Lava Cookies AKA Lavaridge Rice Crackers | Pokémon

Item: Lava Cookie AKA Lava Rice Cracker Cost: 200 Poké Use: Total status heal

Happy Pokémon 20th anniversary! This past Saturday (Feb. 27th) was the official day, but this whole year is a Pokémon celebration!

This is a food that's been on my list for a long while now. Known as "lava cookies" in the Pokémon games outside of Japan, in the original Japanese these status healing snacks are called "Lavaridge rice crackers" (フエンせんべい). Rice crackers are senbei, and I totally love senbei! And as Wellfine cleverly points out, "lava" is also a play on the word "laver" which is another word for nori or edible seaweed. So not only is this treat's name an allusion to where it's found in-game, "Lavaridge Town", but also to one of its ingredients. The Japanese sure love their wordplay!

Lavaridge Rice Crackers (Lava Cookies)

---

Ingredients:
Crackers
3/4 Cup Rice Flour
1/3 Cup Cake Flour
3/4 tsp. Fine Sea Salt (or table salt is okay)
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
Pinch of Baking Soda
1/3 Cup Cooked White Rice
1/2 Cup Warm Water
1 tsp. Nori Furikake (seaweed sprinkles)
Coating
1 Tbsp. Mirin
1/2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Favorite Hot Sauce (optional. I used Tiger Sauce)
Nori/Seaweed Sheets, cut into 32 strips about 2" x 1"

Directions:
1. Combine the flours, salt, baking powder, & baking soda in a food processor & pulse to mix them up. Add the rice & pulse again to combine. Next, add 1/3 of the water at a time to the food processor & pulse until a dough is formed. Plop the dough into a bowl & add the furikake. Knead until the furikake is evenly combined & the dough is smooth. Wrap in plastic & chill for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat your oven to 400ºF & line 2 large trays with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a thick 4" log (holding a ruler alongside the dough helps). Cut it into 4 1" segments. Roll the segments each into 4" logs & cut into 1/2" pieces (you should end up with 32 pieces). Roll each piece into a ball. Place a dough ball on the parchment-lined tray & place a plastic sandwich baggie over it. Use the bottom of a ramekin or drinking glass (or something similar) to press down on the dough ball until it's about 2" or so in diameter. Repeat this with all of the dough balls, keeping the resulting discs only 1/4" apart.
3. Place one tray in the oven & cover the other tray with plastic wrap until it's ready to go in (after the first tray is done). Bake on the middle rack for about 6-8 minutes, or until the dough edges are dry. Pull the tray out & carefully flip the discs over (use your fingers or a spatula or tongs). Slide the tray back in the oven & bake for another 6-8 minutes. Remove from the oven.
4. Stir the mirin, soy sauce, & optional hot sauce together in a little bowl & then brush both sides of the crackers with it (I ended up just dunking them!). Fold a nori strip over the edge of each cracker (dipping it quickly in the say/mirin first helps), pressing it momentarily to keep it in place.
5. Slide the other tray of dough discs into the oven and repeat the baking & coating/nori process. Turn the oven off & slide both trays of crackers back in for about 3 minutes. Remove from oven & move the crackers to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

* For more Pokemon food, try my Supreme Spring Poké Puffs! *