Teriyaki Chicken Riceball

Takes 1 hours. Makes 4 large riceballs.

Something I find quite interesting is that outside of New Zealand, chicken is not a very common sushi filling. In fact, if you are reading this blog from anywhere else in the world you may have never encountered it. Which is fair enough because in Japan - the birth place of sushi - out of the several types of onigiri that is served at convenience stores, perhaps only 1 will contain chicken.

You may however find chicken at a high end sashimi restaurant, and you should definitely try it- if you are brave enough to eat it raw... that right, some sashimi restaurants specialise in raw chicken! Of course, it's expertly curated and its very, very unlikely you'd get sick.

Anyway, we will be cooking the chicken in this recipe.

I just wanted to point out that, as mentioned above, chicken rice balls and sushi are a westernised version of Japanese cuisine. It's something that has sold incredibly well in New Zealand, and has since become more popular that seafood sushi. In high school, it became my favourite after school snack, so I wanted to create a gluten free version that I can continue to enjoy.

If you are still unsure of the flavours, I promise you there its something wonderful about the combination of teriyaki chicken and avocado that you don't want to miss out on.

T E R I Y A K I C H I C K E N R I C E B A L L R E C I P E

Ingredients

For the Teriyaki Sauce/Marinade

• 3 Tbsp water

• 1 Tbsp corn flour/corn starch

• 1/3 cup gluten free soy sauce

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp mirin

• 1 1/2 Tbsp honey

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• A heaped teaspoon of finely chopped garlic

• A heaped teaspoon of finely chopped ginger

Other

• 200 grams of chicken breast

• 1 cup of sushi rice

• 1 avocado

• Mayonaise

• Nori/Seaweed (optional)

• Fresh vegetables (for serving)

Method

1. Rinse the sushi rice under cold water until water becomes clear.

2. Add the sushi rice to a pot, with 1 and 1/4 cups of cold water. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. Next, make the teriyaki sauce by combining water and cornflour.

4. Then add the soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, honey, sesame oil, garlic and ginger, and mix well.

5. Add half a cup of the teriyaki sauce to a bowl with the chicken to marinate. Seal with cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6. After your sushi rice has finished absorbing, bring to the boil, gently stir, then cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes on low.

7. Take the sushi rice off the heat but keep covered for another 10 minutes and then cool.

8. Once your chicken has finished marinating, heat a frying pan with a drizzle of oil and place the chicken breast onto the how pan.

9. Fry for about 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through.

10. Once the chicken is cooked transfer to a chopping board. Reserve the pan, we will be using it again shortly. Shred the chicken using two forks in a pulling motion.

11. Once chicken is shredded, place back into the pan with 3-4 tablespoons of your sticky teriyaki sauce. Cook for a 2 minutes and have a taste. Add more teriyaki sauce/season if needed. Once you are happy with the taste, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

12. At this point your sushi rice should be beginning to cool down. Add a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of mirin to the rice and mix in.

13. It's now time to assemble the riceballs. I find the easiest way to do this is by covering your surface with a layer of cling film.

14. Place two heaped spoonfuls of rice in the middle of the cling film, and slightly spread out into a rough circle making sure there is no gaps.

15. Add a spoonful of chicken, some sliced avocado, and a drizzle of mayonnaise.

16. Next place one spoonful of rice on top, doing your best to spread it over the filling. It's going to be sticky!

17. Finally, pick up the edges of the cling film and shape the rice ball into a circle shape. You can leave it in the wrap until its ready to eat, or serve it straight away.

18. If you would like, wrap the rice ball in a strip of seaweed paper, it makes it easier to eat on the go.

For storing, wrap and keep in the fridge. Consume within a day.

Recipe by Morgan McKenzie Moore