Tuna-Mayo Onigiri is a rice ball with tuna salad filling. That is generally the most popular kind of Onigiri you can buy at convenience stores in Japan. It doesn’t sound like a very Japanese flavor, but it has been loved by the young and old for over 3o years and still keeps going strong.
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.
Tenmusu are Onigiri rice balls with shrimp Tempura as a filling. Onigiri is rice shaped by pressing firmly in your hands and forming into a ball or triangle, or some other kind of shape. Typical fillings are pickled plum (Umeboshi), dried bonito flakes with soy sauce (Okaka), or salted salmon. Tenmusu is something special, with Tempura shrimp and all. It’s kind of like the “go-to” Onigiri for important Onigiri.
If you have made Onigiri (rice ball) before, add one more step and try Yaki Onigiri, crunchy grilled rice ball. The recipe can be as simple as placing the rice ball on the grill and brush with soy sauce when browned. Here, I even made it more simple by browning Onigiri using frying pan. Butter is not commonly used for Yaki Onigiri, but who doesn’t like the flavor of melted butter with soy sauce? It’s so good!
If you have never made Onigiri before, I recommend that you watch our Onigiri recipe video first. You don’t need to use salt or even fillings when making Yaki Onigiri. Nori seaweed is optional. I usually skip it for Yaki Onigiri. It’s’ a perfect little snack!
If you are tired of Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) or Umeboshi (pickled plum) Onigiri rice ball, try this one with a little twist. Beef Shigureni is seasoned strongly with soy sauce, sugar, and ginger, and goes very well with rice, therefore, it is perfect as an Onigiri filling!
Rice balls don’t really need a recipe to make. Anybody, including someone who has never cooked before, can start making it right away if you have cooked rice. It’s just like making a mud ball when you were a kid. You press rice firmly in your hands and make it into a ball or some other kind of shape. The difference is, you actually can eat Onigiri.