Akuma Meshi & Akuma no Onigiri Devil’s Rice Recipes
A few years ago, a rice bowl dish called Akuma Meshi (悪魔めし) became a popular topic on Japanese social media.
And based on the recipe, the convenience store chain Lawson developed an Onigiri rice ball called Akuma no Onigiri (悪魔のおにぎり).
Akuma Meshi (悪魔めし) & Akuma no Onigiri (悪魔のおにぎり)
Akuma Meshi, meaning Devil’s Rice in Japanese, is called like that because the dish makes the eater addicted to it.
To get to the point, the rice from the Devil gets its addictive taste from a seasoning mixture consisting of Tenkasu tempura bits, Mentsuyu broth, and Ao-Nori green seaweed.
Today, I will introduce how to make the Devil’s rice for those curious. But first of all, let me show you what it looks like.
Hamaotome Mazekomi Akuma Meshi
Nowadays, the base seasoning for Akuma Meshi is available in Furikake form.
And this Mazekomi Akuma Meshi (混ぜ込み悪魔めし) from the maker Hamaotome (浜乙女) mainly consists of Tenkasu, Tentsuyu (a kind of Mentsuyu) powder, Aonori seaweed, and Shiso or perilla leaves.
To make Akuma Meshi, first, you add two tablespoons of the seasoning flakes (about 10 g) to a warm bowl of white rice (about 160 g).
Then, mix them evenly, and let the mixture steam for a while. And this is the Akuma Meshi.
As the base seasoning is Mentsuyu, the Devil’s rice is soy sauce-based with umami from the dashi.
The Tenkasu tempura bits are pleasantly crispy, and the seaweed flakes are nicely aromatic, making the dish more addictive.
One more step further, by shaping the rice into a ball, you can make Akuma no Onigiri.
Recipe
As mentioned above, if you at least prepare Mentsuyu, Tenkasu, and Aonori, you can make Akuma Meshi.
And lastly, let me introduce a recipe (for one serving) from the official website of Kikkoman using their Hon Tsuyu soup base.
- First, put Tenkasu tempura bits (2 tbsp) in a bowl.
- Next, pour the Hon Tsuyu soup base (1-1.5 tbsp), and let the mixture rest until the Tenkasu bits soak up the flavor from the liquid.
- Then, add hot plain rice (200 g) and Aonori seaweed (2 tsp) to the bowl, and mix them up.
- Now it’s ready to eat. Enjoy the Akuma Meshi!
For your information, the original Akuma Meshi recipe that got attention on SNS also uses Shio Kombu (塩昆布) in addition to Mentsuyu, Tenkasu, and Aonori.
