How to Make Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls) at Home

Written by Shawn Krajewski

Lately, one of my favorite snacks has been onigiri. It's such a simple delight, and it tastes great! Onigiri, hailing from Japan, is a traditional triangle or cylindrical rice ball made from forms of white rice and wrapped with nori, a dried form of seaweed. It was created around 2000 years ago, as most great foods are, but it was 1200 years later that it really became popular. With its unique shape, it was easy to eat with the popular cutlery at the time, chopsticks. That's right, this piece of food was originally popular because people loved rice (and also loved using the most infuriating form of cutlery). Traditionally, onigiri was created with forms of fish as a filling, due to Japan being an island and having lots of rivers. However, forms of pickled Chinese plums called umeboshi were also widely used in this cuisine.

After that initial developmental stage, onigiri began spreading westward and was adapted to include other fillings, such as pork and crab. In the 1980s, there was a giant development: the creation of onigiri processing machines. These machines form triangle rice balls, create small divots for stuffing, and cover them up with nori. That's why most onigiri you see on the market today look so similar; it's because of the mass usage of these machines.

However, you can also make it on your own! It's pretty easy, and once it's made, it's a perfect snack that you can eat in bunches or save for later.

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Full Recipe:

Equipment:

• 2 Large Bowls

• 1 Small Bowl (It only needs to hold 1-2 cups)

• Plastic Wrap

• Rice Cooker

Ingredients:

• Water

• Nori

• Sushi Rice

• Stuffing of Choice: Pork, Spam, Crab, Tofu, Dried Peaches

• Mirin

• Rice Wine Vinegar

• Salt

  
  

Step 1: Cooking the Rice

Take out the rice and place it in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water and let the rice sit for 10 minutes. Next, drain the water and place the rice into the rice cooker. For every cup of rice, put in 1 and a ¼ cup of water.* Finally, cap the rice cooker and let it do its magic. 

Step 2: Making the Fillings (Optional)

While letting the rice cooker perform its magic, start making the fillings for your rice balls. I highly recommend using seared pork belly or SPAM—yes, SPAM, the canned meat. It is surprisingly good with rice and nori. Alternatively, chicken and tofu also work for a more subtle taste. However, if you want to go for something adventurous, try using crab or some sweet fruit. But if you do do this, make sure you use high-quality ingredients, especially for the crab. Crab is fantastic, but when it's of mediocre quality, it can be so, so bad. For the fillings, there aren't really any specific steps; just cook whatever ingredients you like to enjoy with rice. You could even use parts of last night's pot roast or leftover dinner fixings.

Step 3: Forming the Onigiri + Wrapping it in Nori

Drain the water from the rice, and place the contents into a different large bowl. Fluff the rice and spread it out in the bowl. Grab the mirin, rice wine vinegar, and salt. Add a generous amount of mirin, a touch of rice wine vinegar, and a touch of salt into the rice. Mix the contents until they're all homogeneous.

Image Credit: Shawn Krajewski

Place plastic wrap over a small bowl and cover your hands in a small coating of water. Grab a small scoop of rice and place it in the bowl. Make sure you have a significant enough divot in the center of the rice for your fillings. Next, place a small amount of filling into the center and cover it with more rice. Take the plastic wrap and cover the rest of the onigiri. 

You should now have a "bag" of rice stuffed with fillings. Next, form the onigiri in your preferred shape. The most popular shape is a triangle, but spheres, squares, and even animals could work. Once formed, remove the rice ball and wrap it in nori. There are multiple ways to wrap the nori, including in strips or the whole sheet. Be creative! You could make it look like a pig in a nori skirt or a traditional triangle with a supporting strip. Ultimately, the more fun you have with it, the more fun the eating process will be.

*Notes:

• This ratio is only suitable for sushi rice.

Thumbnail Credit:

Shawn Krajewski