One of the best short video blogs about plants and cooking in Japan is on YouTube. It’s called “Kuro, Live in Hokkaido.” The videographer shows wonderful landscapes in this Northern part of Japan, as well as his mother’s cooking.

One of her simplest dishes is rice balls (musubi) with chopped ginger. She cooks the ginger in sugar to reduce the bite, then mixes the cooked ginger into the steamed rice. Although she cuts the ginger in long strips, I find it easier to eat when the pieces are smaller. It’s a quick way to make a snack with few ingredients. Don’t have a plastic musubi maker? Wet your hands lightly in water and form the mixed rice into a triangle shape.

Fresh Ginger Musubi

Ingredients:

• 2 rice measuring cups short grain rice (1 1/2 regular measuring cups)

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh ginger

• 2 teaspoons neutral oil, such as vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Wash rice and put in rice cooker. Measure water to the 2-cup line and start. Peel and chop ginger. In a skillet, heat the oil and cook ginger with sugar and salt until soft, about 5 minutes.

Mix in ginger when rice is cooked and form triangle-shaped rice balls.

Makes about 6 musubi.

Lynette Lo Tom has written three cookbooks and loves hearing about home cooks. Visit lynettecooks.com for more information.