Add the marinated scallops to the pan (excluding most of the marinade) Fry on each side for about minute until they're a little brown and caramelised on each side.
Remove the scallops from the pan and set aside to cool a little.
Assemble the Onigiri
Wet your hands with cold water and split the rice into 12 equal portions (roughly 40g each).
Roll one of the rice portions into a ball and then flatten into a patty.
Add 2 of the scallops to the rice patty.
Form the rice into a ball around the scallops. Try to be vaguely gentle as squeezing too hard will turn the rice into a mushy lump.
Set aside on a plate or board and repeat to form the remaining balls.
Add roughly 3 tbsp Plain Flour to a small bowl. Set aside.
Whisk 2 Eggs in another small bowl. Set aside.
Mix 80g Panko Breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp Sea Salt Flakes in a 3rd bowl.
Dip each of the rice balls in the flour and set aside on a clean plate.
Dip each ball in the egg ...
... then the breadcrumbs. A single dip of each will suffice.
Leave the balls to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes if possible.
Cook the Onigiri
Heat your frying oil to 180c or equivalent).
Add the balls to the oil for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Make sure not to overcrowd the cooking pan.
Repeat for as many batches as you need.
Leave the cooked balls to drain on kitchen paper before serving hot.