Onigiri are rice balls with some filling and wrapped with Nori roasted seaweed. It is a soul food for Japanese people, and it can be eaten in any kind of occasion. You may want to eat Onigiri as everyday breakfast or lunch, but you can bring it to a picnic or hiking since it travels very well. It is easy to make and easy to eat.
Some people like Onigiri simply with just salt, but you can also vary the flavor of Onigiri by changing the kind of filling.The basic and most popular filling is Umeboshi pickled plum. Umeboshi is made from green plums that are dried and pickled with salt and red Shiso leaves (for red color). It is very salty and sour, and it complements plain Steamed Rice very well. Another great filling is salmon. You can use grilled salmon fillet seasoned well with salt, but here we used Salmon Flakes which we made ahead. Kombu Tsukudani is also a popular filling for Onigiri. You can use store-bought Kombu Tsukudani from Japanese markets. However, you can easily make it at home if you can’t find it. But you can put anything you want in your Onigiri, really. If you want to put Tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) or even Karaage Chicken, go for it! Onigiri is usually covered with a sheet of Nori. The seaweed functions as a wrapper so your hand doesn’t get messy, as well as for flavor. A rice ball with a filling is like a complete meal that can be eaten in one hand. After all, Onigiri rice ball is a perfect portable food!If you have never made an Onigiri rice ball before and would like to make a triangle one, please watch our video and practice once or twice. If you don’t care about shapes, just start making a round ball shape. Either way it will taste great, we promise!
Assorted Onigiri Recipe
*Links may contain ad. #CommissionsEarned
Ingredients
- Steamed Rice
- Umeboshi pickled plums, pitted
- Salmon Flakes
- Kombu Tsukudani
- Nori roasted seaweed
- salt
Instructions
- Wet hands with water and add salt. Place rice in one hand, press and form into a triangle shape.
- Make a well in the middle of the rice ball and put in a filling. Close the well.
- Reshape and wrap with a sheet of roasted seaweed.
Video
