Japanese Rice Balls with Persian and French Influence

Traditionally, Japanese rice balls are often fully wrapped in seaweed sheets or "naked" (for grilling). Here is my version:
















My twists: fusion with Persian and French cuisine
I cooked the rice with raisins and pine nuts, borrowing idea from Persian cuisine; shaped the rice with Japanese triangle rice ball mold; and wrapped them up with spinach, borrowing idea from a French home cooking style dish-- spinach sauteed with raisins and pine nuts.

All these fusion started with insufficient supply of spinach on hand to make a separate salad or sauteed dish that day, and a craving for rice balls. When the idea "cooked up" in my mind, I knew the mixture of tastes could not go wrong, and presentation potential got me curious and really excited.

I exposed the rice partially to show the raisins and pine nuts, also to contrast rice white with spinach green. I contrasted bright green of the spinach stems with the darker green leaves, and overlapped some stems onto the leaf for texture. And finally the pink root for another contrast.

Recipe:
1 cup Japanese short grain rice
1 1/4 cup water
2 tbs raisins
2 tbs pine nuts
1/2 tsp kosher salt
a few pieces of spinach

Rice:
Toast pine nuts on medium heat for 7 min or until slightly browned.

Mix toasted pine nuts, raisins, rinsed rice, kosher salt and water
into a pot, bring to boil on medium high. Then turn down to low, let it simmer for 12min. Turn off heat. Leave stand covered for 15min.

To mold and wrap with spinach, wait till rice is no longer hot, just warm or cooled.

Spinach:
In a separate pot, cook spinach in boiling salted water for 1 min. Take spinach out, and put it into cold water to cool. (This process cooks spinach and retains its bright color.) Squeeze water out from spinach carefully, open the leaves carefully and lay flat on paper towel.

Shaping/Modling:
I use mold bought from Mitsuwa Japanese Market, the mold makes rice balls of about 3" triangular sides and 2" high. For the 1 cup rice, it yields 4 rice balls with this mold.

(It's important to use a mold so that the rice is properly pressed and stays in shape. I tried to shape it with hands like making sushi, did not work well. For rice balls, get the mold.)

Wrapping:
Wrap spinach around rice balls, leave rice partially exposed, overlap stems partially onto leaf part.

Note: This dish can be served either warm, or cooled (but not refridgrated overnight).