Easy Inari Tofu Sushi with Avocado

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This easy inari tofu sushi recipe makes this meal the perfect for busy families and college students. Add seasoned sushi rice inside the inari (deep fried tofu pockets) and enjoy them by itself or filled with avocado, spicy tuna, or seaweed salad.

stuffed inari sushi with tuna mayo, avocado, seaweed salad with sliced avocado on the side

INGREDIENTS:

The variety of ingredients may change depending if you want to add fillings to your inari sushi. The filling is optional, but highly recommended for great flavor.

Please keep in mind that the more fillings you do, the longer the cooking time ◡̈ If you want to do half tuna and half avocado, you will need to half the recipe below. I recommend combining them both too for super excellent flavor as the acidity of the avocado balances the tuna mayo!

Sushi Rice –

1.5 cup cooked short grain rice (known as sushi rice) is used so the rice sticks to the inari tofu pocket.
1.5 tablespoon rice vinegar – helps lightly season the sushi rice
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
sesame seeds (optional)

Tuna Mayo Filling (serving: 16 pouches) –

1.5 tablespoon kewpie mayo
½ teaspoon togorashi (Japanese 7 spice)
1.5 teaspoon sriracha
¼ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 can tuna (korean tuna preferred)
green onions and sesame seeds to garnish
avocado slices to garnish

Avocado Filling (serving: 16 pouches) –

1 avocado, mashed
¼ teaspoon salt
pinch of sugar
½ lemon, juiced
½ teaspoon sesame oil
sliced korean yellow radish, to garnish (optional, adds a nice crunch!)

Stuffed Inari –

sushi rice
1 packet of store bought inari (seasoned tofu pouches) – 16 pouches
filling of choice (tuna mayo, avocado, salmon, or furikake)
sesame seeds (to garnish)
green onions (to garnish)

More Filling Ideas –

avocado sliced with salmon poke, white rice, seaweed salad, salad, kimchi in a bowl served with soy sauce and chopsticks — shoyu salmon poke

sushi grade salmon sliced thinly on bed of sushi rice with cucumbers and lemon — salmon sashimi

salmon poke or salmon sashimi
seaweed salad
tobiko
seaweed salad
furikake seasoning

HOW TO MAKE:

Make sushi rice

Step 1. Heat up cooked white rice and let it cool. Then, add 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar, ½ teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional) to the cooked rice. Mix together and set aside. It is optional, but I like to sprinkle in some sesame seeds.

Make fillings of choice (optional)

Step 2. Reference the avocado, or tuna mayo ingredients for the filling. Mixing all the ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Add rice and filling to inari pockets

Step 3. I used store bought inari pockets. Open the inari carefully because it has a lot of liquid inside. Gently squeeze out the liquid from the inari pouch and be careful not to rip open the tofu. Discard the liquid.

Step 4. Open the Inari pockets. Stuff the inari packets with little bit of rice to start. To make the stuffed inari, you will need to make a well in the middle. Add enough rice so the pouch looks filled with rice on all edges.

Step 5. Add your filling of choice inside the inari pocket. You can add garnishes such as sesame seeds, green onions, and radishes to the top. Hope you enjoy this inari sushi recipe!

stuffed inari sushi with tuna mayo and avocado with yellow radish on top

FAQ

What is Inari Tofu?

Inari is a Japanese ingredient that is deep fried and cooked in a sweet dashi sauce. It tastes sweet and savory with a hint of umami because the tofu skin is cooked in a soy sauce, mirin, and dashi broth. They are known as tofu pouches or pockets because the center is open.
These inari sushi pockets are usually served in a bento or lunchbox to be enjoyed at a picnic or for a quick lunch at home.

Where can I buy Inari?

I bought my inari tofu at my local asian grocery store, H-Mart. You can find them at most Korean or Japanese grocery stores.
I have found that most of them taste very similar so I don’t have a particular brand I like. When I buy the store bought versions, I throw away the vinegar packet because I like to adjust according to my personal taste (how sour and sweet). If you’re in a rush, you can add their vinegar pocket.

Storage Options

I recommend to make as many stuffed inari pouches that you will eat. If you have extra leftover, you can place them in the fridge in a storage container. When you want to eat them, take out the filling and heat the inari and rice ONLY in the microwave for 1 minute with a moist paper towel. Then, add the filling back on top of the inari pouch.

Easy Inari Tofu Sushi with Avocado