Onigiri Basics

So you've spotted it in anime and manga and now you desperately want to know: "What's the deal with those rice balls? What the heck IS an onigiri?!" Glad you asked! In this section, you'll find info on the history of the onigiri, plus recipes on how to make your very own! But first, here's a definition...

Onigiri (oh-knee-gi-ree): Often called "rice balls" in English, onigiri are made of cooked (Japanese) rice, and is generally pressed into a triangular shape about three inches across and one inch thick. At the center, there is often a "filling" of grilled salmon, cod roe, kombu (kelp) or an umeboshi, which is a Japanese pickled plum. As a finishing touch, the onigiri may be dusted with sesame seeds, flakes of dried fish OR you can just wrap the whole thing up in a sheet of nori or seaweed before you eat it.


History of the Onigiri


According to some historians, the word onigiri comes from the root meaning "made by gripping with the hands." It started out as food for soldiers during the Heian Period (794 - 1192). Because onigiri are relatively easy to make, taste good and are small and lightweight, they were the perfect food for soldiers to carry around. The saltiness of the filling is said to have also acted as a preservative. Others historians claim that onigiri were originally given out by Japanese nobles to the peasants gathered outside their gates.

In recent times, however, the onigiri has become as ubiquitous in Japan as the hamburger. It's a snack that mothers pack in bentos (lunch boxes) for their children and their husbands. And you can find onigiri in most convenience stores and at train stations throughout the country. I'm actually convinced that it's like the American version of the granola bar - you eat it when you're on the run. If you're in Japan, the best place to buy an onigiri is at a 7-eleven or a Family Mart (seriously!). 7-eleven and other convenience stores have several shelves of freshly-made onigiri that are stocked every morning!

The typical onigiri is completely wrapped in seaweed and enclosed in a plastic sheet to keep the nori crisp. Along with the traditional umeboshi variety, you can buy onigiri filled with tuna and mayonnaise, mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and even kimchi!


 My favorite kind of onigiri - Tuna and Mayo!It tastes better than it sounds!

How to open your standard convenience store onigiri ^_^

Recipe for a Basic Onigiri


Ingredients: 1 cup Japanese short grain rice
Salt
2 ounces grilled salmon
2 (7x6-inch) sheets of nori (seaweed).

NOTE: This particular recipe assumes that you don't have a rice cooker. After following the steps below, you should have 4 onigiri. Each onigiri is 84 calories; 11 mg sodium; 9 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 0 saturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.56 gram fiber.

Active work time: 10 minutes.

Total preparation time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.


Step #1:
Place the rice and 1 1/4 cups of cold water in a saucepan and soak for 30 minutes. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, lower the heat, lower and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed. This should take about 20 minutes. Let stand, covered, for an additional 15 minutes.

Step #2:
If you don't have an onigiri mold, wet your hands in water, dust them with salt if you want, and divide the fresh rice (it should still be warm) into four balls. Place each ball on a sheet of plastic wrap to make molding them easier.

Step #3:
Poke a hole in each rice ball. Divide the salmon equally among the balls, filling the holes; smooth the rice over the filling. Form each ball into the shape of your choice. For a triangle, set the rice onto your palm and form the triangle by holding the other hand in an "A" shape. The sides of the triangle should be flat.

Step #4
If the nori sheets are not perforated, slice each sheet in half horizontally. To wrap a triangular onigiri, stand it up horizontally about half-way down the sheet, so that the ends touch each side, then fold the ends of the sheet around it.

Step #5
Serve the onigiri immediately so that the nori stays crisp. If you don't want to serve them/eat them right away, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in your refrigerator. When you're ready to eat them, you might want to rewrap them in nori again because the nori will be soggy after sitting in the fridge for a while. NOTE: Personally, I like to microwave my onigiri before I eat it ^_^.


It tastes better than it looks. Honest. ^_^;

Variations to the Basic Onigiri Recipe: This recipe was just one of MANY ways to make an onigiri. Keep reading for other options and ideas.

You can fill the onigiri with anything you want ^_^. Umeboshi, tarako (grilled cod roe), ajikobu (soy-marinated kelp), it's all up to you. Or, instead of filling them with anything, you can just sprinkle them with your choice of furikake (Japanese rice toppings) or just cover them up in sesame seeds.

Instead of wrapping the entire onigiri in nori, you can slice the nori into strips and just wrap them around the edges like in the the onigiri gif you see to the left. In which case, you can sprinkle it with furikake to make it look, er...nicer.

This is my *favorite* tip: Mix sesame seeds in with the rice before you form the rice balls. You can use regular sesame seeds (goma) or black sesame seeds (kurogoma).


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