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julia calleo
my lavender blues
Sticky Rice Beef Balls
Happy Monday (said no one ever).
Especially a Monday that has followed a weekend filled with belligerence and over indulgence of Halloween candy. It left me with a headache, a belly ache and mouth sores. Way to go America!
It also left me feeling incredibly lazy and not wanting to make any home cooked meal. However, I knew if I started my week off on the “wrong” foot there was a very high chance that I would continue the rest of my week that way and I needed to beat those odds.
Does that happen to anyone else? Or do you have any tips to getting you back on the right track after a diet slip up? I usually just throw in the towel after one mistake =/
Spending many of my childhood years in Tokyo, Japan, my mom always managed to come up with creative meal twists by preparing traditional Japanese dishes with a Western flare. One of my all time favorites were her “sticky rice beef balls” that I am sharing with you. It was her take on two separate Japanese dishes, Gyudon & Onigiri.
Gyudon is a Japanese dish that usually consists of beef which is cooked in a sauce and then served over a bowl of rice. You can technically skip the last step of actually making these beefy rice balls and serve this the traditional way. Onigiri which literally means rice ball, is usually formed into a triangular shape and is stuffed with something salty or sour (pickled plum, salmon, tuna, etc) and can be wrapped in nori (dried seaweed).
These rice balls are so incredibly easy to assemble and are a great make-ahead snack. I like to usually make these on a Sunday or Monday leaving me with a protein packed snack on-the-go for the rest of my week.
Not only am I obsessed with Japanese rice (I mean, who isn’t?) but I absolutely LOVE being able to eat with my hands. Being on the go all of the time (i.e. chasing a toddler) the best kind of meals are the hassle free, no stress – no mess kind of meals. And this one is at the top of my list.
- 8 cups cooked Japanese "sushi" rice
- 1 lb sirloin steak
- 3 stalks green onion sliced into small rings
- ½ cup Mirin
- ½ cup water
- ⅔ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- Put your cooked rice in a bowl and set aside.
- First you'll need to very thinly slice your sirloin into ⅛" thick slices. To achieve this it is best if you place meat in freezer for about 40 minutes then remove and slice right away.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat add your mirin, water, soy sauce and ground ginger. Bring to a boil.
- Add your thin meat slices and cook until desired temperature is reached. Once temperature is reached (Usually will only take about 2-3 minutes to cook through) add your green onions and let boil for another 45 seconds.
- Remove from heat.
- Take about 2 tbsp of meat at time and chop into smaller pieces. Next, wetting your hands first (do not skip this, it will prevent the rice from sticking to your hands) add aboutt ¼ cup of rice. Using your thumb make an indent in the middle or rice and add your meat. Next take about another ¼ cup of rice with your other hand and place on top of the rice/meat nest. Place palms together and form a ball until rice comes together and stays. Repeat this step until all rice/meat is used up. This may leave you with a little extra meat, in which case I like to pour the sauce of the rice balls and add some meat on the side for serving.
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