While I was in Japan a few years ago, I visited a fast-food chain called “Mos Burger” – and fell in love with their amazing vegetarian “kinpira” burger. Kinpira is traditionally made with carrot and burdock root, but as I couldn’t find any burdock root I’ve recreated this meal using carrot and red and yellow peppers. You could also use parsnips instead of the peppers for a different taste; just add them slightly earlier than you would for the peppers.

Ingredients

• 200-250g sushi rice
• 2 carrots
• ½ a red pepper
• ½ a yellow pepper
• 200ml dashi stock (or konbu dashi to make it vegetarian)
• 2 tbsp. sake
• 1 tbsp. mirin
• 1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. toasted black sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 sheet of nori

How to make it…

First, wash the sushi rice. Just swoosh it around the pan with your fingers under a cold tap then pour the water out, being careful not to lose any rice down the sink. You’ll need to do this a few times until the water becomes clear instead of cloudy.

Then add cold water to the pan of rice. You need enough to cover the rice then the same amount again, i.e. the top of the rice will be halfway between the pan base and the top of the water.

Bring the rice to a boil, move the pan to a low heat, cover the pan with a lid and leave to simmer for around ten minutes. Then take the pan off the heat with the lid still on and leave for around 20 minutes so that the rice can absorb any excess water. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Now we can start making the kinpira filling!

Peel the carrot and cut into matchsticks. Depending on length, you may want to cut them widthways first. Cut the pepper lengthways only or the pieces will be too small.

Heat some oil over a medium/high heat and stir-fry the carrot for a few minutes. Once the colour and texture begin to change, add the pepper.

Add the dashi, sake, sugar, mirin and soy sauce to a jug and stir, then add this to the vegetables and simmer.

Once most of the liquid has evaporated, add the sesame oil and black sesame seeds.

Add liquid ingredients and simmer

Add sesame oil and sesame seeds

Now that your kinpira is ready, it’s time to make the rice buns!

Smooth some cling film down onto a surface. Take around a quarter of the cooked rice – using a spoon or rice paddle or it will stick to your hands! – and put this down in the middle of the cling film. Then shape the rice into a bun shape, using the cling film as a barrier between the rice and your hands.

Place rice on cling film

Shape the rice

Do this four times so that you have enough for two people.

Add a little sesame oil to a frying pan, swirl it round so that it covers the pan and use a sheet of kitchen roll to mop up any excess – keep this handy as you’ll need it again. Carefully unwrap one of the buns and place onto the frying pan. After two or three minutes use a metal spatula to lift the bun and turn it over. Be very careful – if you drop it the rice may fall apart! Cook for another two to three minutes then transfer to a plate. Once you’ve done this for each bun it’s time to assemble your burgers!

Start with a bun, add a square or circle of nori, then a spoonful of kinpira, another piece of nori, then finish off with a second bun. The nori helps to stop the rice falling apart as it separates the rice buns from the oily kinpira.

Place nori on bun

Add kinpira filling

Finish with more nori and another bun

And that’s all there is to it – have fun!